Ken Burns on His Revolutionary War Film Series: ‘We Won’t Work on a More Important Film’

The acclaimed documentarian has become more than a filmmaker; he represents an institution, an unparalleled production entity. When he has project heading for the television, everybody wants an interview.

Burns has done “more fucking podcasts than I ever thought possible”, he notes, wrapping up of his marathon promotional journey featuring numerous locations, 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.”

Fortunately Burns is a force of nature, equally articulate in interviews as he is prolific during post-production. At seventy-two has traveled from Monticello to popular podcasts to talk about one of his most ambitious projects: The American Revolution, a monumental six-part, 12-hour documentary series that consumed the past decade of his life and premiered currently through the public broadcasting service.

Defiantly Traditional Approach

Comparable to methodical preparation amidst instant gratification culture, Burns’ latest project is defiantly traditional, more redolent of traditional war documentaries rather than contemporary digital documentaries audio documentaries.

For the documentarian, who has built a career documenting American historical narratives including baseball, country music, jazz and national parks, the nation’s founding represents more than another topic but fundamental. “I recently told collaborator Sarah Botstein during our discussions, and she shared this view: this represents our most significant project Burns contemplates by phone from New York.

Extensive Historical Investigation

The filmmaking team plus scripting partner Geoffrey Ward referenced countless written sources and other historical materials. Multiple academic experts, covering various ideological backgrounds, provided on-air commentary along with leading scholars representing multiple disciplines such as enslavement studies, Native American history and imperial studies.

Signature Documentary Style

The film’s approach will appear similar to viewers of Burns’ earlier work. The unique approach included methodical photographic exploration over historical images, extensive employment of contemporary scores with performers interpreting primary sources.

Those projects established Burns established his reputation; decades afterwards, presently the respected veteran of historical films, he seems able to recruit numerous talented actors. Participating with Burns at a recent event, renowned playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda noted: “When Ken Burns calls, you say ‘Yes.’”

Extraordinary Talent

The extended filming period proved beneficial in terms of flexibility. Sessions happened in studios, in relevant places and remotely via Zoom, an approach adopted throughout the health crisis. The director describes the experience with performer Josh Brolin, who made time while in Georgia to record his lines as the revolutionary leader then continuing to his next engagement.

Brolin is joined by Kenneth Branagh, Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes, respected performing veterans, diverse creative professionals, multiple generations of actors, accomplished dramatic artists, British and American talent, skilled dramatic performers, Wendell Pierce, Matthew Rhys, Liev Schreiber, Dan Stevens, Meryl Streep.

Burns adds: “Honestly, this could represent the finest ensemble gathered for any production. Their work is exceptional. Their celebrity status wasn’t the criteria. I became frustrated when someone asked, ‘So why the celebrities?’. I go, ‘These are actors.’ They are among the world’s best performers and they can bring this stuff alive.”

Nuanced Narrative

Nevertheless, the absence of living witnesses, modern media forced Burns and his team to rely extensively on historical documents, weaving together individual perspectives of nearly 200 individual historic figures. This approach enabled to introduce audiences not only to the “bold-faced names” of that era plus numerous additional crucial to understanding, numerous individuals never even had a portrait painted.

Burns additionally pursued his individual interest for geography and cartography. “Maps fascinate me,” he comments, “and there are more maps throughout this series versus earlier productions I’ve done combined.”

Worldwide Consequences

Filmmakers captured footage at nearly a hundred historical locations across North America and British sites to preserve geographical atmosphere and partnered extensively with re-enactors. All these elements combine to present a narrative more violent, complex and globally significant than the one taught in schools.

The film maintains, represented more than local dispute about property, revenue and governance. Rather, the series depicts a brutal conflict that eventually involved numerous countries and improbably came to embody described as “humanity’s highest ideals”.

Internal Conflict Truth

Early dissatisfaction and objections directed toward Britain by colonial residents in 13 fractious colonies soon descended into a brutal civil conflict, setting brother against brother and neighbour against neighbour. In one segment, the historian Alan Taylor observes: “The greatest misconception about the American Revolution is that it was something a consolidating event for colonists. This ignores the truth that Americans fought each other.”

Sophisticated Interpretation

For him, the revolutionary narrative that “typically is drowning in sentimentality and idealization and remains shallow and doesn’t have the respect the historical reality, every individual involved and the widespread bloodshed.”

It was, he contends, an uprising that declared the revolutionary principle of fundamental personal liberties; a vicious internal conflict, dividing revolutionaries and royalists; plus an international conflict, the fourth in a series of conflicts between Britain, France and Spain for dominance in the New World.

Contingent Historical Events

Burns additionally aimed {to rediscover the