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Ken Burns happy with adds to 'War' documentary |
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Written by Chuck Barney, MCT
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Monday, 16 July 2007 |
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 In the world of PBS, Ken Burns is like a god. As of yet, no shrine has been erected to him, but don't bet against it. The man is that revered. He is that untouchable.
So it must have been a real shock to the system when Burns came under fire earlier this year from Latinos who vigorously complained that his upcoming World War II opus overlooks their contributions to the war effort.
Shocking, not only because the acclaimed filmmaker is public-television deity, but because his work has always bore the stamp of political correctness and inclusiveness. Apparently, the man who could do no wrong actually did. And the war over "The War" was on.
At first, a peeved Burns resisted the pressure from advocacy groups to re-edit and/or supplement his 14 ½-hour documentary, which essentially was already in the can. "It would be destructive, like trying to graft an arm onto your child," he told the New York Times in May. "It would destroy the film."
But as the complaints intensified and the threat of a boycott loomed, Burns finally relented by adding about a half-hour of new material. And by the time he arrived here for the television critics press tour, he was singing a very different tune.
"I think we've found the right balance, had the right compromise, that permitted us not to alter our original vision and version of the film," he said.
The additional material is mainly pegged to the stories of two Hispanic soldiers, Burns pointed out. And a story about a Native American was also added.
"We feel it was our obligation to listen and to hear," he told a roomful of TV critics. "We've done more than we were asked and expected to."
Burns believes that much of the uproar over the film has been off-target. "The War," he said, was never meant to be a comprehensive, textbook version of WWII.
Instead, much of its focus is channeled through the experiences of four geographically distributed American communities: Sacramento, Calif.; Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala.; and Luverne, Minn. The goal was to take a "completely new approach" with a "bottom-up look at the greatest cataclysm in American history."
And PBS President Paula Kerger insists that, all along, there was no corporate pressure on Burns — that she was willing to let him tell the story his way. This is the man, after all, whose seminal "Civil War" documentary still ranks as the most-watched program in PBS history. A man who, earlier this year, inked an exclusive 15-year contract with the network.
"We stand by the filmmaker," she said. "This is his work. At the end of the day, this bears his name."
If all goes well, the ill feelings over "The War" will be ancient history by the time the sprawling, seven — part documentary begins airing Sept. 23. And that's a good thing because it won't distract from what could turn out to be Burns' finest work so far.
I have yet to view the entire documentary, but the segments I've seen are incredibly gripping, thanks largely to the approach Burns and his filmmaking partner, Lynn Novick, took. They have eschewed ponderous segments about troop movements and strategy — things we've seen a million times on the History Channel — to get straight to the emotional truths of WWII, as told by the grunts on the ground. The film is roiling with incredible stories and wrenching, rarely seen footage.
Burns said he and his team wanted to get to the "cellular, molecular" level of the conflict and, based on early indications, he has hit pay dirt. After presenting some preview clips here, more than a few misty eyes were evident around the room. And some journalists couldn't resist the urge to rush up and warmly greet Quentin Aanenson, a WWII veteran who is featured in the film and spoke so eloquently of his experiences.
"I think this is the greatest testament I've seen — and I don't use those words very loosely — to what happened at a time in history (to) a generation of people who rose up to be counted," Aanenson said. "If they hadn't, I wonder what we would be now."
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Chuck Barney:
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