Ken Burns America Collection



Synopsis

From its inception onward, here is the history of the Brooklyn Bridge, with special attentiongiven to the lives of the men whose dream this bridge was. As with Burns’ other documentaries,this is fascinating stuff, with great archival material, and some gorgeously evocative shots of thebridge.

Audio

The sound is mono, but stereo isn’t really necessary for this documentary. The main pointis whether or not the narration is clear, and it is. The accompa…
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The topic for this documentary are the Shakers, more properly the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.” The Shakers weren’t around that long: they were celibate, which meant no offspring. However, as the film explores, that didn’t stop them from having a profound impact on American life (they were, for instance, feminist and anti-slavery well ahead of the game).

Audio

A mono soundtrack. Though it might have been nice to hear the Shaker songs in stereo, the sound is still very clean, and without distortion.
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A history and a meditation on the American Congress, both at the institutional and at the architectural level — there are many beautiful shots of the Capitol, and the building becomes as much a character as any of the politicians who strode the stage within its walls. A fascinating documentary, enlivened not only with Burns’ usual fine use of period paintings and photographs,but also with film clips from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Advise and Consent.

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