Amazon Commissions Earned

The 2022 documentary “Benjamin Franklin: A Film by Ken Burns“ is officially coming to Blu-ray on April 5th via PBS direct.  The documentary features a voice cast that includes the likes of Peter Coyote, Paul Giamatti, Josh Lucas, Carolyn McCormick, Liam Neeson, and Mandy Patinkin (as Franklin).  Below you can find a brief synopsis for the documentary [via PBS].

“Benjamin Franklin explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. Franklin’s 84 years (1706-1790) spanned an epoch of momentous change in science, technology, literature, politics, and government—fields he himself advanced through lifelong commitments to societal and self-improvement.

But Franklin’s life was full of contradictions, and his success as a writer, printer, scientist, and statesman came at a cost to the people closest to him. His influence was unmatched in his time, and his impact remains with us today. “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten,” he said in Poor Richard’s Almanack, “either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” Benjamin Franklin did both.”

The tech specs for the release include a 1080p HD video presentation it seems in the 1.78:1 (widescreen) aspect ratio and 5.1 surround sound — not yet specified if it will be presented in lossy (Dolby Digital) or in a lossless form (PCM, Dolby TrueHD, or DTS-HD Master Audio).  Stay tuned for a possible update on that.  It is known the release will span across a 2-disc set.  You can now find the Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon as well as directly from Shop PBS.

Further below, after the break, you can find all the info known about the release via PBS’ store (mentioned above).

 

Benjamin Franklin explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. Franklin’s 84 years (1706-1790) spanned an epoch of momentous change in science, technology, literature, politics, and government—fields he himself advanced through lifelong commitments to societal and self-improvement.

But Franklin’s life was full of contradictions, and his success as a writer, printer, scientist, and statesman came at a cost to the people closest to him. His influence was unmatched in his time, and his impact remains with us today. “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten,” he said in Poor Richard’s Almanack, “either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” Benjamin Franklin did both.

Producer: Ken Burns, David Schmidt
Executive Producer: Ken Burns
Production Company: Florentine Films
Production Year: 2022
Copyright Year: 2022
Director: Ken Burns
Narrator: Peter Coyote
Actors: Mandy Patinkin, Carolyn McCormick, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson, David Quay, Craig Mellish, Paul Giamatti, Joe Morton, Adam Arkin, Tony Beck
Writers: Dayton Dunc
Number of Discs: 2
Length: 240 minutes
Number of Episodes: 2
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH)
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16×9 Widescreen