A new documentary on the American Revolution will soon shine a light on the events that launched a nation.
Filmmaker Ken Burns, renowned for long-form documentaries like The Civil War, Baseball, and The Vietnam War, received the Third Lantern Award on Thursday at Boston’s Old North Church, where Paul Revere began his famous midnight ride to warn Colonists the British were coming. Burns was invited to Boston, Lexington and Concord to talk about his new documentary ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War.
The six-part, 12-hour series has been a decade in the making. It will debut in November on PBS.
Burns says one of the biggest challenges was finding a way to tell the story visually. His other documentaries have relied on historic photos, news reels, and video, none of which existed in 1775.
“You have to... recalibrate and figure out how to tell a different kind of story that relies more heavily on graphics, on somebody’s signature, a letter, a broadside, a declaration,” Burns told Boston 25 News.
His team also turned to historic reenactments, like those held annually in Lexington and Concord to commemorate the start of the war.
“You’ve got this wonderful opportunity to work with people who are dedicated to their craft,” Burns said. “Rather than direct them... as if we were scripting it with a storyboard, we just went out and collected images.”
The documentary will include narration from well-known Hollywood celebrities and is about more than military conflict, Burns says. It’s a window into the great American experiment.
“American history is a loud, raucous, exquisite collection of noises,” he said. “They combine to make some of the most beautiful music I know.”
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