Hemingway: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

Anyone viewing this series (hardly a documentary) would be hard pressed to understand why Hemingway received the Nobel Prize for literature. It glosses over or misses entirely the significance of Hemingway's greatest works. They pander to the notion that Hemingway's Catholicism was a simple pretext to obtain an anullment of his first marriage. I heard little discussion of the theme of values that is the core of his literature. One would do well to consult H. R. Stoneback - "Reading Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises: Glossary and Commentary" to understand just how deeply values and Catholic imagery permeated his work. Instead, the series dwells on the popular image and his all too human frailties wrapping them in a pseudo-psychological analysis of cause and effect. Disgusting from someone of the stature of Ken Burns which will obviously influence countless viewers with a negative view of one of the U.S.'s greatest writers, ultimately discouraging them from reading timeless, great literature.

Despite the often bad behavior of its protagonist, this series kept my attention when I watched it on PBS, and I liked enough to buy it. Hemingway, as many know, was a talented but troubled individual who drank too much and took out his anger on his wives and others around him. This series goes back to his childhood and explains some of that, then follows him through the rest of his life through his own words and those around him, including his four wives. Even though I didn't find him a particularly likeable character, his story was fascinating. This is quintessential Ken Burns, so if you like his type of documentary, this one may be for you.

Ken Burns is a real artist/film maker. This video covers Hemmingway's life from his childhood through his writing and war correspondent years. He suffered many tragic accidents that I wasn't aware of. He suffered from mental problems I'd never heard about. It was very interesting and informative. I look forward to seeing Burns produce more biographies like this. Three discs to this so pace yourself and I'm sure you will appreciate all that Hemmingway wrote and you will get insight to his many characters.

In true Ken Burns fashion, another wonderful documentary about one of the greatest American authors. This documentary takes a deep dive into the psyche of a very complex man.

Fascinating! I never read Hemingway but this three DVD set is absolutely fascinating and I have since bought one of his books to read. What a life this man lead. Highly suggest purchasing!

Excellent documentary, delivery and service overall.

This was a very insightful program. I have read some books about Papa Hemingway but I think this was a bit more truthful. What a life!!!!

Waited two years for this to be released. Excited finally to receive it. Immediately disappointed when I heard the voiceover actor representing Hemingway (Jeff Daniels). While I respect Daniels, his voice is ill-suited to the image of Hemingway: Daniels' voice is weak, with low energy, slow-speaking; he sounds ill --not like the Man's Man, Masculine Male one envisions Hemingway to be. This element aside, this Ken Burns work is wonderful.