American Masters

History Series / 14 Seasons

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

Watch Latest: S39 E1

1h 23m / TV-14

A Letter To Elia - Preview

20s

Composed of clips, stills, readings from Kazan's autobiography and his speech on directing (read by Elias Koteas), a videotaped interview done late in Kazan's life, and Scorsese's commentary on and offscreen, A Letter to Elia takes a close look at the life of art and its creation - the work, the distractions, the inspirations, the complications, the intersections between art and experience.

Cachao: Uno Mas - Preview

31s

The Grammy-winning bassist Israel "Cachao" Lopez died on March 2008, almost 90-years old. A maestro of legendary status ultimately considered one of the greatest Afro-Cuban musicians of all time, he had made his home in the United States for the past four decades. American Masters' bilingual film, Cachao: Uno Mas premieres Monday, September 20, 2010 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings.)

Memories of Cachao

9m 59s

Gloria Estefen, Andy Garcia, and John Santos tell their favorite stories and recall memories of Cachao. They describe the ways his music influenced their lives and tell anecdotes from his life, including one of Cachao's favorite jokes about how to kill a cat.

Deleted Scenes and Extras from

19m 17s

Watch film extras and footage from the cutting room floor from "Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself." The film features archival footage and interviews with Merle Haggard and his family, Robert Duvall, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, Keith Richards, Tanya Tucker and more.

Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself - Preview

30s / TV-PG

Hailed as "country music's Frank Sinatra" in a recent review of his latest release I AM WHAT I AM (Vanguard Records), American Masters celebrates this "Lonesome Fugitive" in Merle Haggard: Learning to Live with Myself premiering Wednesday, July 21 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings.)

Filmmaker of Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself

4m 49s

Gandulf Hennig, the director of AMERICAN MASTERS Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself premiering July 21, 2010 at 9pm on PBS(check local listings), explains his film making process and shares anecdotes about what it's like to interview and film a maverick country musician such as Haggard.

The Doors ~ About The Film

30s

The creative chemistry of four brilliant artists – drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and singer Jim Morrison – made The Doors one of America’s most iconic, influential, and frightening rock bands.

Robby Krieger

2m 48s

Robby Krieger, guitarist for The Doors, talked to PBS at the 2010 SXSW festival in conjunction with a screening of When You're Strange, a film about The Doors premiering for AMERICAN MASTERS. Krieger talks about the the use of previously unseen archival footage used in the film, the use of Doors fan Johnny Depp as the narrator, and his inspiration for creating music.

John Densmore

2m 18s

John Densmore, the drummer for The Doors from 1965 to 1973, talks about Tom DiCillo's in-depth work on the film When You're Strange, Jim Morrison's original film "HWY: An American Pastoral" (presented with the program), and the different path he has taken as a rock star. When You're Strange, a film about The Doors premieres Wednesday May 12, 2010 at 9pm (check local listings) for AMERICAN MASTERS.

I.M. Pei Discusses The Hong Kong Bank of China Building

2m 49s / TV-G

Pei discusses the difficulties acheiving his creative vision for The Bank of China Building in Hong Kong, a place where traditional feng shui and cultural values came in conflict with elements of his modern design in a clip from I.M. Pei: Building China Modern. A production of PACEM Productions, distribution by by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com).

I.M. Pei Creating The Suzhou Museum Garden

6m 15s / TV-G

In the creation of the garden for the Suzhou Museum, the area most central to any Chinese building, I.M. Pei uses a variety of techniques to create a rock design that is both minimal and modern as well as a reflection of traditional Chinese aesthetic in a clip from I.M. Pei: Building China Modern. A production of PACEM Productions, distribution by by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com).

I.M. Pei Discusses The Louvre Pyramid

2m 15s / TV-G

In this clip from I.M. Pei: Building China Modern, Pei describes the resistance he initially face when building The Louvre Pyramid and how he worked through the cultural attitudes that were resistant to putting a modern structure in a classical space. A production of PACEM Productions, distribution by by Bullfrog Films (www.bullfrogfilms.com).

I.M. Pei: Building Interview

30s

'I.M. Pei: Building China Modern' follows the architect on a personal and architectural journey from west to east, where he was invited to design a museum to house the antiquities of his native Suzhou.

Outtakes, Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'

13m 58s

Louisa May Alcott's reputation as a morally upstanding spinster, reflecting the conventional propriety of late 19th Century Concord, is firmly established. However, raised among reformers, the intellectual protege of Emerson and Hawthorne and Thoreau, Alcott was actually a free thinker, with democratic ideals and progressive values about women.

Scene from The Brothers Warner

Harry Warner's granddaughter talks to people on Hollywood Boulevard; Interview with Lita Heller, Sam Warner's daughter; Interview with Roy Disney on Steamboat Willie; Black Furry and Sherry Lansing discussing films of social relevance; Roy Disney on fueding brothers; Eddie Boxer on Jack Warner's editing skills;

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