The American Revolution: A Film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein & David Schmidt
4.7 | 387 ratings
Price: 51.97
Last update: 02-04-2026
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 16:9
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 0.57 x 7.47 x 5.22 inches; 6.08 ounces
- Media Format : DVD, NTSC
- Run time : 12 hours
- Release date : November 18, 2025
- Actors : Claire Danes, Hugh Dancy, Josh Brolin, Kenneth Branagh, Liev Schreiber
- Subtitles: : Spanish
- Studio : PBS
- ASIN : B0FHZ4JV4K
- Number of discs : 6
- Best Sellers Rank:#20 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- Special Interests (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:4.54.5 out of 5 stars(133)
Top reviews from the United States
- MRHWell made documentary of the American RevolutionThis is about as close as you can get in 12 hours of encapsulating the events surrounding the American Revolution. Ken Burns lays it out in the sequence of events as they took place. For those whom have not studied this topic it will be revelatory. For those that have, it may or may not fall short. But with so much written accounts by so many, Burns kept it manageable at 12 hours. This is one video from the classroom to the home that needs to be seen. There are no politics other than the obvious ones. And no revision history.
Just a well managed origin story of We The People.
So, buy this series for your children's children. And let us not forget this story. Our Story. - Retired Disabled CA GuyMust Watch for EveryoneKen Burns has produced many great films. This may very well be the most important of them all. I got top grades in US history in high school, but this series was 12+ hours of new information.
Most important, if viewers see how extreme and long lasting the sacrifices were for the colonists that fought for the creation of our country. Contemporary issues in 2025 were also issues in 1776 through 1783, the period covered by the long bloody war and reported in this series. Women kept farms, families, towns and neighbors fed and healthy while virtually every teenaged and adult man was a way at war. Slaves were promised freedom by the British and sometimes by the Americans. Both sides took advantage of their services, even in combat, but reneged on freedom. wealthy plantation owners paid others to take their place in battle. We have improved in 200+ years, but issues with women's equality, wealthy exceptionalism, and racial justice continue. Watching films about the 1700s provides context for these issues in 2025. - C. FoleyBest story about the Revolutionary War ever!This DVD is amazing. I watched all the episodes and will watch it again because I missed stuff. I love Ken Burns! He has a pleasant voice and is very, very knowledgeable. Highly recommended for the price!
- James QuinnA near masterwork.I’ve taught American history at the elementary level for over 40 years, and in the course of that time I’ve found and used a number of videos about the Revolution. None ever even came close to this one for the sweep of its coverage, the honesty of its portrayal of so many of the aspects of the conflict , both good and bad, or the depth of its examination.
I have only one complaint: that besides the coverage of Washington’s military exploits and even those of Horatio Gates at Saratoga and Camden, those of Nathaniel Greene got relatively short shrift. His extraordinary sccomplishments in the southern theater made possible the final defeat of British arms in the colonies and thus the successful conclusiin of the war.
Apart from that, this was a masterwork. - TonyDGreat Docuseries!Like Burns’s earlier work on the Civil War, this docuseries is interesting and informative. A great resource for the newbie or the seasoned history buff.
- Gigi9A magnificent filmThis is a magnificent film. I'm extremely moved by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein's, and David Schmidt's documentary—and the unbelievable undertaking to make it. I wept throughout every episode. (I currently live in Morristown, NJ, so I'm surrounded by the history.) The sacrifices that were made by Indigenous Americans, enslaved and free Blacks, and patriots who were subsistence farmers and mariners who endured smallpox, typhus, starvation, and the most savage violence - and how they prevailed for these ideals of liberty and freedom to claim a new way of living - are extraordinary. The Bill of Rights is still being fought for. It is a reminder not to hand over our government to a despot and tyrant. Everyone who is a citizen, or wants to be one, should watch this film to be reminded that we should all be united in our sacred rights. p.s. Brava, Sarah. I'm a Bard alum and remember you as a little girl! Can't thank you enough for making this extraordinary film.
- Sue GoldmanFabulous!!!Really loving this series. I knew so little about the Revolutionary War. This series is so well told, and illustrated. Of course, no one does documentaries, better than Ken Burns.