Mark Twain

I have yet to watch anything by Ken Burns and his usual crew/co-creators that doesn't inform, educate, entertain and fulfill my expectations. Even a subject like baseball is presented in a way that pulls you into its heart and soul. His forte, is of course, the immense detail and unknown angles that he presents to the viewer, especially when it comes to historical events that can be tedious. This is perfectly exemplified by his handling of the complex subject of Mark Twain/Samuel Clements. His wit, profound understanding of the human psyche and his complicated life are dealt with in such a respectful yet honest way. I knew a bit about the author and had read some of his books, but after watching this biography, I felt I understood him a bit more as a fully-realized human being. The background music, the voices (narrators), the unknown facts and the beautiful photography makes for compelling watching. I cannot imagine a more thorough and even-handed telling of the Civil War, or the Vietnam War, where you are not subjected to the victor's viewpoint alone. I regard Ken Burns as the ultimate storyteller and teacher for not just his American audience, but for all of us who are unaware of or lacking the exposure to the themes he covers so well. Entertainment can and should be more than just mindless viewing. Here is proof it can be many things. And the best.

By far, a great documentary about a truly great American. I never knew there was so much more to Mark Twain than just a few books and a name. From a humble Christian beginning in Florida, Missouri; to a world known presence by his end, Twain was a remarkable human being.

Ken Burns couldn't have picked a better, single person or subject to do a documentary. Mark Twain had great humour, and Burns was able to capture this with powerfully wonderful stories and photos. Twain's life was not always humorous, it was filled with tragedy, both personally and financially.

He was humble though, until the end. We need more men like him.

To call him a great American is to limit him. He is a citizen of the world, read in every country, more American than anyone else, yet more critical of his country than most. I will never forget how mother read Tom Sawyer to me in German, in a park in Montevideo, Uruguay, when I was only nine, and how I couldn't stop laughing at the funny way the characters talked. I was convulsed with laughter, one of the first big laughing fits of my life. Alas, as I grew up, I lost interest in fiction. But Twain is more than a writer. He is a character with flaws and all. His taste for luxury is disappointing. To coin an aphorism: How sad that people born in log cabins, don't want to live in them! It is heartbreaking to see Twain sink into debt and his family separated by penury. And one also wonders how much Huckleberry Finn owes to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Why not a big documentary about Harriet Beecher Stowe? Was she less of a writer?

Wow, its long, took me a couple of days to watch this but it was really worth it. There are just so many layers to Mark that you never think you know him completely. I knew all the basics about Twain but I had no idea of all he did and went through. But, if seeing something this long seems daunting, just remember that it's a film by Ken Burns and he has the knack of being able to make anything exciting and keep your attention.

Using Burns' familiar style, the film manages to give a full account of Twain's life and fill the viewer with great admiration. He was an anti-colonialist, supporter of women's suffrage and defender of the rights and nobility of all races--things most folks today probably don't even realize, as they think of him just as an author. And, in his later years, he seemed to completely give way to depression--yet kept writing and was very productive.

Typically emotional and reverential Ken Burns biography, featuring the usual display of wonderful vintage pictures and discreet music and sound accompaniment, as well as professional line-readings and commentaries.

Twain's interesting life alone and all the anecdotal plentifulness of Burns's script guarantee three-and-a-half entertaining hours, but as a documentary about such a witty and sagacious writer, this feels too conventional and tame in style and presentation, hammering home some of its notions about Twain's inner conflicts too repetitively.

It's still quality work, though.

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