Product Description

Patriot & drafter of the declaration of independence president inventor & diplomat - all this & more was thomas jefferson americas foremost documentary historian offers a riveting portrait of this remarkable & controversial man. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 09/30/2005 Run time: 180 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Ken Burns

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3534 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2004-09-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 180 minutes

Amazon.com
The complicated life of Thomas Jefferson is the subject of this excellent documentary by noted filmmaker Ken Burns. Using techniques that will seem comfortably familiar to viewers of other films by Burns, historians and writers (including Joseph Ellis, Daniel Boorstin, Garry Wills, and Gore Vidal) appear on camera to speak about Jefferson, a cast of actors read the words of Jefferson and others. The visuals include beautifully photographed shots of Jefferson's famed estate, Monticello, other locations where Jefferson lived and worked, and a vast number of period drawings and paintings. Jefferson, who was born into a prosperous Virginia family but lost his father when he was young, became a skilled lawyer despite his natural shyness. And the story of how he became a public figure and rose to prominence during the American Revolution is told intelligently. Commentators, including the noted African American historian John Hope Franklin, grapple with the peculiar inconsistencies of Jefferson's life. The man who wrote the Declaration of Independence owned slaves, and some of what he wrote about race is both troubling and puzzling. This film (which covers Jefferson's entire life, including his two terms as the young country's president and his later years in Virginia) doesn't sidestep controversy but provides a balanced account of one of the most fascinating of all Americans. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews

Great documentary, but the facts are a little hazy
Ken Burns's documentaries are always well put together and very interesting. This one on Jefferson is no exception. The pictures, personal accounts, and music are what make his films so great. In this documentary, Burns takes a look at the life of one of the founding fathers of our nation.

As I said, I really enjoyed the style of this documentary, but there are problems as well. Unlike his excellent film on the Civil War, Burns seems here to ignore some basic historical facts. It's almost as if he tries to set up Jefferson as THE founding father instead of A founding father. Credit to Jefferson for drafting the Declaration of Independence is well-deserved, but giving him full credit for the treaty in France (which Franklin, Adams, and Arthur Lee had much more to do with than he did) is stretching it a lot.

When speaking of Jefferson's years in France, the film is silent as to the great friendship between he and John Adams. Indeed, Adams is portrayed as the great antagonist, and Burns here calls him a friend and close ally of Alexander Hamilton (also not true). Later, when Adams and Jefferson begin their famous correspondence late in life, you can barely understand why the two men are writing to each other (since it makes only passing mention of their previous close friendship).

Ken Burns has given us another good documentary here, but it would have been better, in my opinion, to make this one a little longer to be able to provide a more accurate portrait of Jefferson's life. Instead, many basic historical facts have been ignored, and we are left with a picture of Jefferson that, despite making him seem a great hero of the revolution (which he was), is not accurate.

Another Ken Burns' triumph...
Six years ago this three hour biography of America's third president was telecasted for the first time on PBS. It should be retelecasted annually on July 4th as part of the annual celebration of the nation's independence.

Gore Vidal and George Will, at the opposite ends of the political spectrum, are among the historians and commentators that appear, reflect and illuminate on the life and ideas of the most contradictory of America's founders.

Like most, if not all, of Ken Burns' productions, "Thomas Jefferson," the program's script/narration is its most distinctive and memorable feature.

I only wish a text of program's script accompanied the DVD.

The appearance and commentary by Black historian John Hope Franklin provides appropriate balance to the program that tends to applaud Jefferson the man, his achievements and contributions.

The fact that Jefferson didn't free his slaves, and/or regularly had sexual intercourse with one of his slaves seem to me easily understood, considering his life and times. I'm not the least bit shocked, and my admiration of Jefferson is not diminished by these facts and/or speculations.

Every American should regularly be introduced to this giant of the American Experience.

"Thomas Jefferson: A Film By Ken Burns" should be every collection of quality DVD documentaries, and shown and studied in all American History classes.

I hope that PBS continues to release all of Ken Burns' productions on DVD.

A Good First Start
This Ken Burns film is a good introduction to Thomas Jefferson. It is a remarkable overview of one of the most controversial figures in American history, touching on most of the well known discussions about him, such as, what heretofore were thought to be Sphinx-like, enigmatic characteristics. As this was made several years ago, however, you need to be bring yourself up to date. For example, on the Sally Hemings issue, DNA first was pitched by some as evidence that Jefferson fathered Hemings' children, but currently, it has actually served as proof that he almost certainly did not father Hemings' children. And on Jefferson's enigmatic, Sphinx-like characteristics, a new work by a previously unknown author/researcher by the name of Norman Thomas Remick titled "West Point: Character Leadership Education, A Book Developed From The Readings And Writings Of Thomas Jefferson" is a completely unique approach to understanding Thomas Jefferson that dispels the prior alleged "enigma" and brings Thomas Jefferson into clear focus. It's a must read after watching Ken Burns' wonderful DVD for all who are interested in Jefferson and what it is to be an American.