Skip to content
MovieCove
Ric Burns

Ric Burns

Director, writer and producer · Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Ric Burns is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. He has written, directed and produced historical documentaries since the 1990s, beginning with his collaboration on the celebrated PBS series The Civil War, which he produced with his older brother Ken Burns and wrote with Geoffrey Ward.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

From
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 39 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 38 days to Oct 27Up 65% in 30 days

What are Ric Burns' films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
37%
Survival
18%
Self
13%
Power
13%
Morality
9%
Ideas
5%
Bonds
4%
Community3 titles, browse their movies with this themePrejudice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeWar2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 9 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 4 · Charged 5 · Intense 0

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

Steady 9 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 2 · 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 2 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 1

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

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
9
Melancholic
6
Hopeful
4
Elegiac
2
Tense
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Hopeful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous3
  • Cyclical1

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 Ric Burns' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ric 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

39 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Dante(2024)

    Show 2 episodes · Director · Creator · Writer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Oliver Sacks: His Own Life(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America(2020)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Made for Each Other: A History of the Bond Between Humans and Dogs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • The People of the Standing Stone: The Oneida Nation, The War for Independence, And The Making of America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • The Chinese Exclusion Act(2017)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • VA: The Human Cost of War(2017)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Mayflower Pilgrims: Behind The Myth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director · Writer

  • Aufbruch in die neue Welt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • The Pilgrims (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • American Ballet Theatre: A History (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Enquiring Minds: The Untold Story of the Man Behind the National Enquirer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Writer

  • Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq(2013)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Death and the Civil War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director

  • Nantucket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • The Loving Story(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Writer

  • We Shall Remain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Show 5 episodes · Director · Writer

  • Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director · Writer

  • Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

  • New York: The Center of the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Writer

  • Ansel Adams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • New York: A Documentary Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Concert for New York City(2001)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • New York: The City and the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director · Writer

  • New York: The City of Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • New York: A Documentary Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • New York: Sunshine and Shadow (1865–1898) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • New York: Order and Disorder (1825–1865) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • New York: A Documentary Film(1999)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Creator · Writer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • New York: The Country And The City (1609-1825) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director

  • New York Underground (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director

  • The Way West (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Donner Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Coney Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director · Producer

  • The Civil War(1990)

    Show 9 episodes · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Congress(1989)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • American Experience(1988)

    Show 43 episodes · Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

  • The Statue of Liberty(1985)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 34 titles from 1988 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (2019)

$194K worldwide

Highest rated

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (2019)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

The Civil War (1990)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing33 of 34: 16 only directing, 17 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thWriting15 of 34: 0 only writing, 15 with another roleProducing8 of 34: 1 only producing, 7 with another roleOther crew2 of 34: 0 only other crew, 2 with another role

34 titles, 17 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 15 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s10 · crew2000s9 · crew2010s11 · crew2020s3 · 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.

How do Ric Burns' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 89th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

34thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Divisive2
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director, writer, producer

The Concert for New York City (2001)

93rd percentile spread · 27% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

New York: A Documentary Film (1999)

Midcredits 99th · 93% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 72/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 7 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 Ric Burns work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ric Burns' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Buddy Squires shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles