Mark Twain - A Film Directed by Ken Burns
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780780637153
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
ISBN: 0780637151
Label: Pbs Home Video
Manufacturer: Pbs Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Pbs Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: January 08, 2002
Running Time: 225 minutes
Sales Rank: 60225
Studio: Pbs Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: January 14, 2002
Related Items:
- Mark Twain Tonight
- Thomas Jefferson - A Film by Ken Burns
- Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
- The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
- The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain: A Book of Quotations (Dover Thrift Editions)
- see more
Editorial Review:
Description:
He was considered, in his time, to be the funniest man on Earth. Mark Twain is the fifth film in Ken Burns's popular American Lives series and features interviews with Hal Holbrook, Arthur Miller and leading Twain scholars.
A popular humorist, philosopher and social satirist, Mark Twain was the well-known nom-de-plume of writer Samuel Clemens, the nation's first literary celebrity. One of the most quoted men of his time, he was born in 1835, the year Haley's Comet passed over, and vowed that he would not die until he saw the famous comet. He died in 1910 -- the day after the comet's return. Tracing Twain's rise from his humble birth in Missouri to his prosperous life in Connecticut as the nation's best-selling author, Mark Twain reveals a compelling portrait of the father of American literature.
Nearly three years in the making and drawing from 63 hours of material, thousands of archival photographs and nearly 20 interviews with top writers and Twain scholars, Mark Twain is the story of an extraordinary life-one full of rollicking adventure, stupendous success and crushing defeat, hilarious comedy and unbearable tragedy. Told primarily through the words of Twain himself and narrated by Keith David (the voice of Jazz), viewers of all ages will be personally introduced to this compelling yet contradictory genius, who said with some justification, 'I am not an American, I am the American.'
The DVD-18 edition of Mark Twain contains interview outtakes, twelve great Twain quotes and photographs, a 'Making of' interview with Ken Burns and the short documentaries Ken Burns: Making History and A Conversation with Ken Burns.
Amazon.com:
Given the legendary life of its subject, it's not surprising that Mark Twain is perhaps the most entertaining documentary Ken Burns has made. The creator of The Civil War and Jazz achieves reverent harmony with the magnificent story of Missouri-born author Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), encompassing legend and fact with an exhilarating sense of adventure. Hailed by Hemingway as the originator of American literature, Twain (a nom de plume taken from a riverboat pilot's term for 'safe waters') viewed himself as the American. Burns's film backs that claim as it follows Clemens's literary odyssey around the globe, from unrivaled acclaim as a writer to near destitution and the devastating deaths of his wife and three children. As usual, eloquent writers and scholars (including longtime Twain performer Hal Holbrook) provide a wondrous flow of anecdotes and observations, recounting Twain's remarkable humor while acknowledging a darker side that felt anger toward an indifferent god. Like all of Burns's films, Mark Twain is must-see viewing. --Jeff Shannon
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- Beautifully done biographyThis is a fantastic biographical film about Mark Twain, really Samuel Clemens. It covers everything ... Read More
Rating:
- Ken Burns does his bit for Mark TwainIf you've seen anything by Ken Burns, you know his formula, and you will not see anything different ... Read More
Rating:
- Mark Twain - A Film Directed by Ken BurnsKen Burns is a great film maker. As a history buff I found this very interesting.
Rating:
- American Original"I am not an American I am THE American." Ken Burns and Company go about demonstrating, through this ... Read More
Rating:
- Burns' BestAt least as good as Burns' other, more heralded works, the concision and love with which Twain's life ... Read More
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