''Hemingway'' is a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

on the life of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

produced by

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

and

Lynn Novick Lynn Novick is an American director and producer of documentary films, widely known for her work with Ken Burns. Early life Novick was born in 1962, raised in New York City, and graduated from Horace Mann School in 1979. She graduated magna cum la ...

. It first aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in April 2021. Burns documented both the public and private personae of Hemingway from his birth in 1899 to his death in 1961. It focuses on Hemingway's writing, his four marriages, three sons, and Hemingway's peacetime and wartime lifestyle and interests, his alcoholism and character flaws. The film was narrated by

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author and narrator of films, theatre, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' Cro ...

, with

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...

acting as the voice of Ernest Hemingway. Other voice actors include

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

, who voiced Hemingway's third wife,

Martha Gellhorn Martha Ellis Gellhorn (8 November 1908 – 15 February 1998) was an American novelist, travel writer, and journalist who is considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century. Gellhorn reported on virtually every major worl ...

. The late Senator John McCain was interviewed for this documentary sometime before his death in 2018.

Episodes

# "A Writer (1899-1929)" # "The Avatar (1929-1944)" # "The Blank Page (1944-1961)"

Ken Burns and PBS

In 2007, Burns had made an agreement with PBS to produce work for the network well into the next decade. According to a 2017 piece in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', Burns and his company, Florentine Films, selected topics for documentaries slated for release by 2030.

Reception

Stephen Colbert of ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' called it, "Incredibly moving and beautiful."

References

External links

Official site on PBS
Links
Making ''Hemingway''
2021 films Films directed by Ken Burns 2020s American documentary television series American documentary films Works about Ernest Hemingway 2020s American films {{bio-documentary-film-stub