The acclaimed documentarian has become more than a documentarian; he is a brand, a prolific creative force. Whenever he releases television endeavor premiering on the small screen, all desire an interview.
Burns has done “countless podcast appearances”, he says, nearing the end of his extensive publicity circuit comprising 40 cities, dozens of preview events plus countless media sessions. “I think there are 340.1m podcasts, one for every American, and I’ve done half of them.”
Thankfully Burns possesses boundless energy, as loquacious behind the mic as he is prolific while filmmaking. The 72-year-old has gone everywhere from Monticello to popular podcasts to talk about one of his most ambitious projects: his Revolutionary War documentary, an extensive six-episode, twelve-hour film project that dominated the past decade of his life and arrived currently on public television.
Comparable to methodical preparation in today’s rapid-consumption era, Burns’ latest project intentionally classic, more redolent of traditional war documentaries than the era of digital documentaries new media formats.
But for Burns, whose professional life chronicling strands of US history spanning various American subjects, its origin story represents more than another topic but foundational. “As I mentioned to directing partner Sarah Botstein recently, and she concurred: this represents our most significant project Burns states by phone from New York.
Burns and his collaborators along with writer Geoffrey Ward referenced thousands of books and primary source materials. Multiple academic experts, covering various ideological backgrounds, contributed scholarly insights together with prominent academics representing multiple disciplines including slavery, first nations scholarship and imperial studies.
The documentary’s methodology will appear similar to devotees of The Civil War. The unique approach incorporated methodical photographic exploration across still photos, generous use of period music and actors voicing historical documents.
That was the moment Burns built his legacy; years later, currently the elder statesman of documentary filmmaking, he seems able to recruit any actor he chooses. Appearing alongside Burns at a recent event, acclaimed writer Lin-Manuel Miranda commented: “A call from Ken Burns commands immediate acceptance.”
The decade-long production schedule proved beneficial concerning availability. Filming occurred in recording spaces, at historical sites using online technology, an approach adopted throughout the health crisis. Burns explains working with Josh Brolin, who found a few free hours while in Georgia to record his lines portraying the founding father before flying off to his next engagement.
The cast includes multiple distinguished artists, respected performing veterans, diverse creative professionals, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, accomplished dramatic artists, British and American talent, versatile character actors, television and film stars, plus additional notable names.
The filmmaker continues: “Truly, this might be the most exceptional group recruited for any project. They do an extraordinary service. Selection wasn’t based on fame. I got so angry when somebody said, regarding the famous participants. I responded, ‘These are performers.’ They represent global acting excellence and they vitalize these narratives.”
Still, the lack of surviving participants, photography and newsreels compelled the production to depend substantially on historical documents, integrating individual perspectives of multiple revolutionary participants. This approach enabled to present viewers not just the famous founders of the founders along with multiple who are seminal to the story”, numerous individuals never even had a portrait painted.
The filmmaker also explored his personal passion for maps and spatial representation. “Maps fascinate me,” he observes, “with greater cartographic content throughout this series versus earlier productions I’ve done combined.”
The team filmed across multiple important places across North America plus English locations to document environmental context and partnered extensively with living history participants. Various aspects converge to tell a story more brutal, complicated and internationally important versus conventional understanding.
The film maintains, transcended provincial conflict concerning territory, taxes and political voice. Rather, the series depicts a brutal conflict that ultimately drew in numerous countries and unexpectedly manifested what it calls “the noble aspirations of humankind”.
Early dissatisfaction and objections leveled at London by far-flung British subjects across thirteen rebellious territories soon descended into a brutal civil conflict, dividing communities and households and creating local enmities. In episode two, the historian Alan Taylor observes: “The greatest misconception concerning independence struggle involves believing it represented a consolidating event for colonists. This omits the fact that Americans fought each other.”
In his view, the revolution is a story that “typically is drowning in sentimentality and nostalgia and remains shallow and doesn’t have the respect the historical reality, and all the participants and the extensive brutality.
It was, he contends, an uprising that declared the transformative concept of fundamental personal liberties; a bloody domestic struggle, dividing revolutionaries and royalists; plus an international conflict, the fourth in a series of struggles among European powers for dominance in the New World.
The filmmaker also sought {to rediscover the
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