Over the years, legendary documentary film maker Ken Burns has put out a lot of movies — but now he’s released his very first app, which lets you explore his work on American history in a totally new way. Called simply “Ken Burns,” the iPad app isn’t a movie itself, but instead a collection of clips from past films. What makes the app so engaging is the way these clips are arranged — you can view them chronologically, through a timeline, or via a series of playlists each centered in a particular theme, like race or art. “What is so exciting to me about this app is the opportunity to pull back and isolate some individual stories and connect them with other moments from other films,” Burns says in the app’s introduction. Burns has spent decades chronicling American history, and his enthusiasm shows through a number of introductory clips that are sprinkled throughout the playlists.
