Ric Burns Movies

Actor Willem Dafoe (The Last Temptation of Christ) narrates this feature-length documentary examination of America's 400+-year infatuation with the science and industry of whaling, which originally aired as an episode of PBS's American Experience series. As written and directed by Ric Burns, the film posits the idea that whaling is as traditionally integrated into "Classic Americana" as virtually anything else. The program approaches its subject chronologically, beginning with a look at whaling's role in the early 17th century, and tracing the pursuit through mid-19th Century, Civil War-era America, when close to 80% of the whaling ships in the world originated in American ports. The film also touches on issues economic and environmental. Special features include a panoply of deleted scenes that take a closer look at whales, the whaling industry and the history of Nantucket Island, and a wealth of bonus reenactment footage that features sea shanties sung aboard a whaling ship christened The Charles W. Morgan. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Acclaimed filmmaker Ric Burns takes an in-depth look at the final decades of the American frontier with a six-hour documentary tracing life in the American West from the Gold Rush to the massacre of American Indians at the hands of U.S. troops in the battle of Wounded Knee. As the new nation was born, the inhabitants of the old world were left to ponder an uncertain future while facing death and disease. Though the years between 1845 and 1893 would bring happiness and prosperity to many who arrived on the shores of America in search of freedom, the price paid in Native American blood would haunt the fledging nation well into the new millennium. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Documentary filmmaker Ric Burns explores the life and legacy of pop art's most beloved icon with this film that seeks to illuminate the public persona and creative complexity of painter, photographer, and filmmaker Andy Warhol. Host Laurie Anderson narrates as an erudite collection of curators, critics, and biographers dispel Warhol's own self-created image as a haute couture heavyweight to offer a more intellectually minded portrait of the man who forever changed the way the world views Campbell's Soup cans. From Warhol's boyhood experiences in a Czechoslovakian community in Pittsburgh to a disheartening stint at art school and initial work as a commercial illustrator in New York, Burns' film explores every aspect of Warhol's life to offer a detailed look at the artist whose short-circuited class-jumping gave him a most unique view on contemporary culture. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The three-hour documentary Center of the World is part of producer/director Ric Burns' massive 14 1/2-hour filmed history of New York City. More specifically, this film is an outgrowth of the five-minute coda to Burns' previous effort The City and the World: 1945 to Present, hastily added to acknowledge the horrendous terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Center of the World focuses on the World Trade Center, from its embryonic inception in 1946 through the finalized design submitted by architect Minoru Yamasaki in 1962, and on to the construction of what would become Manhattan's tallest, most awe-inspiring and most controversial skyscraper structure. (For every commentator who admired the WTC, there was one who dismissed it as mere "aluminum siding.") The last 45 minutes of the film concentrates on the destruction of the Twin Towers and the aftermath of the tragedy, with a subliminal subtext suggesting that the attack may have been inadvertently brought about by the "economic imperialism" of the United States (though this theory is heartily rejected by several of the notables interviewed for the film). Among those offering commentary on New York City in general and the WTC in particular are journalists Mike Wallace, Pete Hammil, and Jimmy Bresliln; former mayor Mario Cuomo; history professor and frequent Burns collaborator Niall Ferguson; and Kenneth Jackson, president of the New York Historical Society. Center of the World made its American TV debut as an episode of the PBS anthology American Experience. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the wake of the attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, many figures in the entertainment community stepped forward to offer their talents to raise money towards relief efforts for the victims and their survivors. On October 20, 2001, some of the biggest names in popular music appeared at New York's Madison Square Garden in a special marathon concert to raise funds, and to pay tribute to the firefighters and police officers who gave their strength, their courage, and in some cases their lives to help the victims of this tragedy. The Concert for New York is a video that documents this historic evening. Musicians include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono, and many more. The long list of celebrity presenters includes Rudy Giuliani, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Halle Berry. And several filmmakers contribute short films on New York, including Woody Allen and Kevin Smith. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It was the fire that sparked reform; after 146 people -- mostly women and girls -- died in the ferocious 1911 blaze that gutted the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, it was discovered that the exits had been locked by the management to prevent theft by the workers. At the time, there were no fire laws in the city, and few laws protecting workers. As this fourth episode in the PBS documentary series about New York reveals, citizen anger at the tragedy led to public hearings and a state commission recommending safety reforms such as automatic sprinklers in buildings over seven stories high, more frequent fire inspections, and a shorter, 54-hour week for women. Also covered in this episode is the fledgling motion picture industry led by companies such as Biograph, for which D.W. Griffith shot hundreds of short films; the continued problem of overcrowded slums, a blight exacerbated by the arrival of 10 million new immigrants in just a couple of decades; and the building of modern urban emblems: the subway system and skyscrapers. Highlights include archival motion picture footage, period photographs, archival paintings, and engravings, as well as commentary by numerous guests including Academy award-winning director Martin Scorcese; Ruth J. Abram, founder of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum; novelist Caleb Carr (The Alienist); architect Robert A. M. Stern; writer Jean Strouse; and historian John Kuo Wei Tchen. Other features include dramatic readings by guests including Robert Sean Leonard, Frances Sternhagen, Eli Wallach, and George Plimpton. Directed by Ric Burns and narrated by David Ogden Stiers. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi

New York of the 19th century was already a haven of celebrities; showman P.T. Barnum's museum drew crowds on Broadway, and up the street the great photographer Mathew Brady stayed busy taking "likenesses" of the rich and famous. However, when British author Charles Dickens visited New York in 1842, the poverty and squalor he witnessed in New York appalled him; he noted that it was worse than any of London's. Indeed, as revealed in the second episode of this epic PBS documentary series, New York's rapid growth didn't come without a human cost. Gangs as bad or worse than any in the 20th century roamed the harsh tenement slums. Disparity between rich and poor, American-born and immigrant, culminated in the draft riots during the sweltering summer of July 1863. Angry over the unfairness of the newly instituted Civil War draft (rich men could buy their way out of the military), mobs of men, women, and children rampaged through the streets causing millions of dollars in damage. Several blacks got lynched during the riots, and federal troops had to be called back from the still-smoking battlefields of Gettysburg to restore the peace. Highlights include archival daguerreotypes, paintings, and engravings, as well as commentary by numerous guests including historian Thomas Bender, poet Allen Ginsberg, architect Robert A. M. Stern, and historian Gretchen Sullivan Sorin. Other features include dramatic readings by various people including Frances Sternhagen, Keith David, Spalding Gray, Philip Bosco, Eli Wallach, and George Plimpton. Directed by Ric Burns and narrated by David Ogden Stiers. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi

Calling Prohibition a "noble experiment," New York congressman Fiorello La Guardia then declared the law unenforceable. Throughout most of New York City, this was the correct assessment. This is the fifth episode of the epic PBS documentary series about the "Big Apple." Also covered in this program is the deportation of pacifist and anarchist Emma Goldman during the "Red Scare" of 1919; the horse-drawn wagon bombing of the Morgan Bank in 1920, which killed 30 people; the change of Harlem from a German-Jewish neighborhood to a mostly black one; the "Harlem Renaissance"; the "Jazz Age"; the rise of radio as entertainment; the invention of the Broadway musical; and the construction of the Empire State Building. Highlights include archival newsreel footage and photographs, as well as commentary from a variety of guests including historian David Levering Lewis, construction consultant Joel Silverman, architect Robert A.M. Stern, historian Ann Douglas, and historian Joshua Freeman. Directed by Ric Burns and narrated by David Ogden Stiers. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi

Ric Burns' four-part series The Way West comes to an end with the final episode The Way West: Ghost Dance, 1877-1893. Chronicling these years, the release again focuses on the Native American perspective. Western expansion meant the death of many Indian rights and the seizure of tribal lands. Having already conceded vast territories to gold-seeking Americans, the native people had nowhere left to go. Little Big Horn represented the final straw for restless Anglos. The Way West: Ghost Dance, 1877-1893 describes the spiritual practice of Native Americans who found themselves represented by the increasingly powerless Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Episode four ends with a last battle, which would determine the fate of all Indians: the Battle at Wounded Knee. ~ Sarah Ing, Rovi

Ric Burns' four-part series The Way West focuses on the often untold history of American expansion. Written from the Native American perspective, the documentary begins with the Gold Rush of the 1840s. With an ever-increasing Anglo population, the West became a hotbed of racial strife. The Way West: The Approach of Civilization, 1865-1869 explores these explosive years. The Great Plains was a constant battlefield with Indian leaders taking on American soldiers. Red Cloud and Crazy Horse became heroes by defeating the U.S. Army in 1868. But, the real threat to Native American independence came with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. ~ Sarah Ing, Rovi

In 1846, a group of over eighty Westward-bound pioneers were headed to the coast of California from Illinois, which had itself only recently been brought up to "civilized" status. They made it to a pass high in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California when they were halted by a truly monstrous blizzard, followed by the snows of one of the worst winters in that century. Their attempts to go forward and backward were thwarted by the deep snow, and, in the small shelter they enjoyed, they slowly starved to death. Eventually, they resorted to cannibalism to survive, and after their story became more widely known, the pass they took shelter in became known as "the Donner Pass." To this day, it is frequently made impassable by heavy snows. Ironically, the forty or so who survived later discovered that, had they only forged ahead about a hundred yards, they would have won free of the deep snow which ensnared them. This documentary has gathered a surprising harvest of photos, notes and drawings in order to tell the pioneers' story. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi