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American Masters Season 23 Episodes
Season 23 Episode Guide
8 Episodes 2008 - 2009
Episode 1
Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About
Wed, Feb 18, 2009120 mins
Born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz, Jerome Robbins was a dancer and choreographer. Starting his career as a modern dancer, he began to appreciate the technique involved in ballet, the two which he merged in his choreography, especially in musical theater. In his choreography, he was renowned for injecting personality into each individual dancer's role and integrating dance not only into the storyline but into the everyday movement of the character. His primary interest was in telling American stories through dance. His professional career finished more the modern ballet realm. He was a taskmaster and perfectionist which invoked from those he worked with a mixture of admiration, praise and from some hatred. In both his professional and personal life, he was prone to self-doubt and self-loathing. In the latter half of his career and life, some of this feeling stemmed from his testimony provided to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Episode 2
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
Wed, Apr 8, 2009
Allowed unprecedented access to Philip Glass' working process, filmmaker Scott Hicks gives us a singular revelation into the life of the composer.
Episode 3
Hollywood Chinese
Tue, May 26, 2009
From the sexed-up Suzie Wong to the Kung Fu fighting Bruce Lee, American Masters tackles issues of race and representation in Hollywood.
Episode 4
Neil Young: Don't Be Denied
Wed, Jun 10, 2009
Told in Young's own words, the film weaves hours of exclusive interviews with previously unseen performance footage from the star's own extensive collection.
Episode 5
Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes
Wed, Jul 1, 200986 mins
America's foremost humorist and commentator, Garrison Keillor takes his skits and jokes, music and monologues across the country in his traveling radio show, spinning his stories into American gold. This freeform, intimate look at the private man in the public spotlight goes behind the scenes of America's most popular radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, and inside the imagination of the man who created it. Over one year of filming has resulted in an unusual portrait that cannot be defined by the standard terms of chronological biography: the subject himself is an enigma, and the fictional world he has created has become a real place in America: Lake Wobegon. A man compelled to speak for his people with humor and nostalgia; Keillor singlehandedly revived the art of live radio for generations of fans by creating an onstage world that deeply resonates with his audiences. His take on America is both pungent and poignant. In the best tradition of Will Rogers and Mark Twain, Keillor mixes storytelling and humor to give us a lighthearted but deeply felt reflection of ourselves.
Episode 6
Dalton Trumbo: Trumbo
Wed, Sep 2, 2009
What the Stalin-stooges actually said at the time of the Hollywood Blacklist - spoken by some of today's greatest actors.
Episode 7
Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound
Wed, Oct 14, 2009
American Masters explores fifty years of folk legend and human rights activist Joan Baez
Episode 8
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'
Mon, Dec 28, 200984 mins
Louisa May Alcott, author of 'Little Women,' leads a literary double life, writing under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, an identity that remains until the 1940s.
