The National Parks: America's Best Idea Kick-Off Celebration

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 it shows in his new documentary. The master documentarian is famed for wrangling complicated histories into exquisitely rendered, compelling,...

By Jose Gonzalez

September 17, 2009

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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 it shows in his new documentary. 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. Arizona PBS hosts the state's first screening of the Burns film.
Wed., Sept. 23, 5 p.m., 2009

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