Tag Archives: PBS direct

Ken Burns Benjamin Franklin Documentary on Blu-ray

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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).

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Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns comes to Blu-ray in June

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“Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns” is coming to Blu-ray on June 8th April 13th via PBS direct. UPDATE: This release has been pushed back to June now, from its original April release date. The Emmy award-winning documentary mini-series, directed by Ken Burns, originally aired in 2004 on PBS and in 2010 the series received “The Tenth Inning” as a 2-part additional episode. According to all retailers, this Blu-ray set will include that additional episode, as it carries the very same runtime as the previous DVD release. This documentary mini-series has been “fully restored in high definition” as touted on the cover art (pictured above). The tech specs for the release include a 1080p HD presentation, said to be in a widescreen aspect ratio, with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound on an 11-disc set. The bonus materials should be identical to those found on the previous DVD release, which included over 2 and a half hours of special features. No additional information is known about the high definition restoration at this time, as even PBS hasn’t listed it on their official store. You can however find the Blu-ray set now available for preorder over at Amazon as well as at retailers Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.