There’s a neon sign in Ken Burns’s editing room that reads, “It’s complicated.” Even the prolific documentarian, who spends more time than most exploring the difficult truths of our nation’s history, ...

Burns’s 12-hour documentary about our national origin story is landing in the middle of a culture war. Yes, it’s complicated. No, he does not want to talk about President Trump. Burns’s 12-hour ...

Throughout his career, Burns has developed and perfected the tricks of his particular trade: the evocative use of music and quotations from speeches and correspondence; the use of actors to read the ...

In many ways, Ken Burns is the Van Halen of historical documentary directors. Before you jump, hear me out. Watching the acclaimed filmmaker’s upcoming The American Revolution with some apprehension, ...

Thirty-five years ago, I stood with filmmaker Ken Burns at what was then called the Chicago Historical Society (now the Chicago History Museum). He was telling me some advice that Southern novelist ...