Other Titles • New York: A Documentary Film (1999) • American Experience: New York - A Documentary Film
Synopses for New York: A Documentary Film (1999)
1.
If you're a fan of Ken Burns PBS documentaries such as The Civil War and Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, then you'll want to add New York, produced by Ken's brother Ric, to your collection. This exhaustively thorough documentary chronicles the evolution of the city from its time as a Dutch settlement in the early 17th century to its current status as megalopolis extraordinaire. Famous New Yorkers including Martin Scorsese, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Fran Lebowitz, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and former mayor Ed Koch lend their colorful local perspective. In addition, there's commentary by numerous historians and writers, most notably Pulitzer Prize-winning Mike Wallace (not of 60 Minutes fame, but rather author of Gotham) and the late Brendan Gill, who notes the distinctly capitalist foundation of the city. As he succinctly states, "New York was based upon greed." There's no mistaking that this is a Burns documentary; the story is told through the now-familiar mosaic of images, interviews, music, and narrative chronicling past events. However, there are noticeable differences in the two brothers' style. While Ken Burns tends to linger over his subject matter and personalize it, Ric is more focused on the task of recounting the events in chronological order. New York is also more upbeat, as it thankfully does not employ the tiresome, whining violin dirges of which brother Ken is so fond. You don't have to be a fan of New York City to enjoy this PBS production. You just have to enjoy the experience of discovering history through the popular Burns documentary style. --William Carr
2.
From the Back Cover In this eighth and final installment of New York: A Documentary Film, Ric Burns explores the history of the construction of the Twin Towers; how the city came to be the world's financial power house; the events that culminated with the attacks on September 11, 2001; and the aftermath and recovery of the city and her people. END
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