Mark Twain (2001) (TV)

Director:

Ken Burns

Writers:

Dayton Duncan (writer) &
Geoffrey C. Ward (writer)

Release Date:

14 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

A biographical film about the acclaimed American humourist and author.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Mark Twain | Voice Over Narration | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Keith David	...	Narrator (voice)
Kevin Conway	...	Mark Twain (voice)
Philip Bosco	...	Other Voices (voice)
Blythe Danner	...	Olivia 'Livy' Langdon Clemens (voice)
Tim Clark	...	Other Voices (voice)
Carolyn McCormick	...	Other Voices (voice)
Amy Madigan	...	Other Voices (voice)
Cynthia Nixon	...	Other Voices (voice)

Runtime:

212 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Center for Mark Twain Studies, Elmira College - One Park Place, Elmira, New York, USA

Company:

Florentine Films

Quotes:

Narrator: During his long life, he was a printer's apprentice and a riverboat pilot, a prospector who never struck gold, and a Confederate soldier who never fought a battle. He was considered the funniest man on earth, a brilliant performer on the lecture circuit who could entertain almost any audience...

Soundtrack:

The Sidewalks of New York

A man you can like

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?