The West (miniseries)

Last updated
The West
KenBurnsPresentsTheWest.jpg
DVD cover for The West
Also known asKen Burns Presents: The West
Genre Documentary
Written by Dayton Duncan
Geoffrey Ward
Directed by Stephen Ives
Voices of Adam Arkin
Matthew Broderick
Keith Carradine
John Lithgow
Gary Sinise
Jimmy Smits
Eli Wallach
Narrated by Peter Coyote
Theme music composerMatthias Gohl
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producer Ken Burns
ProducersStephen Ives
Jody Abramson
Michael Kantor
Running time12 hours (8 episodes)
Production companies Insignia Films
Florentine Films
WETA-TV
Time-Life Video and Television
Original release
Network PBS
ReleaseSeptember 15 (1996-09-15) –
September 22, 1996 (1996-09-22)

The West, sometimes marketed as Ken Burns Presents: The West, is a 1996 television documentary miniseries about the American Old West. It was directed by Stephen Ives and featured Ken Burns as executive producer. It was first broadcast on PBS on eight consecutive nights from September 15 to 22, 1996.

Contents

Production

Stephen Ives and Ken Burns had worked together on several previous series, including The Civil War (1990) and Baseball (1994). [1] In 1988, Ives created his own production company, Insignia Films, and began working on The West as director, with Burns signed on to the project as executive producer. [1] In order to create The West, the film crew traveled over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) via airplane, conducted 72 interviews, visited 74 archives and collections, and filmed more than 250 hours of footage. [2] Research consultants included Peter E. Palmquist, independent research expert on photographs of the period. The film's production was funded by General Motors. [3]

Notable interviewees included historians Stephen Ambrose, J. S. Holliday, and Richard White; novelists Maxine Hong Kingston and N. Scott Momaday; environmentalists and writers Terry Tempest Williams and Marc Reisner; and politicians Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Ann Richards, Stewart Udall, and Ralph Yarborough. [4]

Many notable actors lent their voices to The West, including Adam Arkin, Matthew Broderick, Ossie Davis, Keith Carradine, John Lithgow, Mary Stuart Masterson, Blythe Danner, the famous playwright Arthur Miller, Jimmy Smits, and Eli Wallach. The film's narrator, Peter Coyote, would later narrate ten more documentary films directed or produced by Burns, including The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009), Prohibition (2011), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014), The Vietnam War (2017), The Mayo Clinic: Faith--Hope--Science (2018), and Country Music (2019).

Original airing

The West premiered on September 15, 1996, on PBS. The series was split into episodes, with one episode being aired each night for eight consecutive nights. Episodes were cut to about 90 minutes each in length, for a total length of over 12 hours for the entire series. The final episode aired on September 22, 1996. [5]

Episodes

No.EpisodeOriginal air date
1"The People" (to 1806)September 15, 1996 (1996-09-15)
  1. The West
  2. Episode 1 – The People (to 1806)
  3. The Vision
  4. The Vast West – The Spaniards
  5. Thunder Rolling from the Mountains
  6. The Horse – Dog Soldiers
  7. Tribal War
  8. California
  9. The Corps of Discovery
  10. The Outsiders
2"Empire Upon the Trails" (1806–1848)September 16, 1996 (1996-09-16)
  1. Americans want America
  2. Episode 2 – Empire Upon the Trails (1806–1848)
  3. The Heart of Everything
  4. Tejas – Texas
  5. The Alamo
  6. In the Midst of Savage Darkness
  7. The Barren Rock
  8. The Mormons
  9. Westward I go Free
  10. What a Country this Might be
  11. So we Die
  12. The American Flag
3"Speck of the Future" (1848–1856)September 17, 1996 (1996-09-17)
  1. Discovery
  2. The Gold Rush
  3. Episode 3 – Speck of the Future (1848–1856)
  4. My Share of the Rocks
  5. The Real Danger – Cholera
  6. Kit Carson
  7. Stay at Home
  8. The Diggings
  9. Wine, Women and Song
  10. The Right of Conquest
  11. Emporium of the Pacific
  12. The Red Indian Problem
  13. Days of '49
4"Death Runs Riot" (1856–1868)September 18, 1996 (1996-09-18)
  1. War on the Horizon
  2. Episode 4 – Death Runs Riot (1856–1868)
  3. Mountain Meadows Massacre
  4. The Mexicans
  5. This Guilty Land – Civil War
  6. Anarchy
  7. Preachers and Jackass Rabbits
  8. Who is the Savage?
  9. The Everywhere Spirit
  10. General George Custer
5"The Grandest Enterprise Under God" (1868–1874)September 19, 1996 (1996-09-19)
  1. The Railroad
  2. Episode 5 – The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868–1874)
  3. The Buffalo
  4. The Artillery of Heaven
  5. The Spotted Cows
  6. One People
  7. Frank H. Mayer
  8. Good Company
  9. Cowboys
  10. A Wound in the Heart
6"Fight No More Forever" (1874–1877)September 20, 1996 (1996-09-20)
  1. Red Indians Fight Back
  2. Episode 6 – Fight No More Forever (1874–1877)
  3. General George Custer
  4. Sitting Bull
  5. Hard Times
  6. A Good Day to Die – Custer's Last Stand
  7. Disbelief and Revenge
  8. Center my Heart – Mormon Sacrifice
  9. Good Words – Chief Joseph
  10. Surrender
7"The Geography of Hope" (1877–1887)September 21, 1996 (1996-09-21)
  1. Conquest of The West?
  2. Episode 7 – The Geography of Hope (1877–1887)
  3. The Hunger for Land
  4. A Hard Time I Have
  5. The Chinese Problem
  6. The Romance of my Life
  7. Los Angeles
  8. The Brothel of the Nation
  9. Friends of the Indian
  10. Hell Without the Heat
  11. Buffalo Bill Cody
8"One Sky Above Us" (1887–1914)September 22, 1996 (1996-09-22)
  • Part 1
  1. A Part on the Back
  2. Episode 8 – One Sky Above Us (1887–1914)
  3. The Outcome of our Earnest Endeavours
  4. Ghost Dance
  5. P.S. I Like You Very Much
  • Part 2
  1. Without Logic
  2. Go North Young Man
  3. This isn't History
  4. Buffalo Bird Woman
  5. Will Never Leave You
  6. The Gift

Home video release

When The West was released on VHS, the finale episode, "One Sky Above Us," was divided into two one-hour episodes, titled "Ghost Dance" and "One Sky Above Us." This VHS edition was released September 24, 1996. PBS later released a five-disc DVD set of The West on September 30, 2003. [6]

Reception

The West was well received by both popular audiences and historians. Over 38 million viewers watched the series during its original airing, [1] and it earned an average national Nielsen rating of 5.0. [7] In 1997, the Organization of American Historians awarded The West its Erik Barnouw Award. [8]

Film and television critics also responded positively to The West. Caryn James of The New York Times praised the series for its "enthralling detail" and authenticity, calling it "fiercely and brilliantly rooted in fact." [9] Richard Zoglin of TIME judged the series "a sweeping, thoughtful, often moving look at America's conquest of the West", [10] and Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times wrote that, "director Stephen Ives succeeds magnificently, delivering a lush work at once fully documented and fully entertaining... no one could ask for better television." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Burns</span> American documentarian and filmmaker (born 1953)

Kenneth Lauren Burns is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the National Endowment for the Humanities and distributed by PBS.

<i>The Civil War</i> (miniseries) 1990 documentary film series by Ken Burns

The Civil War is a 1990 American television documentary miniseries created by Ken Burns about the American Civil War. It was the first broadcast to air on PBS for five consecutive nights, from September 23 to 27, 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Coyote</span> American actor, voice actor, and director

Peter Coyote is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator of films, theater, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films, such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Cross Creek (1983), Jagged Edge (1985), Bitter Moon (1992), Kika (1993), Patch Adams (1998), Erin Brockovich (2000), A Walk to Remember (2002), and Femme Fatale (2002).

New York: A Documentary Film is an eight-part, 17½ hour, American documentary film on the history of New York City. It was directed by Ric Burns and originally aired in the U.S. on PBS. The film was a production of Steeplechase Films in association with WGBH Boston, Thirteen/WNET, and The New-York Historical Society.

<i>Baseball</i> (TV series) 1994 American television documentary miniseries

Baseball is a 1994 American television documentary miniseries created by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns about the history of the sport of baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey C. Ward</span> American writer and historian

Geoffrey Champion Ward is an American editor, author, historian and writer of scripts for American history documentaries for public television. He is the author or co-author of 19 books, including 10 companion books to the documentaries he has written. He is the winner of seven Emmy Awards.

Jazz is a 2001 television documentary miniseries directed by Ken Burns. It was broadcast on PBS in 2001 and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Its chronological and thematic episodes provided a history of jazz, emphasizing innovative composers and musicians and American history.

<i>The War</i> (miniseries) American television documentary miniseries

The War is a seven-part American television documentary miniseries about World War II from the perspective of the United States. The program was directed by American filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, written by Geoffrey Ward, and narrated primarily by Keith David. It premiered on September 23, 2007. The world premiere of the series took place at the Palace Theater in Luverne, Minnesota, one of the towns featured in the documentary. It was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

<i>Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio</i> 1992 American film

Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio is a non-fiction book by Tom Lewis, which traces the early development of radio broadcasting in the United States, published by HarperCollins in 1991. The book was adapted into both a 1992 documentary film by Ken Burns and a 1992 radio drama written and directed by David Ossman. The source of the title is from a quote by Lee de Forest.

<i>The National Parks: Americas Best Idea</i> 2009 television documentary miniseries by Ken Burns

The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a 2009 television documentary miniseries by director/producer Ken Burns and producer/writer Dayton Duncan which features the United States National Park system and traces the system's history. The series won two 2010 Emmy Awards; one for Outstanding Nonfiction Series and one for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming in Episode 2 "The Last Refuge". A companion book (ISBN 978-0307268969) was released alongside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayton Duncan</span> American screenwriter

Dayton Duncan is an American screenwriter, producer and former political aide.

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery is a 1997 television documentary miniseries about the Lewis and Clark Expedition directed and co-produced by Ken Burns. It is produced by Burns' Florentine Films for Washington, DC PBS station WETA-TV, first aired on PBS on November 4 and 5, 1997.

Stephen Ives is an American documentary film director and original founder of Insignia Films. Among his productions are The West (1996), Reporting America at War (2003), Roads to Memphis (2010), and Grand Coulee Dam (2012), and the four-part series Constitution USA (2013) which aired on PBS in the summer of 2013. PBS broadcast his most recent aired work, The Great War, in three parts (2017).

The Dust Bowl is a 2012 American television documentary miniseries directed by Ken Burns which aired on PBS on November 18 and 19, 2012. The two-part miniseries recounts the impact of the Dust Bowl on the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

<i>The Roosevelts</i> (miniseries) 2014 television film

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History is a 2014 American documentary television miniseries directed and produced by Ken Burns. It covers the lives and times of the three most prominent members of the Roosevelt family, Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican and the 26th President of the United States; Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, the 32nd President of the United States, and fifth cousin of Theodore; and Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, a niece of Theodore, and wife of Franklin. As a result of the influence of Theodore and Franklin as Presidents, as well as Eleanor as First Lady, a modern democratic state of equal opportunity was begun in the United States. The series begins with the birth of Theodore in 1858 and ends with the death of Eleanor in 1962.

<i>The Vietnam War</i> (TV series) 2017 documentary television series

The Vietnam War is a 10-part American television documentary series about the Vietnam War produced and directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, written by Geoffrey C. Ward, and narrated by Peter Coyote. The first episode premiered on PBS on September 17, 2017. This series is one of the few PBS series to carry a TV-MA rating.

<i>Country Music</i> (miniseries) American documentary television series

Country Music is a documentary miniseries created and directed by Ken Burns and written by Dayton Duncan that premiered on PBS on September 15, 2019. The eight-part series chronicles the history and prominence of country music in American culture.

<i>Benjamin Franklin</i> (film) 2022 American film

Benjamin Franklin is a 2022 two-part American documentary film directed and produced by Ken Burns that first aired on PBS on April 4 and 5, 2022. The film chronicles the life of Benjamin Franklin, a polymath and Founding Father of the United States. The film is narrated by Peter Coyote and Mandy Patinkin stars as the voice of Franklin. Other voice actors starring in the film include Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson, and Paul Giamatti; Giamatti reprises his role as John Adams from the eponymous HBO miniseries.

<i>The U.S. and the Holocaust</i> American documentary television series

The U.S. and the Holocaust is a 2022 three-part documentary miniseries about the United States' response to the Holocaust. The series was directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein, and was written by frequent Burns collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Stephen Ives". Insignia Films. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  2. ↑ "New Perspectives on THE WEST". The West. WETA-TV. 2001. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  3. ↑ "A Message From the Sponsor". PBS. 2001.
  4. ↑ "Commentators and Consultants". The West. WETA-TV. 2001. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  5. ↑ "Episodes". The West. WETA-TV. 2001. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  6. ↑ "Ken Burns' America: The West". VideoETA. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  7. ↑ Rankin, Charles E. (Autumn 1997). "'Not Such a Pretty Picture': Complexity and Understanding in 'The West'". The Western Historical Quarterly. 28 (3): 298–304. doi:10.2307/971020. JSTOR   971020.
  8. ↑ "OAH Erik Barnouw Award Winners". Organization of American Historians. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  9. ↑ James, Caryn (1996-09-15). "How The West Was Lost (As a Staple Of TV)". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  10. ↑ Zoglin, Richard (1996-09-16). "White men behaving badly". TIME . Vol. 148, no. 13. p. 76.
  11. ↑ Rosenberg, Howard (1996-09-13). "'The West' Is Stunning History of a Magnificent, Bloody Land". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2009-08-09.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.