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Ken Burns WWII Documentary Screened at Hopkins Center 

On Dec.1, acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns introduced his much-talked-about new documentary The War, premiering the first part of the seven-part series. Produced by Burns and Lynn Novick, the documentary examines the ways in which World War II affected everyday life in America. Following the film, Burns himself was on hand to take questions.

Ken Burns (Photo courtesy Cable Risdon) A scene from the new WWII documentary The War. The Dec. 1 screening at Dartmouth was the film's first public showing. (Photo courtesy Ken Burns)

The War, which is slated to air on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in its entirety over two weeks in September 2007, chronicles the stories of ordinary people in four American towns—Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala.; Sacramento, Calif.; and the tiny farming town of Luverne, Minn.

Burns had already screened highlights of the film at the International Conference on World War II in New Orleans in November, and viewers got a sneak preview of the two-hour Part I at the recent Telluride Film Festival, but his Dartmouth screening was the first time that Part I was made available to the public. According to Bill Pence, director of film at the Hopkins Center, "Dartmouth is truly privileged to be playing a major work by Ken Burns a full year ahead of when the full film is released. This is really one of his major films, along with Jazz and Baseball and The Civil War." Pence added that Burns, who produces primarily for television audiences, rarely has the opportunity to see his work in front of a large audience.

Burns, a resident of New Hampshire, has said of The War, "By focusing on the personal stories of ordinary Americans who had extraordinary experiences, the film tries to bring one of the biggest events in the history of the world down to a very intimate scale. And in the end, we all begin to see, I think, that there are no 'ordinary' lives."

The documentary has been highly anticipated by the public and has generated controversy over Burns's decision to include uncensored profanity used by World War II veterans interviewed for the film. Ultimately, PBS announced that it plans to air the documentary uncensored.

The War took six years to complete and features the personal recollections of nearly 50 men and women. It includes veterans' descriptions of what it was like to fight and the recollections of their loved ones back home.

Burns is best known for his earlier documentaries, including Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004), Jazz (2001), Baseball (1994), and The Civil War (1990), for which he received more than 40 major film and television awards.

By GENEVIEVE HAAS

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