BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (2022) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: Ken Burns
Take away his role in the American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin arguably would still be the key historical figure of the 18th century. He lived through most of it, for one thing. None of the other Founding Fathers could match Franklin's spectacular range of interests and accomplishments. Nobody except Jefferson even came close. And Franklin always seemed like the founder who had the most fun. That and his evolution from slave owner to abolitionist makes him an ideal subject for Ken Burns. Four hours is hardly enough time to do justice to Franklin, but it's enough to encapsulate some of what he did for folks who mainly know him as the face on the $100 bill. Without the use of photographs, which didn't exist in Franklin's time, Burns takes advantage of Franklin's work as a printer to help tell the story visually, with shots of press equipment and boxes of lead type, pages from the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanac, and what look like contemporary woodcuts, along with the usual portraits, etchings and shots of historic buildings where some of the events took place. How early American history might've turned out without him is hard to say, but there'd be no point in having an 18th century without Benjamin Franklin.
