American Masters: Season 24 (2010 - 2011)

Architect I.M. Pei, who left China in the 1930s, returns to his family's hometown of Suzhou to design a museum. The documentary features remarks from fellow architects and designers, scholars, local residents and Suzhou officials.

Johnny Depp narrates this phenomenal history of the Doors, the rock group responsible for such classics as "Light My Fire" and "L.A. Woman." It utilizes only footage shot from the band's 1965 formation to singer Jim Morrison's 1971 death, including a wealth of previously unseen clips. As Depp says, "To some, Jim was a poet, his soul trapped between heaven and hell. To others, he was just another rock star who crashed and burned. But this much is true: You can't burn out if you're not on fire."

"There are a lot of us that they called outlaws back in the beginning, but Merle was a real outlaw" says a laughing Kris Kristofferson in this penetrating profile of "the poet of the working man," Merle Haggard. The doc charts his rise from a hard-scrabble early life, including prison time, and the death of his father, to topping the country-music charts, and features a wealth of archival footage and remarks from Haggard, family and such friends as Kristofferson, Keith Richards and Tanya Tucker.

Andy Garcia narrates "Cachao: Uno Mas," a profile of influential Cuban mambo musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez (1918-2008). Footage from a 2005 San Francisco gig and a nostalgic conversation with him, Garcia and saxophonist Ray Santos spice the doc, which also features remarks from his daughter Elena and Gloria Estefan, who says "we would be a less rich musical country" without him.

Martin Scorsese writes "A Letter to Elia," part profile of filmmaker Elia Kazan and part memoir about how Kazan's "On the Waterfront" and "East of Eden" impacted him as a young man. The doc features clips, photos and excerpts from Kazan's autobiography, as well as a speech Kazan gave on directing, a videotaped interview with Kazan and Scorsese's own commentary.

Archival footage, studio outtakes and remarks from Yoko Ono, photographer Bob Gruen, producer Jack Douglas and members of the Elephant's Memory band spice "LENNONYC," which chronicles John Lennon's life after moving from Britain to the Big Apple in 1971. It recalls the tempest he and Yoko Ono stirred in the early 1970s, his immigration battle to stay in the U.S., his "lost weekend" in L.A. and love for New York, his years raising son Sean, and his reemergence in 1980 with "Double Fantasy."

"Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould" profiles the enigmatic pianist (1932-82), whose eccentricities often overshadowed his talent. It includes film footage, photographs, excerpts from his private home recordings and diaries, and remarks from close friends and former lovers.