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- 2023
- PBS
- 2023
- PBS
Summary The two-part documentary directed by Ken Burns about the history and impact of the buffalo on America and the Indigenous people in North America.
Created By: Ken Burns
- 2023
- PBS
- 2023
- PBS
The American Buffalo
Season 1 Premiere: Oct 16, 2023
84
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Summary The two-part documentary directed by Ken Burns about the history and impact of the buffalo on America and the Indigenous people in North America.
Created By: Ken Burns
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
84
100% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
84
100% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Be prepared for the impact of Ken Burns’ latest PBS documentary, “The American Buffalo.” It is not a dry history of the North American bison; it is an indictment on the very way the United States became the country that it is today.
For those with a taste for Burns’ stately brand of storytelling, “The American Buffalo” is another demonstration of what he can do when allowed to freely roam the plains of US history – representing a form of documentary programming with a capital D that at times feels like its own kind of endangered species.
Much of it is heart-stoppingly beautiful. Who knew that Ken Burns — documentarian, entrepreneur, the closest thing we have to an unofficial curator of national memory — has a David Attenborough, wildlife-filmmaker side, too? That heart-stopping beauty makes the story Burns tells all more heartbreaking.
The visual record, in paintings, artifacts and photographs, is impressive. The larger story is told through individual ones, which have a tendency to intertwine in dramatically satisfying ways.
Owing to length and familiarity, The American Buffalo comes across as lesser Ken Burns, especially following the scathing Holocaust documentary. I think that assessment is limiting. The craftsmanship of the second part is top-notch and the takeaways regarding how frequently American pride has gone hand-in-hand with destroying aspects of America that we try to marginalize or deem not-quite-American are always vital.
Though quite lengthy, with sections that feel repetitive, Burns manages to offer an essential work so needed during a time when history is being erased.
There's always a tone of melancholy in a Ken Burns film, aided and abetted, once again, by narrator Peter Coyote. And a plinky piano. And a sense of sins that need to be forgiven. There is also an unblended mix of hard fact—the awful statistics surrounding buffalo genocide—and the spiritual and religious arguments brought to the film by the Native Americans involved.
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Production Company:
- Florentine Films
Initial Release Date: Oct 16, 2023
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Genres:
Awards
Writers Guild of America, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination