History Creator / KenBurns

* ''The American Buffalo'' (premiering October 2023)

* ''Series/{{Baseball}}'' (1994): His second miniseries-doc, exploring the history of Baseball from its origins to the early 1990s.

* ''Series/{{Jazz}}'' (2001): A (limited) history of Jazz music.

* ''Series/TheWar'' (2007): A history of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, which was criticized for its intentionally limited scope (focusing on the American role in the war, and more specifically on four small-to-midsize American towns/cities).

* ''The Address'' (2013): Schoolchildren memorize the Gettysburg Address 150 years after it was originally recited.
* ''The Roosevelts: An Intimate History'' (2014): Chronicling the history of UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt, and UsefulNotes/EleanorRoosevelt from Theodore's birth to Eleanor's death, their personal lives and the influence they had on America and the world.
* ''Jackie Robinson'' (2015): A two-part spinoff of ''Baseball'', focusing on the life and career or Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947.

* ''The Mayo Clinic: Faith - Hope - Science'' (2018)
* ''Series/CountryMusic'' (2019)

* ''UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli'' (2021)
* ''Creator/BenjaminFranklin'' (2022)
* ''The U.S. and [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust the Holocaust]]'' (coming Fall 2022)

His documentaries are known for their unique style, including a visual technique first made famous with ''The Civil War'' and now known as TheKenBurnsEffect (though Burns himself has gone on record stating that he didn't actually ''invent'' the eponymous effect, crediting the Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). He also employs distinctive musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the folk waltz "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times during ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). Among the well-known musicians who have contributed music to Burns' films are the likes of jazzman Wynton Marsalis, singer-songwriter Norah Jones, and Trent Reznor of Music/NineInchNails. His projects have also been able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'', for instance, featured Creator/LaurenceFishburne, Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/JulieHarris, Creator/JeremyIrons, Creator/JasonRobards, and Creator/SamWaterston among others, while other films have used heavyweights such as Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MerylStreep). His go-to narrators have included notables such as David [=McCullough=] (''The Civil War''), Creator/KeithDavid (''The War'' and ''Muhammad Ali''), and Creator/PeterCoyote (most of Burns' films of the past decade or so). Another trademark is that a character will usually state their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

Ken Burns also made a cameo in ''Film/{{Gettysburg}}'' as a Union officer who asks General Hancock to get off his horse as Hancock rides along the line to inspire his terrified men.

His documentaries are known for their unique style, including a visual technique first made famous with ''The Civil War'' and now known as TheKenBurnsEffect (though Burns himself has gone on record stating that he didn't actually ''invent'' the eponymous effect, crediting the Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). He also employs distinctive musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the folk waltz "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times during ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). Among the well-known musicians who have contributed music to Burns' films are the likes of jazzman Wynton Marsalis, singer-songwriter Norah Jones, and Trent Reznor of Music/NineInchNails. His projects have also been able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/LaurenceFishburne, Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/JulieHarris, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others, and other films have used heavyweights such as Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MerylStreep). His go-to narrators have included notables such as David [=McCullough=] (''The Civil War''), Creator/KeithDavid (''The War'' and ''Muhammad Ali''), and Creator/PeterCoyote (most of Burns' films of the past decade or so). Another trademark is that a character will usually state their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

His documentaries are known for their unique style, including a visual technique first made famous with ''The Civil War'' and now known as TheKenBurnsEffect (though Burns himself has gone on record stating that he didn't actually ''invent'' the eponymous effect, crediting the Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). He also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times during ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). Among the better-known musicians who have contributed music to Burns' films are the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Norah Jones, and Trent Reznor of Music/NineInchNails. His films have been able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others, and other films have used heavyweights such as Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MerylStreep). His go-to narrators have included notables such as David [=McCullough=] (''The Civil War''), Creator/KeithDavid (''The War'' and ''Muhammad Ali''), and Creator/PeterCoyote (most of Burns' films of the past decade or so). Another trademark is that a character will usually state their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

[[caption-width-right:350:A portrait of the man just after having his head shaved.[[note]]Not counting the time it took for him to watch one of his own films[[/note]]]]

His documentaries are known for their unique style, incorporating a visual technique first made famous with ''The Civil War'' and now known as TheKenBurnsEffect (though Burns himself has gone on the record stating that he didn't actually invent The Ken Burns Effect, crediting Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). Burns also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times during ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). Well known musicians who have contributed music to Burns' films include the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Norah Jones, and Trent Reznor of Music/NineInchNails. His films have been able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others, and other films have used heavyweights such as Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MerylStreep). His go-to narrators have included notables such as David [=McCullough=] (''The Civil War''), Creator/KeithDavid (''The War'' and ''Muhammad Ali''), and Creator/PeterCoyote (most of Burns' films of the past decade or so). Another trademark is that a character will usually state their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

* ''Series/TheWar'' (2007): A history of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII that was criticized for its intentionally limited scope (focusing on the American role in the war, and more specifically on four small-to-midsize American towns/cities).

* ''Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio'' (1991): The story of the development of radio, and the contentious relationship between the people who created it.

In later years Burns has collaborated with documentarian Creator/LynnNovick, who has been producing Burns documentaries since ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' and was co-director with Burns of ''The War'', ''The Vietnam War'', and three episodes of ''Prohibition''. Other frequent collaborators are historian and writer Geoffrey W. Ward (who has scripted many of Burns' documentaries as well as written their companion books) and Burns' own brother Ric, who has also made documentaries of his own in a style similar to his brother's, including "The Donner Party" episode of ''Series/TheAmericanExperience''.

Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an influential {{documentary}} filmmaker known for his explorations of American history. Since the 1980s, he and his production company, Florentine Films, have made over a dozen documentary miniseries for Creator/{{PBS}}, including ''The Civil War'' (1990), ''Baseball'' (1994), ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' (1998), ''Jazz'' (2001), ''The War'' (2007), ''The National Parks'' (2009), ''Prohibition'' (2011), ''The Dust Bowl'' (2012), ''The Roosevelts'' (2014), and ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).

His documentaries are known for their unique style. He uses the technique known as TheKenBurnsEffect, made famous in ''The Civil War''. (Burns has gone on the record stating that he didn't invent The Ken Burns Effect, crediting Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). Burns also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times for ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). Well known musicians who have contributed music to Burns' films include the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Norah Jones, and Trent Reznor of Music/NineInchNails. His films are able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others, and other films have used heavyweights such as Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MerylStreep). His go-to narrators have included notables such as David [=McCullough=] (''The Civil War''), Creator/KeithDavid (''The War'' and ''Muhammad Ali''), and Creator/PeterCoyote (most of Burns' films of the past decade or so). Another trademark is that a character will usually say their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

* ''Film/BrooklynBridge'' (1981): His first documentary about the conception and construction of the Bridge and the people involved.

His documentaries are known for their unique style. He uses the technique known as TheKenBurnsEffect, made famous in ''The Civil War''. (Burns has gone on the record stating that he didn't invent The Ken Burns Effect, crediting Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). Burns also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times for ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). Well known musicians who have contributed music to Burns' films include the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Norah Jones, and Trent Reznor of Music/NineInchNails. His films are able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others, and other films have used heavyweights such as Creator/TomHanks and Creator/MerylStreep). Another trademark is that a character will usually say their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

His documentaries are known for their unique style. He uses the technique known as TheKenBurnsEffect, made famous in ''The Civil War''. (Burns has gone on the record stating that he didn't invent The Ken Burns Effect, crediting Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). Burns also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times for ''The Civil War'' (though it was first used in 1985's ''Huey Long''). His films are able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others). Another trademark is that a character will usually say their name and sometimes the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an influential {{documentary}} filmmaker known for his explorations of American history. Since the 1980s, he has made over a dozen documentary miniseries for Creator/{{PBS}}, including ''The Civil War'' (1990), ''Baseball'' (1994), ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' (1998), ''Jazz'' (2001), ''The War'' (2007), ''The National Parks'' (2009), ''Prohibition'' (2011), ''The Dust Bowl'' (2012), ''The Roosevelts'' (2014), and ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).

His documentaries are known for their unique style. He uses the technique known as TheKenBurnsEffect, made famous in ''The Civil War''. (Burns has gone on the record stating that he didn't invent The Ken Burns Effect, crediting Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''Film/{{City of Gold|1957}}'' as his inspiration). Burns also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times for ''The Civil War''. His films are able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others). Another trademark is that a character will usually say their name and the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

In later years Burns has collaborated with documentarian Creator/LynnNovick, who has been producing Burns documentaries since ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' and was co-director with Burns of ''The War'', ''The Vietnam War'', and three episodes of ''Prohibition''.

* ''UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli'' (coming 2021)

* ''UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli'' (coming soon)

Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an influential {{documentary}} filmmaker known for his explorations of American history. Since the 1980s, he has made over a dozen documentary miniseries for Creator/{{PBS}}, including ''The Civil War'' (1990), ''Baseball'' (1994), ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' (1998), ''Jazz'' (2001), ''The War'' (2007), ''The National Parks'' (2009), ''Prohibition'' (2011), ''The Dust Bowl'' (2012), and ''The Roosevelts'' (2014), and ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).

* ''Untitled 11th Inning Project'' (TBA): Ken Burns teased the possibility of making a new follow-up to ''Baseball'' if the Cubs were to win the World Series[[note]]which they did in 2016[[/note]].

[[caption-width-right:350:A portrait of the man just after having his head shaved[[note]]Not counting the time it took for him to watch one of his own films[[/note]]]]

* ''Country Music'' (2019)

Ken Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an influential {{documentary}} filmmaker known for his explorations of American history. Since the 1980s, he has made over a dozen documentary miniseries for Creator/{{PBS}}, including ''The Civil War'' (1990), ''Baseball'' (1994), ''Frank Lloyd Wright'' (1998), ''Jazz'' (2001), ''The War'' (2007), ''The National Parks'' (2009), ''Prohibition'' (2011), ''The Dust Bowl'' (2012), and ''The Roosevelts'' (2014), and ''The Vietnam War'' (2017).

His documentaries are known for their unique style. He uses the technique known as TheKenBurnsEffect, made famous in ''The Civil War''. (Burns has gone on the record stating that he didn't invent The Ken Burns Effect, crediting Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada documentary ''City of Gold'' as his inspiration). Burns also uses distinct musical scores, such as the upbeat string arrangements of ''The War'' or the song "Ashokan Farewell", which was played over twenty times for ''The Civil War''. His films are able to attract some ''very'' esteemed actors to do voice over work, usually reading contemporary diaries and letters (''The Civil War'' featured Creator/MorganFreeman, Creator/LaurenceFishburne, and Creator/JeremyIrons, among others). Another trademark is that a character will usually say their name and the year they wrote their thoughts. Burns has become well-known in the documentary world as a result, and many other filmmakers have emulated his style.

* ''Series/TheCivilWar'' (1990): Burns' first miniseries-style doc, covering the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar in exhausting, often gruesome detail. A huge success that earned was was then the highest Nielsen ratings in PBS history.

* ''Country Music'' (2018)
* ''Ernest Hemingway'' (2019)

* ''The Civil War'' (1990): Burns' first miniseries-style doc, covering the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar in exhausting, often gruesome detail. A huge success that earned was was then the highest Nielsen ratings in PBS history.

* ''Baseball'' (1994): His second miniseries-doc, exploring the history of Baseball from its origins to the early 1990s.

* ''Jazz'' (2001): A (limited) history of Jazz music.

* ''The War'' (2007): A history of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII that was criticized for its intentionally limited scope (focusing on the American role in the war, and more specifically on four small-to-midsize American towns/cities).

* ''Series/TheVietnamWar'' (2017): DarkerAndEdgier, not to mention BloodierAndGorier, than his other wartime documentaries, this miniseries chronicles UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar in detail than in even more excruciating than that shown in ''The Civil War'' and ''The War''.