Hop Film Event: The American Revolution (with Ken Burns in person)

Ken Burns presents selections from his newest documentary series, which examines how America's founding turned the world upside-down. Discussion follows.

Thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired centuries of democratic movements around the globe.

An expansive look at the virtues and contradictions of the war and the birth of the United States of America, the film follows dozens of figures from a wide variety of backgrounds. Through their individual stories, viewers experience the war through the memories of the men and women who experienced it: the rank-and-file Continental soldiers and American militiamen (some of them teenagers), Patriot political and military leaders, British Army officers, American Loyalists, Native soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free African Americans, German soldiers in the British service, French and Spanish allies, and various civilians living in North America, Loyalist as well as Patriot, including many made refugees by the war.

These stories come to life through reenactments filmed across New England in every season, as well as paintings, letters, lithographs, and other archival materials, from museums, galleries, and libraries. Narrated by Peter Coyote, The American Revolution includes the first-person voices of nearly 200 individual historic figures, read by a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Amanda Gorman, Kenneth Branagh and dozens more. The film also uses a wide variety of music, both from the period and newly composed pieces for the series, with recordings by Johnny Gandelsman, Rhiannon Giddens, Yo-Yo Ma and many more.

The Revolution began a movement for people around the world to imagine new and better futures for themselves, their nations, and for humanity. It declared American independence with promises that we continue to strive for. The American Revolution opened the door to advance civil liberties and human rights, and it asked questions that we are still trying to answer today.This event includes a selection of clips from The American Revolution, followed by a conversation with Ken Burns, David Schmidt '09, historian Christopher Brown and Professor Colin Calloway.

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