Writing film columns (& more) at The Laker - Ken Burns & The American Revolution

Earlier this year, I began writing articles on random subjects for a group of free local publications in New Hampshire, and in July this transitioned into a regular column for The Laker, titled "Granite State Scene & Heard". The subjects usually, if not always, are related to the state (accompanied by listings of retro screenings for upcoming weeks). Each month on Lost in the Movies, I'll share a round-up of cross-posts to the digital versions of these issues, including the page numbers where the columns can be found.

First up, in July - just in time for the quarter-millennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence - I wrote about Ken Burns, who has worked out of Walpole, New Hampshire for forty years. In particular, I focused on his most recent documentary The American Revolution which I was in the midst of watching at the time; I've since finished it and moved on to re-watching The Civil War (one of my favorite films of all time - and also discussed in this column). Part of what fascinates me in these two projects, and Burns' work in general, is the different approach depending on what firsthand material the given historical period does or doesn't offer to the filmmakers. Incidentally, among the most eye-catching illustrations Burns deploys are those from the William Blake-esque memoirs of Sergeant Roger Lamb, which I'm using above and below in this cross-post.

Ken Burns: New Hampshire Filmmaker

The Laker on July 27 - page 20

w/ a blurb on Parasite as the highlight of the listings

Prior to this first "Scene & Heard" column, I wrote the following non-film-related articles: "Building Community, One Brick at a Time: The Lakes Region's Growing LEGO Scene" (p. 30 of The Laker's July 6 issue); "Twilight Baseball with The Sunset League" (p. 34 of The Laker's June 29 issue); "Gluten-Free at the Pattee Hill Farm Stand: A Conversation with Courtley Gomez Terrasi" (p. 20 of The Laker's June 22 issue); "Laconia Motorcycle Week Spans a Century" (p. 3 of The Laker's June 8 issue); and "Conserving Water Inside and Outside Your Home" (p. 27 of Home's Spring issue).

Patreon update #41: Mark Twain (+ the 2000s decade/documentary, the French Revolution, Nicaragua, podcast recommendations, early Fire Walk With Me draft & more)

Bit by bit over the past month, I've been watching Ken Burns' fascinating documentary Mark Twain. I didn't know many details of Twain's life before watching so both the style and the story made for a captivating experience. In this episode, the 2002 Twain is my film in focus, while "Twin Peaks Reflections" focuses on an early (and apparently contested, as I only found out after recording) draft of Fire Walk With Me. The latter half of Episode 40 is dominated by podcast recommendations, covering Nicaragua, Washington congressional candidate Sarah Smith, animator Ub Iwerks, and the French Revolution - among many other topics. You can watch Mark Twain here and here.

Episode 40: Mark Twain (+ early Fire Walk With Me draft, the 2000s decade/documentary, the French Revolution, Nicaragua, podcast recommendations & more)

Line-up for Episode 40

INTRO

WEEKLY UPDATE/recent posts: updated a couple 2017 Twin Peaks cross-posts

WEEKLY UPDATE/work in progress: interviewed Lindsay Hallam, Mad Men season 2 viewing diary, Daguerreotypes, Twin Peaks characters runners-up (limo driver), watched Gattaca for upcoming podcast

TWIN PEAKS REFLECTIONS: early draft of Fire Walk With Me

FILM IN FOCUS: Mark Twain

OTHER TOPICS: CNN documentary on the 2000s, Back to the Future Part II, PBS book program, Vice segment on Nicaragua, podcast recommendations (including French Revolution, identity politics, and electoralism)

OUTRO

BECOME A PATRON

The Favorites - The Civil War (#81)

The Favorites is a series briefly exploring films I love, to find out what makes them - and me - tick. The Civil War (1990/USA/dir. Ken Burns) appeared at #81 on my original list.

What it is • As a commentator notes very late in the documentary, the American Civil War is an immeasurable gulf separating the "before" and "after." Remarkably, Ken Burns' 11-hour PBS opus attempts to bridge that gulf and if the ambition of this attempt is awe-inspiring, the extent to which he succeeds is even more so. Burns evokes this bygone world by employing striking contemporaneous photographs (a new medium at the time of the war), modern-day battlefield cinematography (given a meditative air by the emptiness of the locations), a few fleeting newsreels from veterans' reunions in the early twentieth century (which are among the most arresting artifacts of the series), and especially the stirring soundtrack (cycling various motifs from the 19th century and coupling them with the gorgeous, mournful "Ashokan Farewell" theme, which was actually composed in 1982). He also sprinkles the series with interviews, but not as much as we might expect (maybe a half-dozen subjects, whose input is mostly limited) - allowing David McCullough's soothing narration to do most of the historical heavy-lifting while historian Shelby Foote is given the lion's share of talking-head screentime, mostly to contribute colorful anecdotes to the film's texture. The Civil War was a rather shocking hit in 1990, racking up numbers that would have been breathtaking for a major network, let alone public television. That success is undoubtedly due in large part not just to the subject, but to Burns' treatment: creating an all-encompassing format that allowed viewers to immerse themselves in a zeitgeist.

Why I like it •