The Best Episodes of American Masters

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9.0/10(108 votes)
#1 - The Lives of Lillian Hellman
S13:E56/30/1999
The politics and writings of the noted 20th century woman.
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8.7/10(67 votes)
#2 - Unanswered Prayers: The Life and Times of Truman Capote
S2:E89/21/1987
The evolution of the novelist and his impact on other artists and American culture.
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8.7/10(190 votes)
#3 - Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy
S15:E412/3/2000
The incredible career of Lucille Ball, from youth through the movies, from television star to media mogul. Some of the personalities that comment in this film include Fran Drescher, Van Johnson, Dick Martin, Edie Adams, and Carol Burnett. This episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction Program.
Director:Unknown
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8.6/10(307 votes)
#4 - Balanchine
S18:E41/14/2004
A retrospective on the life and work of George Balanchine, a founder of American ballet.
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8.6/10(52 votes)
#5 - Waterman – Duke: Ambassador of Aloha
S36:E35/10/2022
The journey and legacy of five-time Olympic medalist Duke Kahanamoku, who broke swimming records and popularized modern-day surfing while overcoming racism.
Director:Isaac Halasima
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Isaac Halasima
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8.5/10(127 votes)
#6 - Dashiell Hammett: Detective, Writer
S13:E66/30/1999
A profile of an author as mysterious as some of his well-known detective stories.
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8.5/10(113 votes)
#7 - Walter Cronkite: Witness to History
S20:E57/26/2006
Walter Cronkite was the man who gave us the news for two tumultuous decades in the late 20th century. As historian, journalist and author David Halberstam says in praise of the great CBS newsman: "Most Americans really learned of the evening news and learned of Vietnam and learned of the civil rights movement and learned of Watergate with Walter Cronkite as the man who ushered it into their homes. And did it with great professionalism over a very long time and was I think absolutely true to himself." In AMERICAN MASTERS Walter Cronkite: Witness to History, a documentary narrated by Katie Couric, historians, fellow journalists and CBS colleagues appraise the career of the man who was called "the most trusted man in America." CBS writer and commentator Andy Rooney, legendary producer/director Don Hewitt, correspondents Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Lesley Stahl and Barbara Walters, columnists Molly Ivins and Helen Thomas, Senator John McCain and President Jimmy Carter guide the viewer from Cronkite's early days as a foreign correspondent in World War II through his thirty-year career at CBS News.
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8.5/10(71 votes)
#8 - Marcella
S39:E67/11/2025
Discover how celebrated writer Marcella Hazan shaped Italian cuisine in America. After immigrating to New York in the 1950s, she began making authentic dishes from her Italian roots and inspired millions of Americans with her cookbooks.
Director:Unknown
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8.4/10(56 votes)
#9 - The Negro Ensemble Company
S2:E79/14/1987
An ode to the work of the African American theater group founded in the late 60s and its impact on the performing arts.
Director:Unknown
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8.4/10(125 votes)
#10 - John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen
S5:E68/20/1990
A documentary on the 50 year career of a legendary producer of recording artists and musicians.
Director:Unknown
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8.4/10(12515 votes)
#11 - Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (1)
S19:E79/26/2005
A journey through the poetry and music of Bob Dylan.
Director:Martin Scorsese
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Martin Scorsese
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8.4/10(157 votes)
#12 - Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character
S21:E911/5/2007
The career of funny woman Carol Burnett, from Broadway to television stardom.
Director:Unknown
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8.4/10(35 votes)
#13 - Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin
S33:E98/2/2019
Explore the remarkable life and legacy of late feminist author Ursula K. Le Guin whose groundbreaking work, including “The Left Hand of Darkness,” transformed American literature by bringing science fiction into the literary mainstream.
Director:Unknown
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8.4/10(42 votes)
#14 - Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir
S35:E65/3/2021
The life and career of author Amy Tan, with archival imagery, home movies, photographs, animation and original interviews.
Director:Unknown
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8.4/10(31 votes)
#15 - Janis Ian: Breaking Silence
S39:E46/20/2025
Discover the life of singer-songwriter Janis Ian and how she rose as a folk icon and gay rights advocate. She broke ground with “Society’s Child” (1966), a bold take on interracial love, and “At Seventeen” (1975), a searing anthem about bullying.
Director:Unknown
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8.3/10(165 votes)
#16 - Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan and the Blacklist
S18:E19/3/2003
The dispute between one of America's most influential playwrights and a respected movie director over actions taken during the "red scare" of the 1950s.
Director:Unknown
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8.3/10(109 votes)
#17 - Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel
S26:E34/2/2012
Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel engages leading historians, biographers and personal friends to reveal a complex woman who experienced profound identity shifts during her life and struggled with the two great issues of her day: the changing role of women and the liberation of African Americans.
Director:Unknown
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8.3/10(53 votes)
#18 - Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart
S32:E11/19/2018
Explore the inner life and works of the activist, playwright and author of “A Raisin in the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry. Narrated by actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson and featuring the voice of Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose as Hansberry.
Director:Unknown
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8.3/10(85 votes)
#19 - Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me
S33:E22/19/2019
Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory.
Director:Unknown
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8.3/10(116 votes)
#20 - Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
S33:E109/13/2019
American Masters and Latino Public Broadcasting’s VOCES join forces to present the first documentary about Raúl Juliá, the versatile Puerto Rican actor whose work on stage and screen took the world by storm. Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage premieres Friday, September 13, 2019 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS, pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS Video App in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Director:Unknown
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8.2/10(110 votes)
#21 - Eugene O'Neill: A Glory of Ghosts
S1:E129/8/1986
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Director:Perry Miller Adato
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Perry Miller Adato
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8.2/10(237 votes)
#22 - D.W. Griffith: Father of Film
S7:E33/24/1993
A look at the innovator of primary motion picture techniques that are still important today and the controversy surrounding his beliefs.
Director:Unknown
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8.2/10(7 votes)
#23 - Woody Allen: A Documentary (2)
S25:E811/21/2011
Iconic writer, director, actor, comedian, and musician Woody Allen allowed his life and creative process to be documented on-camera for the first time. With this unprecedented access, Emmy®-winning, Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Robert Weide followed the notoriously private film legend over a year and a half to create the ultimate film biography.
Director:Unknown
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8.2/10(13 votes)
#24 - Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth
S28:E32/7/2014
A profile of writer Alice Walker, the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (for her 1982 novel "The Color Purple"). Included: remarks from Walker; Danny Glover; Quincy Jones; Sapphire; Steven Spielberg; and Howard Zinn. Filmmaker Pratibha Parmar’s new documentary tells Walker’s dramatic life story with poetry and lyricism, and features new interviews with Walker, Steven Spielberg, Danny Glover, Quincy Jones, Gloria Steinem, Sapphire and the late Howard Zinn in one of his final interviews.
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8.2/10(133 votes)
#25 - Bing Crosby Rediscovered
S28:E1012/2/2014
Bing Crosby (1903-77) is remembered via home movies, Dictabelt recordings, photos and insights from wife Kathryn, daughter Mary and sons Harry and Nathaniel. He scored nearly 400 hit singles, including the classic "White Christmas"; and appeared in such popular films as "White Christmas" and "Going My Way." The profile details the allegations of abuse leveled against him by son Gary (1933-95); and explains how his beloved duet with David Bowie on "Little Drummer Boy-Peace on Earth" came about.
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