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Mark Twain

  • TV Movie
  • 2001
  • TV-PG
  • 3h 32m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Mark Twain in Mark Twain (2001)
BiographyDocumentary

A biographical film about the acclaimed American humourist and author.A biographical film about the acclaimed American humourist and author.A biographical film about the acclaimed American humourist and author.

  • Director
    • Ken Burns
  • Writers
    • Dayton Duncan
    • Geoffrey C. Ward
  • Stars
    • Keith David
    • Kevin Conway
    • Philip Bosco
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.3/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ken Burns
    • Writers
      • Dayton Duncan
      • Geoffrey C. Ward
    • Stars
      • Keith David
      • Kevin Conway
      • Philip Bosco
    • 8User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos10

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    Top cast22

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    Keith David
    Keith David
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Kevin Conway
    Kevin Conway
    • Mark Twain
    • (voice)
    Philip Bosco
    Philip Bosco
    • Other Voices
    • (voice)
    Blythe Danner
    Blythe Danner
    • Olivia 'Livy' Langdon Clemens
    • (voice)
    Tim Clark
    • Other Voices
    • (voice)
    Carolyn McCormick
    Carolyn McCormick
    • Other Voices
    • (voice)
    Amy Madigan
    Amy Madigan
    • Other Voices
    • (voice)
    Cynthia Nixon
    Cynthia Nixon
    • Other Voices
    • (voice)
    Russell Banks
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    John Boyer
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Jocelyn Chadwick
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Clara Clemens
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Jean Clemens
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Shelly Fisher Fishkin
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Dick Gregory
    Dick Gregory
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Hal Holbrook
    Hal Holbrook
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Chuck Jones
    Chuck Jones
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Miller
    Arthur Miller
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ken Burns
    • Writers
      • Dayton Duncan
      • Geoffrey C. Ward
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews8

    8.31.1K
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    Featured reviews

    9Tom Murray

    He was a great and inspiring man.

    The life of Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, is a totally fascinating and moving story. He hated and spoke out against slavery and was a supporter of full adult suffrage. He was the first American to write in the vernacular and to write a sympathetic and well-developed portrait of a black person: Jim in Huckleberry Finn. He sponsored a struggling black man through law school, who later became the mentor of Thurgood Marshall, who was the first black American Supreme Court justice. Clemens struggled with depression; he was a man of constant sorrow; humour was what kept him from killing himself. He was born into modest circumstances, became wealthy and even became obsessive about it, to the point that it interfered with his writing. His dabbling in investments was a complete disaster; it ruined him financially. He moved in the circle of the elite but was a powerful and outspoken opponent of all that was wrong with society. Since he included himself in that group of wrongdoers, he was accepted by them as a sort of group conscience.

    As usual, Ken Burns has made another great documentary. The pace is moderate, the narration is excellent and often very moving, the talking heads are brief and concise and the mood is sincere. After two viewings, it is still on my list of films to see.

    The story is amazing! Samuel Clemens was the epitome of "The American Dream": rising from poverty and a wild lifestyle to great wealth and respect; forging a marriage, based on strong and abiding love; loving his family above all else; gambling on investments and the subsequent financial ruin; recovering by hard work (although legally bankrupt, he still paid off all of his debts); bouncing back after each one of more tragedies than any man could expect and, most of all, honesty, integrity, charity and the deepest understanding of what is means to be human. In all this, he was unique in the world. He was a great and inspiring man.
    10catnapbc

    Another winner by Ken Burns!

    I have yet to watch anything by Ken Burns and his usual crew/co-creators that doesn't inform, educate, entertain and fulfill my expectations. Even a subject like baseball is presented in a way that pulls you into its heart and soul. His forte, is of course, the immense detail and unknown angles that he presents to the viewer, especially when it comes to historical events that can be tedious. This is perfectly exemplified by his handling of the complex subject of Mark Twain/Samuel Clements. His wit, profound understanding of the human psyche and his complicated life are dealt with in such a respectful yet honest way. I knew a bit about the author and had read some of his books, but after watching this biography, I felt I understood him a bit more as a fully-realized human being. The background music, the voices (narrators), the unknown facts and the beautiful photography makes for compelling watching. I cannot imagine a more thorough and even-handed telling of the Civil War, or the Vietnam War, where you are not subjected to the victor's viewpoint alone. I regard Ken Burns as the ultimate storyteller and teacher for not just his American audience, but for all of us who are unaware of or lacking the exposure to the themes he covers so well. Entertainment can and should be more than just mindless viewing. Here is proof it can be many things. And the best.
    7Rindiana

    Treacherous "Safe Water"

    Typically emotional and reverential Ken Burns biography, featuring the usual display of wonderful vintage pictures and discreet music and sound accompaniment, as well as professional line-readings and commentaries.

    Twain's interesting life alone and all the anecdotal plentifulness of Burns's script guarantee three-and-a-half entertaining hours, but as a documentary about such a witty and sagacious writer, this feels too conventional and tame in style and presentation, hammering home some of its notions about Twain's inner conflicts too repetitively.

    It's still quality work, though.

    7 out of 10 failed business schemes
    10annmason1

    A Masterpiece

    This is one of the finest films I have ever seen. And I have watched it over and over. One comes away awed that one man could have endured so much sorrow and been able to translate it in a way other people could learn from, sometimes through laughter.

    Ken Burns is a treasure. He has given us a well rounded picture of a gifted man who was all too human. Could one person have lived his life more fully than Samuel Clemens? This is a fascinating study of a writer I knew little about and now will honor whenever I hear his name.

    Mark Twain was not afraid to write about ugly things, evil things, but wise enough to do so in a manner that lead the reader deep into the subject before realizing the truths he met along the way, and by then it was too late. The reader learned something about slavery or how one group of people treats another or about human nature that he had not intended to learn.

    This film is a masterpiece and worth viewing often.
    ivan-22

    A man you can like

    To call him a great American is to limit him. He is a citizen of the world, read in every country, more American than anyone else, yet more critical of his country than most. I will never forget how mother read Tom Sawyer to me in German, in a park in Montevideo, Uruguay, when I was only nine, and how I couldn't stop laughing at the funny way the characters talked. I was convulsed with laughter, one of the first big laughing fits of my life. Alas, as I grew up, I lost interest in fiction. But Twain is more than a writer. He is a character with flaws and all. His taste for luxury is disappointing. To coin an aphorism: How sad that people born in log cabins, don't want to live in them! It is heartbreaking to see Twain sink into debt and his family separated by penury. And one also wonders how much Huckleberry Finn owes to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Why not a big documentary about Harriet Beecher Stowe? Was she less of a writer?

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Narrator: "I am not AN American," Mark Twain said, "I am THE American."

    • Connections
      Featured in Ken Burns: America's Storyteller (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      The Handing Down
      Written by Edward Gerhard

      Performed by Edward Gerhard

      Published by Imaginary Road Music (BMI)

      Courtesy of Virtue Records

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 14, 2002 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • American Lives: Mark Twain
    • Filming locations
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA(Minnesota)
    • Production companies
      • Florentine Films
      • WETA
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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