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Ken Burns is now considered not just a documentarian; he represents an institution, a one-man industrial complex. When he has project arriving on the small screen, everybody wants a part of him.

The filmmaker completed “countless podcast appearances”, he notes, wrapping up of his marathon promotional journey comprising four dozen cities, dozens of preview events and innumerable conversations. “With podcasts numbering in the hundreds of millions, I feel I’ve participated in a substantial portion.”

Thankfully Burns possesses boundless energy, equally articulate in interviews as he is prolific in the editing room. The 72-year-old has gone everywhere from prestigious venues to popular podcasts to discuss his latest monumental work: his Revolutionary War documentary, an extensive six-episode, twelve-hour film project that occupied the past decade of his life and arrived this week on PBS.

Defiantly Traditional Approach

Similar to traditional cooking amidst instant gratification culture, this documentary series proudly conventional, evoking memories of historical documentary classics than the era of streaming docs new media formats.

For the documentarian, whose professional life chronicling strands of US history covering diverse cultural topics, its origin story represents more than another topic but fundamental. “As I mentioned to directing partner Sarah Botstein the other day, and she agreed: no future work will carry greater importance,” Burns contemplates from his New York base.

Comprehensive Scholarly Work

Burns, co-directors Botstein and David Schmidt along with writer Geoffrey Ward utilized thousands of books plus archival documents. Dozens of historians, representing diverse viewpoints, offered expert analysis in conjunction with distinguished researchers representing multiple disciplines including slavery, indigenous peoples’ narratives and imperial studies.

Distinctive Filmmaking Approach

The documentary’s methodology will appear similar to devotees of The Civil War. The characteristic technique incorporated methodical photographic exploration through archival photographs, generous use of period music with performers interpreting primary sources.

That was the moment the filmmaker cemented his status; decades afterwards, now the doyen of documentaries, he can apparently summon any actor he chooses. Participating with Burns during a recent appearance, renowned playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda noted: “A call from Ken Burns commands immediate acceptance.”

Remarkable Ensemble

The extended filming period provided advantages regarding scheduling. Sessions happened at professional facilities, at historical sites using online technology, a tool embraced throughout the health crisis. The director describes working with Josh Brolin, who made time in Atlanta to perform his role portraying the founding father before flying off to other professional obligations.

The cast includes numerous acclaimed actors, Jeff Daniels, Morgan Freeman, Paul Giamatti, diverse creative professionals, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, celebrated film and stage performers, Damian Lewis, Laura Linney, Tobias Menzies, skilled dramatic performers, television and film stars, and many others.

Burns emphasizes: “Truly, this might be the most exceptional group gathered for any production. Their work is exceptional. Their celebrity status wasn’t the criteria. I got so angry when somebody said, about the prominent cast. I responded, ‘These are performers.’ They’re the finest actors in the world and they animate historical material.”

Nuanced Narrative

Still, the absence of living witnesses, photography and newsreels forced Burns and his team to depend substantially on historical documents, weaving together the first-person voices of multiple revolutionary participants. This allowed them to show spectators beyond the prominent leaders of the revolution plus numerous additional essential to the narrative, many of whom never even had a portrait painted.

Burns also indulged his particular enthusiasm for territorial understanding. “Maps fascinate me,” he notes, “and there are more maps in this project compared to previous works across my complete filmography.”

Global Significance

The production crew recorded at nearly a hundred historical locations across North America and in London to document environmental context and worked extensively with historical interpreters. These components unite to present a narrative more violent, complex and globally significant compared to standard education.

The documentary argues, transcended provincial conflict about property, revenue and governance. Rather, the series depicts a brutal conflict that eventually involved numerous countries and unexpectedly manifested termed “mankind’s greatest hopes”.

Civil War Reality

Initial complaints and protests aimed at the crown by American colonists throughout multiple disputatious regions soon descended into a vicious internal war, pitting family members against each other and creating local enmities. During the second installment, scholar Alan Taylor notes: “The main misapprehension concerning independence struggle is that it was something a unifying experience for colonists. This omits the fact that it was a civil war among Americans.”

Sophisticated Interpretation

For him, the independence account that “generally is overwhelmed by emotionalism and nostalgia and is incredibly superficial and insufficiently honors the historical reality, all contributors and the incredible violence of it.

It was, he contends, a movement that announced the revolutionary principle of the unalienable rights of people; a bloody domestic struggle, separating rebels and supporters; and a worldwide engagement, another installment in a sequence of wars between imperial nations for dominance in the New World.

Contingent Historical Events

Burns also wanted {to rediscover the