In 2021, I watched all 31 documentaries directed by filmmaker and holder of America's worst haircut Ken Burns, hundreds of hours devoted to telling the American story. Here, from best to worst, is my ranking of those 31 films:
1. The Vietnam War
An absolute masterpiece from beginning to end. Featuring
accounts from living veterans along with Burns’ traditional use of primary
sources, this doc is as emotional as it is informative, and a must-watch for
any student of American history. It’s no stretch to say this is Burns’ opus.
2. Baseball
The only surprise, I imagine, is that I didn’t rank this #1.
It’s a loving tribute to America’s pastime, and if it’s overly sentimental in
places, well, Brad Pitt said it best in Moneyball: “How can you not be
romantic about baseball?” The addition of the “10th Inning” episodes
in 2010 was unnecessary but fine.
3. Country Music
A riveting series on a genre of music about which I’m
shockingly ignorant. I loved this one so much that it inspired a New Year’s
resolution to listen to more country music in 2022.
4. The Address
This one was a big departure from the Ken Burns formula,
telling the story of a special needs school in New York in which students are
challenged to learn the Gettysburg Address before graduation. Normally you go
into a Ken Burns film knowing it may be a little dry; in this case, I was moved
to tears.
5. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
I have a soft spot for this one, which I’ve seen three times
now. Objectively, this film’s probably too long and too loosely focused. But
every time I hear that score, see those nature scenes, and hear actor Lee
Stetson’s Scottish brogue as he recites John Muir quotes, I’m transported.
6. The Central Park Five
More aggressive in style and activist in tone than the
typical Burns doc (this one was co-directed by Sarah Burns and David McMahon), it
is also one of the most striking. Telling the story of the infamous Central Park jogger rape and subsequent
arrest, trial, and conviction of five teenagers of color, it ends with a
mixture of tragedy and triumph as the convictions are vacated following a
prison confession by the actual rapist. Consider this a companion piece to Ava
DuVernay’s dramatic limited series When They See Us.
7. Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack
Johnson
Films like these are why I love Ken Burns docs: I went in
knowing a little about Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the
world, and left with more knowledge and a wider perspective on not only
Johnson, but sports, race, and America’s relationship with the two. A truly
excellent documentary from beginning to end.
8. Muhammad Ali
The most recent of his documentaries, this one did an
excellent job balancing Ali’s boxing prowess with his social impact. Anybody
interested in the Greatest—and who isn’t—will appreciate this one.
9. The Roosevelts
An examination of three American icons: Theodore, Franklin,
and Eleanor Roosevelt. It does an admirable job balancing time between the
three, though I would have loved more on Eleanor.
10. The Civil War
The 9-part classic that made Burns a household name, I have
to regretfully say that this one hasn’t aged well—too much whataboutism and too
little input from people of color give this film the unfortunate takeaway that
the war was caused by a failure to compromise instead of, you know, slavery.
Nevertheless, all the Ken Burns hallmarks that are now so familiar they are
borderline caricature—narration through the reading of letters, slow panning
over black and white photos, etc.—really get their start here, and if you watch
the whole film you’ll learn a lot, not just about the war but about the nation.
11. The War
The film warns you up front that World War II is too
sprawling a story to tell, so it does so through the lens of the war’s impact
on five different American towns. It makes for an intentionally narrow but
remarkably impactful way to chronicle the war. Parts of the war’s story get
missed along the way, but it was a risk worth taking.
12. Jackie Robinson
While the section dealing with Robinson’s career is largely
a retread of the sixth (and best) episode of Baseball, the part of this
documentary dealing with Robinson’s life post-baseball is fascinating and
largely untold.
13. Mark Twain
I was amazed by how much I enjoyed this one. I suppose it’s
a testament to Twain’s enduring appeal that, more than 100 years after his
death, Mark Twain can continue to entertain.
14. Prohibition
My biggest takeaway from this three-parter was that, while
Prohibition is now rightfully seen as a terrible constitutional experiment, it
was an understandable one. With surprising efficiency (Burns, much like Peter
Jackson, is not known for his willingness to make cuts), Burns tells the story
of alcohol become a scourge in American life, how activists managed to enact a
constitutional amendment, and how within years it became a laughingstock. Worth
a watch for anyone who, like me, didn’t know much about the subject matter
going in.
15. Thomas Jefferson
One of Burns’ better biographical films, owing partly to the
fascinating subject matter. This one is definitely a paint-by-numbers
educational doc, but I didn’t mind so much thanks to all the interesting
tidbits I picked up about this Founding Father. Bonus points to Burns for spending
time talking about Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemmings, still a
controversial topic in 1997.
16. Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of
Discovery
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film,
one of the ones I was least looking forward to when I began this project.
Burns’ account of the Corps of Discovery’s quest to map out the uncharted land
acquired in the Louisiana Purchase is revelatory and even thrilling at times.
17. Jazz
Look, I really wanted to like this. But jazz is one of those
things that I admire more than I enjoy, and 19 hours is a lot of time to spend
learning about something you don’t truly love. Also, this needed more talking
heads…Wynton Marsalis was great, but the amount of screen time he was given
made it seem like Burns just didn’t know that many jazz musicians.
18. Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady
Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
Burns’ account of the women’s suffrage movement
understandably focuses in on its two most famous leaders, but one can’t help
but wonder what parts of the movement’s story were lost because of that
decision. Nevertheless, is biography always more interesting than straight
history, and I learned a lot about a subject we don’t discuss nearly enough.
19. Hemingway
A by-the-numbers biographical doc of arguably America’s most
famous writer. I enjoyed it and learned a lot, but I can’t say Burns took any
risks with this one.
20. Frank Lloyd Wright
Aided greatly by panning shot after panning shot of Wright’s
most famous architectural feats, this is one of the docs from which I learned
the most, owing both to my lack of knowledge going in and Burns’ storytelling.
Definitely a film you need to watch, not just listen to while doing other things,
it’s an interesting account of an interesting man.
21. The Shakers
Best known for their hand-crafted furniture, the Shakers get
the Ken Burns treatment here in his second offering for PBS. Not the most
compelling subject, and Burns’ style is still in its
for-educational-purposes-only stage, but I enjoyed this one nevertheless.
22. Huey Long
A compelling if cursory account of an American political
legend. The film’s highlight is definitely the filmed accounts of some veeeeery
Cajun Louisianians telling about their encounters with Long.
23. The Congress
An ode to a broken branch of government, this documentary
probably worked a lot better when it debuted in 1988 than it does today. Its
focus on the history of Congress is good educational TV; its attempts to
inspire fall on deaf ears in the 21st century.
24. The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl is one of those national tragedies I’ve never
been able to get interested in. This documentary, I’m sorry to say, did not
change that. Someday a gifted storyteller will manage to rouse me with stories
of poverty-stricken Okies…but Ken Burns, it turns out, was not that
storyteller. Your move, John Steinbeck.
25. Thomas Hart Benton
I knew literally nothing about Benton, the iconoclastic
painter of the American experience, before seeing this film. By the time it was
over, I knew more but cared about the same amount. Not Burns’ most compelling
work.
26. Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip
A departure from the normal Burns oeuvre of big subjects and
historical personalities, this film tells the story of a cross-country
automobile road trip, the first of its kind, undertaken in 1903. I wanted to
like this more than I did, and I’m not sure there was ultimately enough “there”
there to warrant a 2-hour documentary.
27. Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War
Burns’ answer to Schindler’s List, this tells the
story of one couple’s efforts to help refugees escape Nazi-occupied Europe. Not
really my cup of tea, it will likely have appeal to fans of the History Channel
and its inexhaustible appetite for WWII material.
28. The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science
A different format from the typical Burns doc, this feels
more like a promotional movie than an educational or entertainment film.
Nevertheless, it’s a professionally made, informative look at the history and
impact of an American institution.
29. Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
Burns does some interesting things stylistically here—there
are lots of times he’ll just play staticky radio with hardly any images—but at
the end of the day, this 1992 offering feels like a relic of the pre-Internet
days when radio was still a relevant force in American life.
30. The Statue of Liberty
Better than The Brooklyn Bridge by a hair, but
suffers from the exact same issues. Treacly when it lingers on the symbolic
nature of the statue and dull when it focuses on the history of its
construction, this doc is a snoozer.
31. Brooklyn Bridge
His first documentary for PBS, and it shows. He’s still working out the kinks in his style, it’s very dated, and, well, it’s about a bridge. A bridge. If you’re an engineer, maybe you’d be into this. I very much was not.
