Mark Twain Documentary by Ken Burns - One of the BEST ever! Will make you laugh and cry!
Posted: April 2nd, 2014, 4:46 pm
Have any of you seen the documentary about Mark Twain by Ken Burns? It's almost four hours long and will bring tears to your eyes and a great deep appreciation and admiration for the great American writer and traveler, Mark Twain. I saw it a while ago and was awestruck. It is the BEST biographical documentary I've ever seen.
Ken Burns is an award winning documentary filmmaker of American history. His documentary on Mark Twain is an absolute must see for history fans. And it will touch you deeply. It shows Twain's innermost thoughts and the triumphs and tragedies of his life in a moving and profound way. It chronicles his many trips abroad too during his wanderlust years and also during his marriage.
I've never seen a biographical documentary as good as this one. It's like a masterpiece of art. You have to see all four hours of it to understand what I mean. The last hour will bring tears to your eyes. Tears of sympathy, admiration, and appreciation. You will feel like you personally knew the man after you've seen this.
The whole thing was up on YouTube. But it got taken down. I was about to post the links. Darn. But you can download it on Torrent. Or buy it on Amazon.com at a very cheap price. Here is the link to it on Amazon.com. As you can see, all the reviewers there felt the same way about it as I did.
Editorial Reviews
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
Fan reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece!, January 7, 2014
By robert ku
In less than 4 hours, Ken Burns was able to capture the heart and soul of an incredibly complex man. After watching this, I felt like I knew Mark Twain as if he was my favorite uncle!
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb biography, perhaps the best August 20, 2006
By Fitzgerald Fan
I have watched many biographies of American authors but none come close to this, NONE. My favorite author of all time is F. Scott Fitzgerald and not one of his many audio visual biographies can touch the completeness and depth that has been carefully devoted here to Twain. In the 3+ hours of this presentation I laughed outloud, and was moved to tears, outraged, entertained, and educated by this telling of Twain's life. There is no way it could be better or more complete and I defy any lover of Twain, or literature in general, to feel differently.
Go to your local library and borrow it first, once you see it, you will insist upon owning it...truly.
New York Times
"An original biographical tribute to Twain, an extravaganza of singing, acting, and dancing."
Here are a few clips from it on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27GqKm ... FE1C4C997F
Ken Burns is an award winning documentary filmmaker of American history. His documentary on Mark Twain is an absolute must see for history fans. And it will touch you deeply. It shows Twain's innermost thoughts and the triumphs and tragedies of his life in a moving and profound way. It chronicles his many trips abroad too during his wanderlust years and also during his marriage.
I've never seen a biographical documentary as good as this one. It's like a masterpiece of art. You have to see all four hours of it to understand what I mean. The last hour will bring tears to your eyes. Tears of sympathy, admiration, and appreciation. You will feel like you personally knew the man after you've seen this.
The whole thing was up on YouTube. But it got taken down. I was about to post the links. Darn. But you can download it on Torrent. Or buy it on Amazon.com at a very cheap price. Here is the link to it on Amazon.com. As you can see, all the reviewers there felt the same way about it as I did.
Editorial Reviews
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
Fan reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece!, January 7, 2014
By robert ku
In less than 4 hours, Ken Burns was able to capture the heart and soul of an incredibly complex man. After watching this, I felt like I knew Mark Twain as if he was my favorite uncle!
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb biography, perhaps the best August 20, 2006
By Fitzgerald Fan
I have watched many biographies of American authors but none come close to this, NONE. My favorite author of all time is F. Scott Fitzgerald and not one of his many audio visual biographies can touch the completeness and depth that has been carefully devoted here to Twain. In the 3+ hours of this presentation I laughed outloud, and was moved to tears, outraged, entertained, and educated by this telling of Twain's life. There is no way it could be better or more complete and I defy any lover of Twain, or literature in general, to feel differently.
Go to your local library and borrow it first, once you see it, you will insist upon owning it...truly.
New York Times
"An original biographical tribute to Twain, an extravaganza of singing, acting, and dancing."
Here are a few clips from it on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27GqKm ... FE1C4C997F