Title from container; credits from screen.

Program content: c2001.

Edited by Erik W. Ewers & Craig Mellish ; cinematography, Buddy Squires, Allen Moore, Ken Burns.

Narrated by Keith David ; the voice of Mark Twain, Kevin Conway.

Samuel Clemens rose from a hardscrabble boyhood in the backwoods of Missouri to become, as Mark Twain, America's best-known and best-loved author. Considered in his time as the funniest man on earth, Twain was also an unflinching critic of human nature who used his humor to attack hypocrisy, greed and racism. He created some of the world's most memorable characters as well as its most quoted sayings. And, in his often-misunderstood novel "Huckleberry Finn," he brought forth a masterpiece that Ernest Hemingway called the true beginning of American literature. This remarkable film tells the story of Twain's extraordinary life -- full of rollicking adventure, stupendous success and crushing defeat, hilarious comedy and almost unbearable tragedy.

Not rated.

DVD; region 1, NTSC; full screen presentation; stereo.

Closed captioned.