Documentary Style
HistoricalThe Civil War
One of the most-watched PBS programs ever made. Burns's epic changed documentary filmmaking and remains how most Americans learned about the war that transformed the nation.
Year
1990
Type
series
Episodes
9
Language
English
Director
Ken Burns, Ric Burns
Genres
Summary
A masterpiece of documentary craft that revolutionized the genre and sparked a generation's interest in understanding how a nation tore itself apart to become whole.
Ken Burns's landmark 1990 series chronicles the war from its roots in slavery and sectional conflict through four years of battles. Through 16,000 photographs, soldiers' letters, and historian commentary, Burns created the template for modern historical filmmaking—slow pans across still images, the haunting "Ashokan Farewell" theme, weaving individual stories into epic narrative that brought the conflict to 40 million viewers.
Historians continue debating the war's causes and meanings, but Burns's achievement in making this history accessible and emotionally resonant remains unmatched.