Episode 4: New York, 1898-1918: The Power and the People (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

PBS

In this episode of New York: A Documentary Film, filmmaker Ric Burns follows the city into the 20th century in the wake of an extraordinary wave of immigration and the birth of the skyscraper. As New York spilled into the new century, the extraordinary interplay of capitalism, democracy and transformation surged to a climax. During a single generation, over 10 million immigrants arrived in New York. The city itself became an even more dramatic lure with the construction of the first subways and skyscrapers. And arising from the plight of New York's most exploited citizens came landmark legislation that would eventually transform the lives of all Americans.

Episode 6: New York, 1929-1941: City of Tomorrow (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

American Experience

During this episode of New York: A Documentary Film, filmmaker Ric Burns documents how the dramatic events that followed the Crash of ’29 fueled the greatest financial depression in American history and plunged the city and the nation into economic gloom. In little more than ten years, immense new forces were unleashed in New York, from the Depression itself to the New Deal, which permanently altered the city and the country. Along the way, two of the most remarkable New Yorkers of all time came to the fore: Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and master builder Robert Moses, both of whom sought to create a bold new city of the future. This program examines their careers in detail, as well as the immense public works that transformed the city in the ’30s. Part of the series New York: A Documentary Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (120 minutes)

Episode 2: New York, 1825-1865: Order and Disorder (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

American Experience

This episode of New York: A Documentary Film details New York's enormous growth as a booming commercial center and multi-ethnic port, and the mounting tensions that set the stage for the nation's bloodiest riot. Filmmaker Ric Burns examines how New York City swelled into the nation's greatest industrial metropolis as a massive wave of German and Irish immigration turned the city into one of the world's most complex urban environments, bringing with it a host of new social problems. The program reveals how the city's artists, innovators and leaders, from poet Walt Whitman to Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (the designers of Central Park) grappled with the city's growing conflicts—which culminated in the catastrophic Civil War Draft Riots of 1863. Part of the series New York: A Documentary Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (120 minutes)

Episode 3: New York, 1865-1898: Sunshine and Shadow (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

American Experience

In this episode of New York: A Documentary Film, Ric Burns turns to the period when greed and wealth fueled an expanding metropolis, even as politics and poverty defined it. Now the spotlight shines on the growth, glamour, and grief of New York during America's giddy postwar “Gilded Age.” Exploring the incomparable wealth of the robber barons and the unabashed corruption of political leaders, such as Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed, the episode examines the era when the expansion of wealth and poverty—and the schism between them—built to a crescendo. The program ends as the city itself dramatically expands its boundaries, annexing Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island into a single massive metropolis—Greater New York. Part of the series New York: A Documentary Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (120 minutes)

Episode 7: New York, 1945-2000: The City and the World (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

PBS

In this episode of New York: A Documentary Film, filmmaker Ric Burns explores the turbulent and often harrowing years from 1945 to 2003. Emerging from the Depression and the Second World War as the most powerful metropolis on Earth, New York soon confronted urban woes of unprecedented proportions, and fought for its very existence. In exploring the social, economic, and physical forces that swept through the city in the post-war period, this program examines the great African-American migration and Puerto Rican immigration of the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s; the beginnings of white flight and suburbanization; and the massive physical changes wrought by highways and urban renewal—all of which were directed, to a surprising degree, by one man: Robert Moses. The film comes to a climax with the destruction of Penn Station, the battle over the Lower Manhattan Expressway, the social and fiscal crises of the ’60s and ’70s, and New York's miraculous revival in the last quarter-century. Part of the series New York: A Documentary Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution.

Episode 1: New York, 1609-1825: The Country and the City (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

American Experience

This episode of New York: A Documentary Film begins by identifying the key themes that shaped New York's history: commerce and capitalism, diversity and democracy, transformation and creativity. Filmmaker Ric Burns charts the development of the city founded by the Dutch as a purely commercial enterprise, first as New Amsterdam, a freewheeling enclave of trade and opportunity; then as the British colony of New York, bestowed as a birthday gift upon the Duke of York by his brother, King Charles, and fueled by slavery; soon after as a strategically pivotal locale in the American Revolution; and ultimately as the city of New York: the nation's first capital and the place destined to define urban life in America—and American ideals. Part of the series New York: A Documentary Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (120 minutes)

Episode 5: New York, 1919-1931: Cosmopolis (New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns)

American Experience

During this episode of New York: A Documentary Film, filmmaker Ric Burns explores how the post-World War I economic boom, the rise of consumer culture, and the birth of new mass media industries fueled the convergence of an incredible array of human and cultural energies, ending with the stock market crash of 1929 and the construction of the Empire State Building. In just over a decade, New York gave birth to its signature skyscrapers and to artistic creations like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue,” and to the jazz compositions of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Along the way, Harlem emerged as the undisputed capital of the African-American experience and the new media industries of advertising, radio, public relations, and magazine publishing found their homes in midtown Manhattan. Part of the series New York: A Documentary Film. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (120 minutes)