Filmmaker, storyteller Ken Burns--greatest film maker ever?

Luv2Run wrote:

So I am putting him up there with Lucas, Spielberg and anyone else you want to name.

Um, they're no Kubricks, Leones, Kurosawas, Lynches, etc. Hell, I'd put Errol Morris and Werner Herzog as better documentarians. I enjoy Burns's work immensely but don't get carried away.

I hate him. Zoom in and pan across still photographs while a narrator recites a dramatic quote from some historical figure. Repeat ad nauseam.

He's not. What he does is not really film-making in that it is not very cinematic. He could just as easily be a guy down at the Senior Center with a slide projector and a tape recorder. He hit upon a formula and stuck to it. That what he does is wildly popular does not negate this. McDonalds, Marlboro, Budweiser.

Maybe take an intro film class if you want to understand film-making.

The lesson from the series is that Ken Burns can apply his method to just about any subject, even if (as in the case of "Country Music") he really doesn't seem to love the subject at all. It's no accident that Kris Kristofferson, Rhodes Scholar, is given a gigantic (and undeserved) chunk of air time by the quintessential child of Hampshire College and northern academia. It's a condescending and superficial view of the (uncredited) Scotch Irish southerners who were and are at the core of country.

Bad Wigins wrote:

I hate him. Zoom in and pan across still photographs while a narrator recites a dramatic quote from some historical figure. Repeat ad nauseam.

+1

Tedious. Boring after 10 min.

Drunk Letsrun wrote:

Luv2Run wrote:

So I am putting him up there with Lucas, Spielberg and anyone else you want to name.

Um, they're no Kubricks, Leones, Kurosawas, Lynches, etc. Hell, I'd put Errol Morris and Werner Herzog as better documentarians. I enjoy Burns's work immensely but don't get carried away.

I have no opinion about Ken Burns, but I was surprised to see the names of Lucas and Spielberg in this discussion. I'm inclined to think of them as great popularizers of film, producing works with no rough edges and no unpleasant aftertaste, as comfortable and soothing as a warm bath followed by a dreamless sleep.

He's a great documentarian, a great storyteller. His civil war series was also outstanding.

Avocado's Number wrote:

Drunk Letsrun wrote:

Um, they're no Kubricks, Leones, Kurosawas, Lynches, etc. Hell, I'd put Errol Morris and Werner Herzog as better documentarians. I enjoy Burns's work immensely but don't get carried away.

I have no opinion about Ken Burns, but I was surprised to see the names of Lucas and Spielberg in this discussion. I'm inclined to think of them as great popularizers of film, producing works with no rough edges and no unpleasant aftertaste, as comfortable and soothing as a warm bath followed by a dreamless sleep.

Avocado, I usually agree with you but how can you say Spielberg's works have "no rough edges and no unpleasant aftertaste" when he has directed movies like Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and Amistad? I admit he has made plenty of sugary popcorn movies too (Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET)

I've seen Baseball, The War, and The Civil War about six times each. I love them.

notrump wrote:

The lesson from the series is that Ken Burns can apply his method to just about any subject, even if (as in the case of "Country Music") he really doesn't seem to love the subject at all. It's no accident that Kris Kristofferson, Rhodes Scholar, is given a gigantic (and undeserved) chunk of air time by the quintessential child of Hampshire College and northern academia. It's a condescending and superficial view of the (uncredited) Scotch Irish southerners who were and are at the core of country.

As a published songwriter, I must disagree. Kris Kristofferson gets the nod of appreciation from old-school, to middle-of-the-road and even new school as far as being one of the greatest songwriters ever. Maybe only Townes Van Zandt can try to be equalled. He made it through time, deuce and genius.

Devil Dog wrote:

I've seen Baseball, The War, and The Civil War about six times each. I love them.

That's...264 hours of TV...

I love how chronic anonymous running message board posters get all snooty about their personal tastes and biases. Sure, you must be right, you pathetic nobody.

I agree he was one of the greats. He had an art of making still photographs seem like videos.

His contributions to historical documentaries will be missed.

Abdoujaparov wrote:

Devil Dog wrote:

I've seen Baseball, The War, and The Civil War about six times each. I love them.

That's...264 hours of TV...

The average American watches 5 hours of TV per day

coach wrote:

He's a great documentarian..... .... a great storyteller. .... .... His civil war series was also .... ... outstanding.

- Abraham Lincoln

You're ignoring the GOAT: Leni Riefenstahl. Revolutionized the way we shoot film, sport...anything, really.

The only reason you responded is because you know who I am. Plus I did not put my taste out there, I only put my credentials which are indisputable. If you think I'm a nobody then why did you respond? My point was many of the song Riders 2 the tunes you listen to consider Kristofferson to be one of the greats. That was all. PS according to my staff, it is very easy to track IP addresses here and I'm pretty sure I know who you are. Stay alone with your political posts.

Yawn. wrote:

I love how chronic anonymous running message board posters get all snooty about their personal tastes and biases. Sure, you must be right, you pathetic nobody.

Hardloper wrote:

Abdoujaparov wrote:

That's...264 hours of TV...

The average American watches 5 hours of TV per day

I'm skewing that average to the high side. I'm watching MASH reruns now, that I've seen many times before, while eatin' Cheez-Its and drinkin PBRs. Gawd bless, Merica.

Moe's Tavern wrote:

according to my staff, it is very easy to track IP addresses here

Nothing resembling an IP address, or a url leading to a user's machine, appears anywhere in the page source for the thread listings, on threads themselves, or on reply and report pages.

You should ask your "staff" to tell you exactly how they're tracking IPs and inform the site so they can fix it.