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The West

The West
★ 8.4/10•1996•1h 20m•TV-PG•Documentary
Similars

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.

Stephen Ives · Director

Geoffrey C. Ward · Writer

Stephen Ives · Writer

StatusEnded
Runtime1h 20m
LanguageEN
First Air DateSep 15, 1996

Episodes

Episode 1 - The People (1500-1806)E180m

The People (1500-1806)

The West begins as the whole world to the people who live there. It becomes a New World when Europeans arrive, a world shaken by incompatible visions. And almost three centuries later, when Lewis and Clark venture west to find a Northwest Passage, this world becomes the testing-ground for a young nation's continent-spanning dream.

Sep 15, 1996

Episode 2 - Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)E280m

Empire Upon The Trails (1806-1848)

Americans head west along many pathways -- following the fur trade into the mountains, fighting for self-determination in Texas, seeking religious freedom in Utah or a better life along the Oregon Trail. But whatever direction they travel, they move closer with every step to a “Manifest Destiny” that will make the West their own.

Sep 16, 1996

Episode 3 - The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)E380m

The Speck Of The Future (1848-1856)

The Gold Rush brings the whole world to the West, as 49ers from Asia, South America and the eastern states scramble for “a share of the rocks,” littering the hills with mining towns and creating the West’s first metropolis. But in the push to strike it rich, many are violently pushed aside.

Sep 17, 1996

Episode 4 - Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)E480m

Death Runs Riot (1856-1868)

Civil war comes early to the West. In “Bleeding Kansas,” abolitionists battle for free soil. In Utah, federal troops march against Mormon polygamy. And along the Rio Grande, oppressed Mexican Americans rebel. The war between North and South unleashes brute savagery in the West, and leaves behind an army prepared for total war against the native peoples of the plains.

Sep 18, 1996

Episode 5 - The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868-1874)E580m

The Grandest Enterprise Under God (1868-1874)

A triumph of the human spirit, the transcontinental railroad opens a new era in the West, carrying homesteaders onto the prairies, bringing cowboys up the cattle trail from Texas, helping give women the vote in Utah and sending buffalo hunters onto the plains, where they drive a symbol of the West -- and a way of life -- to the brink of extinction.

Sep 19, 1996

Episode 6 - Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)E680m

Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)

The federal government tightens its grip on the West, but three bold spirits remain defiant -- Sitting Bull, who prophesies his people's greatest victory but cannot prevent their ultimate defeat; Brigham Young, who must sacrifice a spiritual son to save his church; and Chief Joseph, who triumphs in defeat as an indomitable voice of conscience for the West.

Sep 20, 1996

Episode 7 - The Geography Of Hope (1877-1887)E780m

The Geography Of Hope (1877-1887)

Newcomers arrive by the millions, bringing a new spirit of conformity to the West. Indian children are taught to forsake their heritage, Mormons are told to abandon a tenet of their faith, and new laws deny Chinese and Mexican Americans a place in society. Yet the legend of the “Wild West” lives on, thanks to the greatest showman of the age.

Sep 21, 1996

Episode 8 - Ghost Dance (1887 -1914)E880m

Ghost Dance (1887 -1914)

As settlers race to claim tribal lands, Native Americans take up the Ghost Dance, trusting in its power to restore a lost way of life until their hopes are crushed at Wounded Knee. The new century marks a new era in the West, an age of aqueducts and smelters. But the West remains what it has always been, a world waiting for a dream.

Sep 22, 1996

Episode 9 - One Sky Above Us (1887-1914)E980m

One Sky Above Us (1887-1914)

Los Angeles steals its water supply, millions of Mexicans migrate north, and Hollywood begins to shape the West and the nation's image of it.

Sep 23, 1996

Actors

Peter Coyote

Peter Coyote

Self - Narrator

N. Scott Momaday

N. Scott Momaday

Self - Writer

Murphy Guyer

Murphy Guyer

Self

John Trudell

John Trudell

Self

Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach

Self

Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller

Self

John Lithgow

John Lithgow

Self

Gary Sinise

Gary Sinise

T. P. Eagan

Jimmy Smits

Jimmy Smits

Self

Keith Carradine

Keith Carradine

Self

Adam Arkin

Adam Arkin

Self

Matthew Broderick

Matthew Broderick

Self - William Swain

Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis

Self

Jason Robards

Jason Robards

Self - Brigham Young

Recommendations

Top Gear
Mysteries at the Museum
American Masters
The Circus
Super/Natural
American Experience
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
The Civil War
The Movies
Down to Earth with Zac Efron
MegaStructures
Superpowered: The DC Story
The Kings
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers
STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces
Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman
Marvel Studios Legends
Limitless with Chris Hemsworth
Who Do You Think You Are?

Similars

Gunslingers
The American West
The Wild West
Temple Houston
The Huckleberry Hound Show
Trackdown
Bonanza
Templeton
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Zorro
Hec Ramsey
Children of the Dust
Centennial
The Adventures of Champion
Westworld
Peacemakers
The Westerner
Gunsmoke
Posse Impossible
Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse