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Ken Burns

Ken Burns

Director, producer, writer, actor and cinematographer · Born July 29, 1953 (73) · Brooklyn, New York, USA

5 Primetime Emmys · Oscar nominee · BAFTA Award nominee · 6 other major award bodies

Ken Burns (born 1953) is a highly celebrated American documentarian who gradually amassed a considerable reputation and a devoted audience with a series of reassuringly traditional meditations on Americana. Burns' works are treasure troves of archival materials; he skillfully utilizes period music and footage, photographs, periodicals and ordinary people's correspondence, the latter often movingly read by seasoned professional actors in a deliberate attempt to get away from a "Great Man" approach to history. Like most non-fiction filmmakers, Burns wears many hats on his projects, often serving as writer, cinematographer, editor and music director in addition to producing and directing. He achieved his apotheosis with The Civil War (1990), a phenomenally popular 11-hour documentary that won two Emmys and broke all previous ratings records for public TV. The series' companion coffee table book--priced at a hefty $50--sold more than 700,000 copies. The audio version, narrated by Burns, was also a major best-seller. In the final accounting, "The Civil War" became the first documentary to gross over $100 million. Not surprisingly, it has become perennial fund-raising programming for public TV stations around the country. Burns arrived upon the scene with the Oscar-nominated Brooklyn Bridge (1981), a nostalgic chronicle of the construction of the fabled edifice. The film was more widely seen when rebroadcast on PBS the following year. Though Burns has made other nonfiction films for theatrical release, notably an acclaimed and ambiguous portrait of Depression-era Louisiana governor Huey Long (1985), PBS would prove to be his true home. He cast a probing eye on such American subjects as The Statue of Liberty (1985), The Congress (1988) (PBS), painter Thomas Hart Benton (1988) (PBS) and early radio with Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991) (PBS). Burns returned to long-form documentary with his most ambitious project to date, an 18-hour history of Baseball (1994), which aired on PBS in the fall of 1994. He approached the national pastime as a template for understanding changes in modern American society. Ironically, this was the only baseball on the air at the time, as the players and owners were embroiled in a bitter strike.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 29, 1953 (73)
From
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Works as
Director, producer, writer, actor and cinematographer
Titles
41 on MovieCove · 64 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 31% in 30 days

What are Ken Burns' films like?

Across their 37 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
27%
Self
23%
Power
16%
Ideas
14%
Morality
10%
Survival
9%
Bonds
2%
Community11 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy12 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose9 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt6 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice7 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom7 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 16 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 8 · Serious 5 · Dark 3

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 14 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 10 · Charged 3 · Intense 3

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 12 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 12 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 15 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
29
Hopeful
16
Warm
11
Melancholic
11
Tense
6
Other
19

How their films linger

Thought-provoking22 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful17 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet24
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous7
  • Cyclical1
  • Other1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ken Burns' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 38 of their 41 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ken Burns' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

64 credits, 41 with a MovieCove page; 31 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Henry David Thoreau (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Producer

  • Henry David Thoreau (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Creator · Producer · Writer

  • The American Revolution(2025)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Creator · Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Leonardo da Vinci(2024)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows

  • Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories(2024)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Homecoming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Executive Producer

  • The American Buffalo(2023)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • The U.S. and the Holocaust(2022)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Creator · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness(2022)

    Show 2 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Benjamin Franklin(2022)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Muhammad Ali(2021)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • De la poussière et des hommes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Show 4 episodes · Director

  • Hemingway(2021)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Ken Burns Presents: The Gene(2020)

    Show 2 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

  • East Lake Meadows: A Public Housing Story(2020)

    Executive Producer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • College Behind Bars(2019)

    Show 4 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Country Music(2019)

    Show 8 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • The Mayo Clinic, Faith, Hope and Science(2018)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Walden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Executive Producer

  • The Vietnam War(2017)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War(2016)

    Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Jackie Robinson(2016)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Difficult People(2015)

    Show 1 episode · as Ken Burns

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows

  • Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 3 episodes · Producer

  • Interstellar(2014)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Roosevelts: An Intimate History(2014)

    Show 7 episodes · Director · Creator · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • The Address(2014)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Yosemite — A Gathering of Spirit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Cinematographer · Executive Producer · as Narrator (Voice)

  • After the Central Park Five (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Writer

  • The Dust Bowl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

  • The Mindy Project(2012)

    Show 1 episode · as Ken Burns

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • The Central Park Five(2012)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Prohibition(2011)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Baseball: The Tenth Inning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Writer

  • Baseball: The Tenth Inning (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · Creator · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

  • Seeing, Searching, Being: William Segal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • A Hall for Heroes: The Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction of 1939 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Actor

  • The National Parks: America's Best Idea(2009)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Medal of Honor(2008)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The War(2007)

    Show 7 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • The Tim McCarver Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

  • Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip(2003)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Mark Twain(2001)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Mark Twain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • Jazz(2001)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony(1999)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows

  • Frank Lloyd Wright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

  • Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Producer

  • Thomas Jefferson(1997)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · Creator · Producer

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows

  • The West(1996)

    Show 9 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • Baseball(1994)

    Show 9 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director · Cinematographer · Executive Producer · Music Director · Producer

  • Lindbergh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Producer

  • The Civil War(1990)

    Show 9 episodes · Director · Cinematographer · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Simpsons(1989)

    Show 2 episodes · as Ken Burns (voice)

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows

  • Thomas Hart Benton(1989)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • The Congress(1989)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Statue of Liberty(1985)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Huey Long(1985)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

  • This Week (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Brooklyn Bridge(1981)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 64 titles from 1981 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Central Park Five (2012)

$326K worldwide

Highest rated

The War (2007)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

The American Revolution (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting9 of 64: 8 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting45 of 64: 8 only directing, 37 with another role · typical Midcredits score94thWriting10 of 64: 0 only writing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score97thProducing42 of 64: 10 only producing, 32 with another role · typical Midcredits score94thCinematography9 of 64: 0 only cinematography, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score95thOther crew10 of 64: 1 only other crew, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score95th

64 titles, 37 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 32 of them.

By decade

1980s8 · 2 acting · 6 crew1990s9 · crew2000s9 · 1 acting · 8 crew2010s23 · 5 acting · 19 crew2020s15 · 1 acting · 14 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

5 Primetime Emmys and 4 other major awards from 35 major nominations, 1982–2026.

WinNomination
  1. 2026
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
  2. 2023
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
  3. 2018
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best International
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
  4. 2015
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated ×2 · Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
  5. 2013
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Documentary Screenplay
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Documentary
  6. 2010
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Nonfiction Series
  7. 2008
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
  8. 2005
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Nonfiction Special
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming
Show 7 earlier years
  1. 2001
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Non-Fiction Series
  2. 1998
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
    • Producers Guild Award, won · Television
  3. 1995
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Informational Series
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
      • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album
  4. 1992
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Informational Special
    • +1 other major body · 2 wins
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album
      • Grammy Award, won · Best Traditional Folk Album
  5. 1991
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Individual - Informational Programming
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Informational Series
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Producers Guild Award, won · Outstanding Producer of Television
  6. 1986
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary, Features
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Informational Special
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary
  7. 1982
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary, Features

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Ken Burns' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 87th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 16 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Approval · how many liked their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Reach · how many have seen their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 16

Midcredits score across 41 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up36
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

19 of their 41 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved16
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser19
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Ken Burns: One Nation, Many Stories (2024)

95th percentile spread · 40% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

The War (2007)

Midcredits 99th · 93% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 76/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Ken Burns work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ken Burns' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Buddy Squires shares the most, 24.

Directors

Writers

Actors

  • Adam Arkin7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Adam Arkin
  • Tom Hanks7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Tom Hanks
  • Carolyn McCormick7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Carolyn McCormick
  • Josh Lucas7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Josh Lucas

Composers, cinematographers and editors

  • Buddy Squires24 titles · 23 as cinematographer    See newest 12 of 24 shared titles with Buddy Squires
  • Erik Ewers9 titles    See all 9 shared titles with Erik Ewers
  • Allen Moore7 titles    See all 7 shared titles with Allen Moore
  • David Cieri6 titles    See all 6 shared titles with David Cieri

Producers

Mixed roles