Benjamin Franklin
Languages
English or Spanish dialogue; English or Spanish subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Narrated by Peter Coyote ; voice actor, Mandy Patinkin.
Publication Information
[Arlington, VA] : PBS Distribution, [2022]
Physical Description
2 videodiscs (approximately 240 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Audience
Not rated.
Summary
Benjamin Franklin explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century's most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States. Franklin's 84 years (1706-1790) spanned an epoch of momentous change in science, technology, literature, politics, and government--fields he himself advanced through lifelong commitments to societal and self-improvement. But Franklin's life was full of contradictions, and his success as a writer, printer, scientist, and statesman came at a cost to the people closest to him. His influence was unmatched in his time, and his impact remains with us today. "If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten," he said in Poor Richard's Almanack, "either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." Benjamin Franklin did both.
Notes
Originally broadcast as a two-part documentary series on PBS in 2022.