The Statue of Liberty (1985)

Documentary showing the history of the world-famous Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, the impact it still has on people and the state of liberty as a personal and political concept in America in 1985.

Director:

Ken Burns

Writers:

Ric Burns (screenplay), Amy Stechler (screenplay)

Stars:

David McCullough, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
David McCullough	...	Narrator / Himself - Historian
Jeremy Irons	...	Himself (voice)
Derek Jacobi	...	Himself (voice)
Paul Roebling	...	Himself (voice)
Arthur Miller	...	Himself (voice)
Milos Forman	...	Himself - Film Director
Tucker Burr	...	Himself (voice)
Wendy Tilghman	...	Herself (voice)
Camilla Rockwell	...	Herself (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Youyoute Aseignot	...	Himself - Haiti
James Baldwin	...	Himself - Writer
Josephine Bianco	...	Herself - Italy
Rosie Block	...	Herself - Austria
Ray Charles	...	Himself - Composer
Rodolpho Cid	...	Himself - Cuba

Storyline

Documentary showing the history of the world-famous Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, the impact it still has on people and the state of liberty as a personal and political concept in America in 1985.

---

Plot Keywords:

reexamination | political philosophy | declaration of independence | reference to grover cleveland | immigrant | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | History

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Florentine Films, WNET

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Ken Burns: America's Storyteller (2017)

---

Soundtracks

Birthday
Composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles

User Reviews

Early Burns Distills His Strengths and Weaknesses

The Statue of Liberty represents one of Ken Burns's first documentaries for PBS. Much shorter than his later work at only an hour, it provides insights into the strengths and weaknesses of his style. Even in this preliminary work, he demonstrates an aptitude for revealing little known facts, while also indulging a tendency toward sentimentality.

All the hallmarks of Burns's work are already here. We have the familiar narration of David McCullough and testimony from intellectuals such as James Baldwin and Carolyn Forche. As with other Burns productions, the narrative is sprinkled with interesting quotes from various historical figures.

The film does a good job of making its subject interesting, revealing many facts I had not previously known, such as the involvement of Eiffel in the Statue of Liberty. At the same time, by virtue of its shorter length, the film makes the weaknesses of Burns's style glaringly obvious. In particular, he sentimentalizes the Statue's meaning as a symbol for immigrants, featuring interviews with migrants that add little to the narrative. Furthermore, he ends the documentary with a montage showing the Statue's impact on popular culture, flashing a number of images without giving them any context. A bit more analysis would have been useful.