American Masters

History Series / 15 Seasons

American Masters, committed to producing comprehensive film biographies about the broad cast of characters who comprise our cultural history.

1h 42m / TV-14

Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me Trailer

2m 36s

The first major film documentary to examine Sammy Davis, Jr.'s vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th century America.

Remembering Jonas Mekas

2m 47s

Jonas Mekas, the influential filmmaker and co-founder of Anthology Film Archives and the New York Film-Makers' Cooperative, talks to director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (1998) about his 1960s loft space in New York where Andy Warhol learned about experimental filmmaking. Mekas recalls tying Warhol to his seat during a six-hour screening of Sleep, and describes the

American Masters: Decoding Watson Trailer

2m 54s

Meet James Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist behind the double helix as he confronts his complex legacy. With unprecedented access to Watson and his family, "American Masters: Decoding Watson" explores his life, achievements, controversies and contradictions.

James Watson on X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin

2m 36s

X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin’s work contributed to James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA’s structure. Yet, Watson insulted Franklin and depicted her in a negative light in his bestselling book “The Double Helix.”

Demystifying DNA Structure

2m 18s

DNA is known as “the molecule of life.” But what exactly is DNA, and how does it work? Molecular biologist Andrea Morris and other experts explain the science behind the double helix and how it makes each of us genetically distinct.

DNA Discoveries Before Watson and Crick

3m

James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA’s structure in 1953, but other scientists paved the way for them. Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher isolated DNA in 1869, testing cell nuclei in pus. In 1944, Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty’s study of pneumonia bacteria provided definitive evidence that DNA was the molecule of heredity.

Remembering Stan Lee

7m 17s

In interviews with American Masters Executive Producer Michael Kantor for Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, comic book legend Stan Lee and others discuss Lee’s influential work at Marvel Comics, co-creating “The Fantastic Four,” “The Incredible Hulk,” Spider-Man and more.

Remembering Paula Wayne

3m 9s

Paula Wayne starred alongside Sammy Davis, Jr., in the groundbreaking Broadway musical “Golden Boy” about a black boxer who falls for his manager's white girlfriend – they shared the first interracial kiss on a Broadway stage.

Itzhak Perlman Plays "Theme From Schindler’s List"

2m 57s

Violinist Itzhak Perlman plays the theme from Schindler’s List for Amnon Weinstein as they discuss the importance of the violin for Jewish people in Nazi internment camps.

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