The National Parks: America's Best Idea
Encyclopedia
The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a 2009 documentary film
for television
, DVD and companion book (ISBN 978-0307268969) by director/producer Ken Burns
and producer/writer Dayton Duncan
which features the United States National Park system and traces the system's history
. The series won two 2010 Emmy Awards for outstanding writing in episode 2 "The Last Refuge", and for outstanding non-fiction series.
is the narrator of all episodes, with first-person voices supplied by Adam Arkin
, Philip Bosco
, Kevin Conway, Andy García
, Tom Hanks
, John Lithgow
, Josh Lucas
, Carolyn McCormick
, Campbell Scott
, George Takei
, Eli Wallach
and Sam Waterston
.
Some foreign releases of the series – notably Australia – have separated it into 12 hour-long episodes.
. The first two-hour segment premiered at the Hopkins Center for the Arts
at Dartmouth College
on April 17, 2009. Episodes debuted daily, beginning Sunday September 27 to Friday October 2, with full episodes online the following day.
and foundations:
plus corporations such as General Motors
and Bank of America
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
for television
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, DVD and companion book (ISBN 978-0307268969) by director/producer Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
and producer/writer Dayton Duncan
Dayton Duncan
Dayton Duncan was the writer and co-producer of The National Parks: America's Best Idea documentary produced by Ken Burns, and has also been involved for many years with other series by Burns including The Civil War, Baseball and Jazz...
which features the United States National Park system and traces the system's history
History of the National Park Service (United States)
Since 1872 the United States National Park System has grown from a single, public reservation called Yellowstone National Park to embrace over 450 natural, historical, recreational, and cultural areas throughout the United States, its territories, and island possessions...
. The series won two 2010 Emmy Awards for outstanding writing in episode 2 "The Last Refuge", and for outstanding non-fiction series.
Cast
Peter CoyotePeter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
is the narrator of all episodes, with first-person voices supplied by Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin is an American television, film and stage actor and director. He played the role of Aaron Shutt on Chicago Hope. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony as well as 3 primetime Emmys, 4 SAG Awards , and a DGA Award...
, Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
, Kevin Conway, Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
, Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
, Carolyn McCormick
Carolyn McCormick
Carolyn Inez McCormick is an American actress best known for her role as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet on Law & Order franchise.-Life and career:McCormick was born in Midland, Texas to a father who owned an oil drilling company...
, Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott
Campbell Scott is an American actor, director, producer, and voice artist.-Life and career:Scott was born in New York City, the son of George C. Scott, an actor, director, and producer, and Colleen Dewhurst, a Canadian-born actress. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1983. His brother is...
, George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
, Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
and Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
.
Episodes
- "The Scripture of Nature" (1851–1890) shows the beauty of Yosemite ValleyYosemite ValleyYosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
and the geyser wonderland of Yellowstone. Additionally, it offers a lengthy discussion of how Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks were created and shows how John MuirJohn MuirJohn Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
became their eloquent defender. - "The Last Refuge" (1890–1915) Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
uses the presidential powers of the Antiquities ActAntiquities ActThe Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, giving the President of the United States authority to, by executive order, restrict the use of...
to add National Monuments, including Devils TowerDevils Tower National MonumentDevils Tower is an igneous intrusion or laccolith located in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River...
, Mesa VerdeMesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It was created in 1906 to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world...
, Petrified ForestPetrified Forest National ParkPetrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's headquarters are about east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 , which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park...
, Muir WoodsMuir Woods National MonumentMuir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on the Pacific coast of southwestern Marin County, California, north of San Francisco and part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, Crater LakeCrater LakeCrater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years agoby the...
and the Grand CanyonGrand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. Hetch Hetchy ValleyHetch Hetchy ValleyHetch Hetchy Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in California. It is currently completely flooded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The Tuolumne River fills the reservoir. Upstream from the valley lies the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. The reservoir...
is lost through damming. Roosevelt's speech at the dedication of Yellowstone's Roosevelt ArchRoosevelt ArchThe Roosevelt Arch is the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana. The arch's cornerstone was laid down by President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt in 1903...
states the ultimate purpose of the National Parks: For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People. - "The Empire of Grandeur" (1915–1919) covers the creation of the National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and the influence of its early leaders Stephen Mather and Horace M. AlbrightHorace M. AlbrightHorace Marden Albright was an American conservationist.Horace Albright was born 1890 in Bishop, California, the son of George Albright, a miner. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1912 , and earned a law degree from Georgetown University...
, and wealthy industrialists who Mather persuaded to help him champion the park system. - "Going Home" (1920–1933) focuses on the time when America embraced the automobile, setting off an explosion in the number of park visits. Also, the Rockefellers quietly buy up land in the Teton Mountain Range.
- "Great Nature" (1933–1945) emphasizes the societal impacts of the park concept, including new environmental and naturalistic perspectives, employment opportunities and application of the park idea to additional geographical locations.
- "The Morning of Creation" (1946–1980) offers details about the ecological damage caused by 62 million visitors each year and the controversial decision to protect wolves in AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
which had been hunted to extinction in all other parks.
Some foreign releases of the series – notably Australia – have separated it into 12 hour-long episodes.
Premiere
The film was previewed in a seven-minute segment at the end of the fourth episode of Burns's 2007 PBS documentary, The WarThe War (documentary)
The War is a 2007 American seven-part documentary television mini-series about World War II from the perspective of the United States that premiered on September 23, 2007...
. The first two-hour segment premiered at the Hopkins Center for the Arts
Hopkins Center for the Arts
Hopkins Center for the Creative and Performing Arts at Dartmouth College is located at 2 East Wheelock Street in Hanover, New Hampshire. The center, which was designed by Wallace K. Harrison and foreshadows his later design of Manhattan’s Lincoln Center, is the college’s cultural hub. It is home...
at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
on April 17, 2009. Episodes debuted daily, beginning Sunday September 27 to Friday October 2, with full episodes online the following day.
Funding
Funding for the documentary came from WETAWETA-TV
WETA-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member public televisionstation for the Washington, D.C., area. Its studios are in nearby Arlington, Virginia...
and foundations:
- The Arthur Vining Davis FoundationsThe Arthur Vining Davis FoundationsThe Arthur Vining Davis Foundations are a group of charitable foundations established by American industrialist Arthur Vining Davis, onetime Alcoa president and Florida land developer.-History:...
- Evelyn & Walter A. Haas, Jr.Walter A. Haas, Jr.Walter A. Haas, Jr. was a president and CEO and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas. He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer and wholesaler of work clothes to one of the world’s leading apparel companies...
Fund - John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- National Park FoundationNational Park FoundationChartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s nearly 400 national parks. Funds contributed to the Foundation are invested directly into the national parks...
- The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation
- The Pew Charitable TrustsThe Pew Charitable TrustsThe Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization , founded in 1948. With over US$5 billion in assets, its current mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and stimulating civic life."-History:The Trusts, a single...
- Park FoundationRoy H. ParkRoy Hampton Park was an American media executive and entrepreneur. -Biography:Park was born in Dobson, North Carolina, the son of a tenant farmer...
- Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public BroadcastingThe Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
- Viewers Like You
plus corporations such as General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
and Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
.
External links
- Official website from Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- Documentary trailer, Q&A with Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan from the National Park FoundationNational Park FoundationChartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s nearly 400 national parks. Funds contributed to the Foundation are invested directly into the national parks...
- Learn more about America's Best Idea from National Park Service Archeology Program
- The National Parks: America's Best Idea at the Internet Movie Database