Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

American Masters

  • TV Series
  • 1985– 1985–
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,976
1,300
American Masters (1985)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:53
32 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Documentary
  • Biography
  • Music
Documentary series focusing on great American artists and personalities.Documentary series focusing on great American artists and personalities.Documentary series focusing on great American artists and personalities.
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,976
1,300
  • Creator
    • Susan Lacy(creator: American Masters)
  • Stars
    • Martin Scorsese
    • Peter Bogdanovich
    • Tony Bennett
Top credits
  • Creator
    • Susan Lacy(creator: American Masters)
  • Stars
    • Martin Scorsese
    • Peter Bogdanovich
    • Tony Bennett
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 27 Primetime Emmys
      • 57 wins & 78 nominations total

    Episodes262

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated

    Videos32

    You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
    Trailer 2:53
    You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
    Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends
    Trailer 0:49
    Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends
    Sketches of Frank Gehry
    Trailer 1:57
    Sketches of Frank Gehry
    No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
    Trailer 1:45
    No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
    Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant-Garde
    Trailer 1:32
    Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant-Garde
    American Masters: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
    Trailer 2:27
    American Masters: Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
    American Masters: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
    Trailer 2:18
    American Masters: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
    Unladylike 2020
    Trailer 0:59
    Unladylike 2020
    American Masters: N. Scott Momaday: Words From A Bear
    Trailer 0:25
    American Masters: N. Scott Momaday: Words From A Bear
    American Masters: Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous
    Trailer 0:31
    American Masters: Rothko: Pictures Must Be Miraculous
    Garrison Keillor: The Man On The Radio In The Red Shoes
    Trailer 1:11
    Garrison Keillor: The Man On The Radio In The Red Shoes
    Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied
    Trailer 1:25
    Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied

    Photos329

    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    Private Conversations: On the Set of 'Death of a Salesman' (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)
    American Masters (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Martin Scorsese
    Martin Scorsese
    • Self…
    8 episodes8 eps • 1990–2011
    Peter Bogdanovich
    Peter Bogdanovich
    • Self
    7 episodes7 eps • 1990–2011
    Tony Bennett
    Tony Bennett
    • Self…
    8 episodes8 eps • 1989–2014
    Lee Grant
    Lee Grant
    • Self…
    5 episodes5 eps • 1990–2007
    Eli Wallach
    Eli Wallach
    • Self…
    6 episodes6 eps • 1990–2005
    Steven Spielberg
    Steven Spielberg
    • Self
    6 episodes6 eps • 1990–2016
    Carl Reiner
    Carl Reiner
    • Self
    5 episodes5 eps • 1996–2016
    Jeanine Basinger
    Jeanine Basinger
    • Self…
    5 episodes5 eps • 2000–2020
    Dick Cavett
    Dick Cavett
    • Self…
    9 episodes9 eps • 2000–2017
    Willie Nelson
    Willie Nelson
    • Self
    5 episodes5 eps • 1992–2019
    Quincy Jones
    Quincy Jones
    • Self…
    5 episodes5 eps • 1992–2019
    Richard Schickel
    Richard Schickel
    • Self…
    5 episodes5 eps • 1998–2011
    David Geffen
    David Geffen
    • Self…
    4 episodes4 eps • 2003–2012
    Gregory Peck
    Gregory Peck
    • Self…
    5 episodes5 eps • 1986–1999
    Dustin Hoffman
    Dustin Hoffman
    • Self…
    4 episodes4 eps • 1985–2016
    Stanley Tucci
    Stanley Tucci
    • Narrator…
    3 episodes3 eps • 2002–2020
    Milt Hinton
    • Self…
    4 episodes4 eps • 1986–1993
    Yoko Ono
    Yoko Ono
    • Self
    4 episodes4 eps • 1990–2012
    • Creator
      • Susan Lacy(creator: American Masters)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    American Experience
    8.6
    American Experience
    Frontline
    8.6
    Frontline
    Nova
    8.7
    Nova
    The Blues
    8.1
    The Blues
    Lady by the Sea: The Statue of Liberty
    6.0
    Lady by the Sea: The Statue of Liberty
    No Direction Home
    7.2
    No Direction Home
    Independent Lens
    8.0
    Independent Lens
    60 Minutes
    7.4
    60 Minutes
    Biography
    7.7
    Biography
    Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
    6.9
    Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
    Antiques Roadshow
    7.3
    Antiques Roadshow
    Long Strange Trip
    8.2
    Long Strange Trip

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Since its premiere in 1986, this Emmy-winning documentary series has presented hundreds of hours comprising profiles of outstanding American cultural artists. Past subjects have included Charlie Chaplin, Helen Hayes, pop icon Andy Warhol, singer Billie Holliday and composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein.
    • Connections
      Featured in 2011 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (2011)

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    best Gershwin documentary
    A fine documentary both as a presentation of the composer's life as well as his music including many observations and opinions. It is interesting that Virgil Thomson's negative remarks are given at some length but these are expressions of envy in my opinion. I don't recall his exact remarks but they are to the effect that all of Gershwin's serious music, consists merely of strung-together show-tunes.

    While I agree that the "Rhapsody in Blue" is not satisfactory as a "classical" work, it's form is too diffuse and the composer didn't really know what he was doing at this time, I think he made up for it later on and then some. (His Second Rhapsody has never had the fame of the "Rhapsody in Blue" but is, to my mind, much more satisfying as a concert work.) Mr. Thomson's contributions to the American opera may be considerable with his two Gertrude Stein collaborations but can, in no way, compete with the infinitely greater Porgy and Bess which is probably the greatest American opera of all time.

    A minor quibble: Morris and Rose Gershwin did not have two older sons named "Ira" and "George" but rather "Israel" and "Jacob"; they both changed their names fairly early on.

    Many of the usual "musical-documentary gang" are here including Kitty Carlisle Hart, one of the geriatrics wonders of the world. At age 95, she was, of this writing, still able to clearly express herself even taking part in the recent pledge break for PBS. (She died April 2007.) Others include the late Kay Swift, George's "girlfriend" and sometimes collaborator and the two "Michaels", Feinstein and Tilson Thomas both looking rather young here. In fact, MTT has made a specialty of the Second Rhapsody, playing and conducting it from the keyboard a la Bernstein.

    Many film excerpts from "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris" are presented though there is an obvious effort to avoid showing Robert Alda as George in the first film. (Oscar Levant, George's friend and disciple who appears in both films, is shown at some length.) The music is presented in chronological order and this works very well here.
    helpful•10
    4
    • standardmetal
    • Jun 13, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 22, 1986 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • American Masters
      • PBS (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 美國大師
    • Production companies
      • Thirteen / WNET
      • 1515 Productions Limited
      • American Masters Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    American Masters (1985)
    Top Gap
    By what name was American Masters (1985) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page
    Add episode

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in July
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.