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

Carmen de Lavallade's Inspiring Women

6m 11s

American actress, dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade tells the story of her cousin, ballet dancer Janet Collins. "There are times in your life when you want to give up, but she never did," de Lavallade says. She also shares stories about other inspiring women in her life like Nina Simone and Lena Horne.

Angie Mar, Owner & Head Chef: The Beatrice Inn

5m 26s

Angie Mar talks about her late start in the world of culinary arts, the work that went into becoming one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2017, and how the food of her childhood and time spent in the corporate world influence her work as owner and executive chef at The Beatrice Inn.

Inspiring Woman Premiere Event & Panel Discussion

36m 10s

American Masters held a panel discussion at Electropositive, a co-working space that focuses on social innovation and impact, with three women featured in "Inspiring Woman:" Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Rakia Reynolds, and Sara Chipps. The panel was moderated by Jenna Flanagan, host of MetroFocus.

Inspiring Woman Web Series: Trailer

1m 27s

Six innovators tell their own stories and explain how they’re changing their respective industries: podcast host Tracy Clayton, Chef Angie Mar, JavaScript developer Sara Chipps, web-cam performance artist Molly Soda, entrepreneur Rakia Reynolds, and visual artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh.

Tracy Clayton, BuzzFeed Podcast Host: Another Round

6m 30s

Tracy Clayton shares her journey building a career as a writer, humorist and co-host of BuzzFeed’s award-winning podcast Another Round, including the evolving representation of black women in pop culture, Black Twitter, and her generalized anxiety disorder.

Hear the story of Edgar Allan Poe's only novel

2m

Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket," was written at a time when Americans were beginning to clash over the idea of slavery. A violent story documenting a racial clash aboard a ship in the South Seas, the story was not well received and is still debated today.

Mash-up: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

8m 13s

Listen to a compilation of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven," read by Megan Marshall, Marilynne Robinson, Paul Lewis, Matthew Pearl, Jeffrey Meyers, Jerome McGann, Stuart Gordon, James Hutchisson, Harry Lee Poe, Scott Peeples, Ben Schnetzer, Chris Sarandon, Chris Semtner, Garrison Keillor and Roger Corman.

See inside the mind of a ranting and raving Edgar Allan Poe

34s

In a scene inspired by artist John Sartain's memoir, "Poe's Last Days," Denis O'Hare embodies the caricature of a nervous, ranting and raving Poe, possibly hallucinating, dipping in and out of sanity.

Filmmaker Roger Corman on "The Fall of the House of Usher"

58s

Filmmaker Roger Corman was initially drawn to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" because of the macabre setting. After the film was a great success Corman was asked to continue adapting Poe's works for cinema, going on to make "The Pit and the Pendulum," among others.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Five Biggest Myths About Poe

2m 6s

Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death and obituary filled with falsehoods contributed to his mythic legacy. How well do you know Edgar Allan Poe? See if you can separate fact from fiction.

Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive - Trailer

3m 5s

Discover the real story of the notorious author, starring Denis O’Hare as Edgar Allan Poe. This new documentary explores the misrepresentations of Poe and reveals how he tapped into what it means to be human in a modern and sometimes frightening world. Narrated by Kathleen Turner.

Filmmaker Roger Corman's dream-like world of Edgar Allan Poe

3m 15s

In adapting Edgar Allan Poe's writing for cinema, filmmaker Roger Corman wanted to emphasize the insulation of the unconscious mind. He worked on a closed sound-stage to create a hazy, dream-like world.

The Deaths of the Women in Poe's Life

1m 53s

Throughout his life, Edgar Allan Poe lost the women he loved, including his mother, adoptive mother and wife, many to tuberculosis. Their absence played a huge role in his writing. According to Poe, who often focused on death and loss in his works, "the death, then, of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world."

Denis O'Hare brings to life "The Man of the Crowd"

59s

"There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told..." Follow Edgar Allan Poe (portrayed by Denis O'Hare) as he traces the steps of a solitary man through a crowded street.

Denis O'Hare on Becoming Poe

1m 39s

Actor Denis O'Hare (American Horror Story, This Is Us) discusses the "tough" job of preparing for the role of Edgar Allan Poe: "There's so much information about him, and in a way you have to filter out all of the biases you have about who you think he is and get to who the man really was." The man he discovered was emotionally intense, brilliant and creative.

Experience Poe's dramatic readings of "The Raven"

3m 1s

After the extremely successful release of Poe's "The Raven," he became famous for his dramatic readings of the poem. Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor Denis O’Hare ("This Is Us," "American Horror Story," "Take Me Out," "True Blood") stars as Poe in this documentary.

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