Arkansas PBS > Engage > Pressroom > Ken Burns's 'The Civil War' to rebroadcast on AETN beginning Sunday to coincide with 150th anniversary of the war
Posted 04 Apr 2011
THE CIVIL WAR, the award-winning film produced and directed by Ken Burns that first aired in September 1990, will be rebroadcast on the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) over five consecutive nights beginning Sunday, April 3, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
The Civil War will air on AETN Sunday, April 3, through Thursday, April 7, at 7 each night. AETN will also rebroadcast Edge of Conflict: Arkansas in the Civil War in three parts Tuesday, April 5, through Thursday, April 7, at 9:30 each night.
Additionally, AETN is producing CW150: Remembering the Civil War in Arkansas in conjunction with the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. The program will air later this month, and more information is available at www.arkansascivilwar150.com.
The Civil War began when shots were fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12. As a result of the confrontation, four more states seceded from the Union, joining the seven that left in February of that year to create the Confederacy.
According to PBS, to date, The Civil War remains the highest-rated series in the history of American public television with an audience of 40 million during its premiere in September 1990. The series has been honored with more than 40 major film and television awards, including two Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild, Peoples Choice Award, Peabody Award, duPont-Columbia Award, D.W. Griffith Award and the Lincoln Prize, among dozens of others.
Prior to The Civil War, my colleagues and I toiled in relative anonymity, Burns said. While we still work as a small group in a small town in New Hampshire, The Civil War created a new thirst for history and stories about America that has allowed us to explore a wide range of topics.
Today, as we reflect on the Civil War on the 150th anniversary of the start of battle, Im very proud that our small film continues to help us understand the magnitude of that conflict, the impact it had on individuals, families and towns large and small, and the ongoing place it holds in our collective memory.
The Civil War is narrated by David McCullough and includes the voices of Sam Waterston, Julie Harris, Jason Robards, Morgan Freeman, Paul Roebling, Garrison Keillor, George Black, Arthur Miller, Chris Murney, Charley McDowell, Horton Foote, George Plimpton, Philip Bosco, Terry Courier, Jody Powell and Studs Terkel. Others who provided voices include Derek Jacobi, Pamela Reed, Jeremy Irons, Ronnie Gilbert Kurt Vonnegut, Colleen Dewhurst, Hoyt Axton and Shelby Foote.
The Edge of Conflict: Arkansas in the Civil War is a 90-minute documentary that tells the story of Arkansass role in the Civil War. Using photographs and present-day images from significant sites around the state, combined with the words of historians and people who lived and fought here during the war, the program attempts to help Arkansans recover a neglected history and to remember that even today, the war is a prevalent part of the states culture and heritage.
The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) is Arkansass statewide public television network that enhances lives by providing lifelong learning opportunities for people from all walks of life. AETN delivers local, award-winning productions and classic, trusted PBS programs aimed at sharing Arkansas and the world with viewers. AETN depends on the generosity of Arkansans and the State of Arkansas to continue offering quality programming. For more information, visit www.aetn.org, or follow the AETN blog at www.aetn.org/engage. AETN is broadcast on KETS (Little Rock), KEMV (Mountain View), KETG (Arkadelphia), KAFT (Fayetteville), KTEJ (Jonesboro), and KETZ (El Dorado).