80 minSeason 1 • Episode 9
LatestLos Angeles steals its water supply, millions of Mexicans migrate north, and Hollywood begins to shape the West and the nation's image of it.
The West, sometimes marketed as Ken Burns Presents: The West, is a documentary film about the American Old West. It was directed by Stephen Ives and the executive producer was Ken Burns. The film originally aired on PBS in September 1996.
Direction
Ives builds devastating momentum across nine hours.
Score
Haunting folk score that burrows into your bones.
Writing
Peter Coyote's narration is velvet-wrapped steel.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ken Burns was so obsessed with accuracy that the production consulted over 300 historians.
This series helped spark the 1990s revisionist Western boom—Unforgiven owes it a debt.
US
