History

American Masters

American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.

The Incomparable Mr. Buckley (Extended Audio Description)

1h 42m

Discover the intellectual evolution and political legacy of William F. Buckley, Jr. See how the author and commentator, one of the foremost public intellectuals in American history, galvanized the modern conservative movement. This version of the film contains extended audio description and large open captions.

Episodes

  • Becoming Helen Keller (Extended Audio Description Version): asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Becoming Helen Keller (Extended Audio Description Version)

    S35 E12 - 1h 36m

    Revisit the complex life and legacy of the author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, used her celebrity and wit to champion rights for women, people with disabilities and people living in poverty.

  • Becoming Helen Keller: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Becoming Helen Keller

    S35 E11 - 1h 22m

    Revisit the complex life and legacy of the author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, used her celebrity and wit to champion rights for women, people with disabilities and people living in poverty.

  • Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It

    S35 E10 - 1h 28m

    Discover how Moreno defied her humble upbringing and racism to become one of a select group of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winners. Explore her 70-year career with new interviews, clips of her iconic roles and scenes of the star on set today.

  • Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away

    S35 E9 - 1h 22m

    Dive into the career of the legendary blues guitarist, a pioneer of Chicago’s West Side sound and major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Featuring new performances and interviews with John Mayer, Carlos Santana and more.

  • Ballerina Boys: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ballerina Boys

    S35 E8 - 53m 26s

    Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form.

  • Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir

    S35 E7 - 1h 39m

    The story of the author whose first novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” was published to great commercial and critical success. With the blockbuster film adaption that followed as well as additional best-selling novels, librettos, short stories and memoirs, Tan firmly established herself as one of the most prominent and respected American literary voices working today.

  • Twyla Moves: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Twyla Moves

    S35 E3 - 1h 22m

    Explore legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp’s career and famously rigorous creative process, with original interviews, first-hand glimpses of her at work and rare archival footage of select performances from her more than 160 choreographed works.

  • How It Feels To Be Free: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How It Feels To Be Free

    S35 E1 - 1h 53m

    A documentary that tells the inspiring story of how six iconic African American women entertainers – Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Pam Grier – challenged an entertainment industry deeply complicit in perpetuating racist stereotypes, and transformed themselves and their audiences in the process.

Extras + Features

  • Ballerina Boys: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ballerina Boys

    S35 E8 - 2m 36s

    Discover Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (The Trocks), an all-male company that for 45 years has offered audiences their passion for ballet classics mixed with exuberant comedy. With every step they poke fun at their strictly gendered art form.

  • What was the Joy Luck Club?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What was the Joy Luck Club?

    S35 E7 - 1m 34s

    The title of Amy Tan's famous novel was also the name of an investment club made up of Tan's parents and friends. Sandy Bremner, one of Tan's friends from childhood, describes how powerful it was for their parents to be around other immigrants from China like themselves.

  • How Amy Tan met her husband Lou: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Amy Tan met her husband Lou

    S35 E7 - 1m 14s

    According to Amy Tan's husband, Lou, it was "cluelessness at first sight." At first, Tan wasn't attracted to Lou because of his big muscles. "I always feel that the amount of muscle mass detracts from the mass in the brain."

  • Amy Tan's writing inspiration: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Amy Tan's writing inspiration

    S35 E7 - 2m

    Get an inside look at best-selling author Amy Tan's creative process, as revealed in Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir from American Masters.

  • Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir

    S35 E7 - 2m 14s

    An intimate portrait of the groundbreaking writer that interweaves archival imagery, including home movies and personal photographs, animation and original interviews to tell the inspiring story of Tan’s life and career.

  • Amy Tan’s first job was writing astrology: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Amy Tan’s first job was writing astrology

    S35 E7 - 2m 12s

    Amy Tan’s first job was “making up” astrology for her friend’s astrology hotline business. She later wrote ad copy, direct mail, and became a technical writer for a telecommunications company: “all the subjects I had absolutely no interest in,” Tan recalls. She turned to writing fiction in the search for more meaningful work and learned a lot about herself in the process.

  • What made physician Oliver Sacks unique?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What made physician Oliver Sacks unique?

    S35 E5 - 1m 26s

    Journalist Robert Krulwich explains that the storytelling abilities of neurologist Oliver Sacks had the significant effect of "storying people back into the world" – people who otherwise would have been isolated and overlooked by the rest of society because of their neurological challenges.

  • What pushed Oliver Sacks’ brother towards psychosis?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What pushed Oliver Sacks’ brother towards psychosis?

    S35 E5 - 1m 7s

    The physician and writer Oliver Sacks had a brother who started to experience psychosis as a young man. This experience was a great influence on Sacks, who would go on to devote his life to treating, documenting, and humanizing people with mental disorders.

  • Why did Oliver Sacks love the periodic table so much?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Why did Oliver Sacks love the periodic table so much?

    S35 E5 - 1m 11s

    The renowned physician and writer Oliver Sacks was known for his amazing empathy for other people. But his first “friends” as a child, as he described, were not people but numbers, minerals, metals, and plants. He loved these things throughout his life and even incorporated them into his wardrobe.

  • Oliver Sacks: His Own Life: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Oliver Sacks: His Own Life

    S35 E5 - 2m 2s

    Oliver Sacks: His Own Life explores the life and work of the legendary neurologist and storyteller, as he shares intimate details of his battles with drug addiction, homophobia, and a medical establishment that accepted his work only decades after the fact.

  • Doc Severinsen's fitness routine: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Doc Severinsen's Unique Fitness Routine

    S35 E4 - 2m 14s

    On top of being a musical icon and legendary trumpeter, Doc Severinsen makes sure he hits the gym everyday. Follow his daily workout routine, including the preworkout meal he swears by: 'cowboy oatmeal'.

Schedule

  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Thursday
    Apr 25

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Friday
    Apr 26

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Friday
    Apr 26

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Saturday
    Apr 27

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Ailey

    Saturday
    Apr 27

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The life and career of choreographer Alvin Ailey, whose dances focus on the Black experience, interviews with those close to him and a glimpse into his dance studios.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Ailey

    Sunday
    Apr 28

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The life and career of choreographer Alvin Ailey, whose dances focus on the Black experience, interviews with those close to him and a glimpse into his dance studios.
  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Sunday
    Apr 28

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Sunday
    Apr 28

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: Jerry Brown: The Disrupter: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Jerry Brown: The Disrupter

    Monday
    Apr 29

    2 Hours

    The political and personal journey of California Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest serving governor in California history, and his work on issues including climate change and inequality.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Saturday
    May 4

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Sunday
    May 5

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Sunday
    May 5

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Sunday
    May 5

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: TVSS: Iconic

    American Masters

    Tyrus Wong

    Monday
    May 6

    1 Hour 30 Minutes

    The art, life and impact of Chinese-American painter Tyrus Wong as seen through new and never-before-seen interviews, movie clips and art.
  • Image
    American Masters: Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV: TVSS: Banner-L1

    American Masters

    Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV

    Thursday
    May 9

    2 Hours

    The evolution of Korean artist Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the phrase "electronic superhighway."

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