When you are editing, the final master is Aristotle and his poetics. You might have a terrific episode, but if people are falling out because there are just too many elements in it, you have to begin to get rid…

Quote by Ken Burns

Topics: Ken Burns Quotes

You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come...

You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come...

Jazz is a very accurate, curiously accurate accompaniment to 20th century America.

Jazz is a very accurate, curiously accurate accompaniment to 20th century America.

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution...

The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution...

I record all of my music with authentic instruments in a studio before we start...

I record all of my music with authentic instruments in a studio before we start...

I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first...

I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first...

The stories from 1975 on are not finished and there is no resolve. I could...

The stories from 1975 on are not finished and there is no resolve. I could...

I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You...

I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You...

I don't use composers. I research music the way I research the photographs or the...

I don't use composers. I research music the way I research the photographs or the...

I treat the photograph as a work of great complexity in which you can find...

I treat the photograph as a work of great complexity in which you can find...

I never, ever want to apologize for a film. If it's bad I'll say it's...

I never, ever want to apologize for a film. If it's bad I'll say it's...

Like a layer on a pearl, you can't specifically identify the irritant, the moment of...

Like a layer on a pearl, you can't specifically identify the irritant, the moment of...

You can learn as much about the history from reading about the present as you...

You can learn as much about the history from reading about the present as you...

In most films music is brought in at the end, after the picture is more...

In most films music is brought in at the end, after the picture is more...

Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of...

Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of...

I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment...

I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment...

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what...

I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what...

You must not expect anything from others. It's you, of yourself, of whom you must...

You must not expect anything from others. It's you, of yourself, of whom you must...

Freedom involves a knowledge of choices. This alone is reason enough to get an education.

Freedom involves a knowledge of choices. This alone is reason enough to get an education.