National Treasure

The allure of the Grand Canyon would definitely be lessened if it had ended up as just another private-property trophy of the rich. Filmmaking rock star Ken Burns knows this, and on Sunday, March 22, he'll preview and discuss his latest project, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, which doesn’t...

By Jose Gonzalez

March 19, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

The allure of the Grand Canyon would definitely be lessened if it had ended up as just another private-property trophy of the rich. Filmmaking rock star Ken Burns knows this, and on Sunday, March 22, he'll preview and discuss his latest project, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, which doesn’t hit the airwaves until fall.

The master documentarian is famed for wrangling complicated histories into exquisitely rendered, compelling, and easily digestible true-life tales, like his PBS-pimped multi-part films The Civil War, Baseball, and Jazz. For this flick, the adept director turned his eyes to the wonder of the oft-overlooked United States' national parks system and those who helped create it.

Sun., March 22, 7:30 p.m., 2009

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.