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Accompanied by a menagerie of products, Ken Burns's expansive 10-episode paean, Jazz, completes his trilogy on American culture, following The Civil War and Baseball. Spanning more than 19 hours, Jazz is, of course, about a lot more than what many have called America's classical music--especially in episodes 1 through 7. It's here that Burns unearths precious visual images of jazz musicians and hangs historical narratives around the music with convincing authority. Time can stand still as images float past to the sound of grainy vintage jazz, and the drama of a phonograph needle being placed on Louis Armstrong's celestial "West End Blues" is nearly sublime.

The film is also potent in arguing that the history of race in the 20th-century U.S. is at jazz's heart. But a few problems arise. First is Burns's reliance on Wynton Marsalis as his chief musical commentator. Marsalis might be charming and musically expert, but he's no historian. For the film to devote three of its episodes to the 1930s, one expects a bit more historical substance. Also, Jazz condenses the period of 1961 to the present into one episode, glossing over some of the music's giant steps. Burns has said repeatedly that he didn't know much about jazz when he began this project. So perhaps Jazz, for all its glory, would better be called Jazz: What I've Learned Since I Started Listening (And I Haven't Gotten Much Past 1961). For those who are already passionate about jazz, the film will stoke debate (and some derision, together with some reluctant praise). But for everyone else, it will amaze and entertain and kindle a flame for some of the greatest music ever dreamed. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (118)

The Best Series on Jazz, Despite Its Flaws
I am a jazz musician, son of a jazz musician, am conservatory trained, and this series stands toe to toe with the best lectures by the best music historians and music theory experts I have studied with. If Ken Burns chose to follow a the pillars of jazz in depth rather than give ten minutes to every musician to come along in the past hundred years, we are better for it. If you want ten minutes on each musician, read liner notes. Mr. Burns series will be remembered precisely because it does go into such depth. Bird, Duke, Pops and Dizzie do not come clear to you without much study. We should be grateful for the fact that this series is anything but shallow. It is true to the art. If this series, because of such depth, asks more of viewers than they want to give, then let such viewers only seeking entertainment seek that. Americans, everything is not entertainment.

Jazz itself, from its outset and to this very day, asks more of you than any other music. A series about it should do no less.

This series is not perfect. Jazz is also imperfect. As Thelonius Monk said, there are no wrong notes. So are there no bad jazz documentaries, as long as they are unflinching, whole, and about the forces that shaped the music. This one is. It's only real flaw is that it is too in love with its own story and the music. That is entirely forgiveable.

If you have any interest in jazz, buy or rent this series and watch each one like a student, and learn in wonder at the extraordinary music brought to us by African Americans. It is one of the glories of American culture, and of the world, and we should join Ken Burns, his historians, critics and musicians in joyously celebrating the collective creation of the geniuses that graced our land in the past 100 years.

"History," "Documentary," "Theory of" are not in the title.
The negative reviews of this series assume that Burns is compiling a documentary, writing a historical survey, or undertaking some theoretical analysis of jazz. Burns is above all a biographer. His primary interest is in the life of a particular artist, solider, athlete, explorer, etc.: the overall trajectory of their lives--the choices they make, the risks they are or aren't willing to take, their sufferings in the face of prejudice, misunderstanding, and failure--and how the individual life fits within the larger social context. Hence his emphasis on annecdote, personal letter and photograph, character analysis, and why he has baseball players and actors and club owners as well as scholars and musicians commenting on these people. And why he traces the entire career of someone like Louis Armstrong or Billy Holiday, rather than devoting more time to contemporary muscians whose story it is still too young to be told. Everything else is secondary to this main concern, and to miss this focus is to miss the point of all Ken Burns' documentaries. To grasp it is to experience life within a wider, wiser, almost epic, context. The so-called jazz expert who is miffed over some apparent omission, or overemphasis, or seeming bias, is like the librarian who has all the books catalogued and all the facts at their fingertips but can't see that they might refer to something outside the four walls of their narrow expertise.

Provides a very useful orientation
Jazz is a relatively recent interest for me--maybe half a dozen years. I'd learned about scattered fragments of jazz, but never developed a systematic understanding, a clear orientation--though a couple of times I'd tried: I bought Gary Giddons' "Visions of Jazz," for instance, which is very good but just didn't capture my imagination.

Ken Burns' "Jazz" gave me what I've been wanting for years--a clear, evocative, comprehensive way into the genre as a whole.

Okay, it may not be the last word on the history of jazz. Yeah, some things really irritated me--like the slighting, mentioned by many, of Bill Evans, and the excessive excision of many white musicians to make the generally accurate point that jazz springs more from the experience of Black Americans. (Hint to Burns: You make your argument stronger by showing how apparently contrary data fit, not by leaving them out.) But over all, I found this a very helpful overview. And I enjoyed getting to know the biographies of, and the personal relations among, the players.

You won't likely get such an orientation from buying a few of the original CDs *instead* of the "Jazz" series. Few of us have the ears or training to discern what's taught in this series. You'd be highly unlikely to realize that, for instance, what was new with Be-Bop is improvising on the underlying chord changes rather than the melody. You'd really have to be perceptive and paying attention to notice what distinguishes Kansas City jazz from New Orleans jazz from New York jazz from West Coast jazz. And *no* album can place *itself* in history. For instance, you cannot learn from listening to an album featuring Coleman Hawkins-or Charlie Christian or Kenny Clarke--that *before* that album people played very differently. In short, you'd have to be far better trained musically and far more observant than most of us are, and listen to dozens (if not hundreds) of albums, to learn what this series teaches.

As I watched over a period of a couple of weeks, I bought several of the CDs that Burns produced to survey the music, and I found them very instructive. No, as listening experiences, they're not as good as some of the various albums on which the cuts originated. But that's not the point: They are very good ways to get an overview, to get oriented, to know where to go next.

After seeing this series and studying the accompanying CDs, when I go into the music store and start perusing the jazz disks, I find that I recognize a whole lot more and can surmise a whole lot better what's what and what would interest me. For instance, tonight I saw "From Spirituals to Swing," a three CD set of Carnegie Hall jazz concerts in 1938 and 1939. A month ago, the list of personnel would have meant near-nothing to me--I probably wouldn't have even known what I was looking at, and I doubt I would have looked at the thing for more than thirty seconds. Now, though, I studied and comprehended the personnel and got all excited--"This I gotta hear." So I bought it, and it's great.

Now, isn't that reason enough to recommend this series?

That the overall interpretive framework of the series may need correction is not a trenchant criticism, in my opinion. To get a comprehensive understanding of anything, you have to start with *some* systematic framework, which you can then modify, maybe even refute, as you encounter further data. Logically, the first such framework you acquire has to come from someone else, unless you are a genius of extremely wide learning.

No, Ken Burns' "Jazz" isn't the only guide to jazz you'll ever need--as others have noted, some of the omissions are glaring. But it's fine place to start.

If you really want to get a sense of jazz, this is an excellent investment, in my opinion. Yeah, it's pricey--but cheaper than, say, an adult education course on jazz appreciation at your local community college (if you include texts and other supporting material). And if you don't want to spend the money--well, you can hint real hard to your significant other that you'd like it for your birthday or Valentine or some such thing.

Postscript: I almost didn't buy this because of the characterization of Wynton Marsalis's role by several other reviewers here. I'd never much liked his music--it always seemed too cerebral, almost architectural, for my tastes--chilly, not very visceral. (That's just my personal taste--I also find most of Ella Fitzgerald--except her duo wok with Armstrong--a bit emotionally distant, unlike Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday or Carmen McRae or many others.)

I was skeptical about any documentary that made Marsalis the central story teller.

Well, two things: (1) He just isn't the central story teller here. He does not have anything approaching the majority of commentator air time. It is certainly true that he plays a role analogous to Shelby Foote's in "The Civil War"--he is a unifying presence, especially in the early going and toward the end. This is just good film making--to establish "characters" whose presence throughout helps give unity to the piece. (2) I really liked Wynton in this documentary. He came off as much earthier, more laid back, mischievous, funnier and more fun, than I ever would have imagined. And he is really quite illuminating, especially when he explains various musical concepts--like the "Big 4." (I went back and listened to "Thick in the South," thinking maybe I'd like his music more now. Nope. Still feels too thought-out, too chilly, to me. Oh, well.)

Could have been so much better
I guess it says something that I have gone back and watched Burns' "Civil War" documentary more than a dozen times since I first saw it, and have only watch "Jazz" once since the first time. The Civil War documentary certainly is rife with factual inaccuracies but by & large gets the essential story of the conflict right. "Jazz," on the other hand, treats its subject as though the last 40-50 years never happened. It is as though the Civil War documentary would have lingered over the years 1861-1863 incessantly, then sped through the last two years ("Oh yeah, there were a couple of battles, Atlanta burned, Lee surrendered, the war was over. The end." Something like that) as though they didn't matter.

As I found the documentary going into its umpteenth hour and we STILL weren't out of the 1930's yet, I had a bad feeling about where this was going. You would have thought that Louis Armstrong had been annointed as the Jazz Pope and he ruled over the world of jazz for 40 years. In his proper context, Armstrong is very important, but Burns seems positively fixated on him. He dwells on every facet of Armstrong's upbringing & early career. Unless he planned on making a 60-hour documentary, there was no way Burns could hope to do justice to the more recent history of the genre, and sure enough he basically hits the fast forward button once the be-bop era is coming to a close.

Personally, I cannot stand fushion jazz, but nonetheless some mention needs to made of a style that was dominant in jazz for almost as long as the swing style, for crying out loud. Also, relying almost exculsively on Wynton Marsalis (doing his best impression of a crochety old man on his front porch, railing at a world that has passed him by) really was not a good idea & imbues the entire documentary with a hopelessly retrograde flavor.

I watched it once, and came away disappointed. I watched it a second time, hoping that I could find more to appreciate, but only found that it continued to disappoint. I don't know if it merits any future viewings, and that is indeed a shame, because it is a subject that deserves better treatment than this.

Excellent for what it is
It's surprizing how vociferously some "snobs" condemn "Jazz" simply because it's not as comprehensive as they seem to think it should be. From reading these reviews you would think Ken Burns is a half-step above a holocaust-denier for not including Roland Kirk or Eric Dolphy. "Jazz" is a wonderful, inspiring and, yes, traditional look at the art form. Newcomers shouldn't be dissuaded because it's not as complete as it should be. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the 1980s determined researchers began scouring the world for colorfilm shot during World War II, and the result of their quest is spectacular.Seeing the war through the ubiquitous black-and-white footage has always madethe experience somewhat distant, but in clear, crisp color, the enormity of thewar and its horrors is startling and dramatic. Films of Nazi rallies are all themore disturbing; a viewer seeing the scene in color realizes the massive crowdssaluting Hitler are no longer gray and faceless masses, but gatherings of well- dressed civilians. Color combat footage, from across Europe and the Pacific, isfrighteningly immediate, and some of it, showing the wounded, the dead, and evenprisoners being executed, will no doubt be disturbing for many viewers. Violenceand destruction on an unimaginable scale is vividly put on display, as aresmaller moments of soldiers smiling for the camera or liberated prisoners fromthe concentration camps staring in pained bewilderment. The episodes, producedby the History Channel, are introduced by veteran journalist Roger Mudd, and thenarration for each individual segment typically contains excerpts from lettersand diaries describing events close to those depicted in the film footage. Thefootage used is of a surprisingly high quality (much of it was shot and storedaway, virtually unseen for decades), and it provides a stunning look at how thewar appeared to those fighting it. --Robert J. McNamara ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Powerful Images of the 20th Century's Most Significant Event
Having read dozens of books on World War Two and having seen many documentaries in the classroom or on my own, I was a little skeptical that simply seeing this footage in color would bring it even more to life. But I certainly was wrong. This is amazing footage from a 3-part History Channel program that presents World War II in color, and there's no way you're going to forget it. Most haunting is the bonus footage of Adolf Hitler hanging out with friends, playing with a dog, petting the animal, playing with children. Seeing a monster in this sort of setting only makes more horrific the Holocaust and Hitler's grand vision of Liebenstraum. Then the footage of Auschwitz and Dachau is enough to haunt you forever. Seeing it in black and white was powerful enough. Seeing it in color, the blank stares of corpses piled up one on top of another in the back of a truck is something that you will never forget. And when you see the kamikaze attack on Okinawa, you'll sit there stunned.
In all, the entire 3-DVD series makes for some unforgettable viewing, strung together with historically accurate narration, most of it from diary entries or letters from the average person. For it was roughly 40 million average persons whose lives were lost in this event. As Roger Mudd ends the series, he talks about how Steven Ambrose' D-Day center now houses the color footage of the Normandy Invasion, so, as Ambrose said, future generations would realize that seeing this in color would show that World War Two was not ancient history. Once you see this, you'll never forget that.

Eerie, hypnotic, gut-wrenching
This is an astonishing set of videos. First there is the jaw-dropping, almost hallucinogenic experiance of seeing WWII events in technicolor. It reminds one of how much black-and-white film aestheticizes and abstracts events. Admittedly our eyes don't see in technicolor either, but the color makes you feel far more psychologically "there" so to speak. The second thing is the amazing quality of most of this footage. It hardly seems to have aged at all in 55-60 years! When you consider that film from the 1960's sometimes looks atrociously degraded and washed out, the almost pristine look of this footage is remarkable to say the least. It must have been stored well and never projected. (Of course, the producers could choose the best-looking bits from what was reputedly hundreds of hours of rediscovered film.) Watching this film is a tremendously emotional experiance, sometimes frightening, sometimes grueling, sometimes stomach-turning. The voice-over narration makes heavy use of contemporary letters and diaries of soldiers and civilians, and is often touching. The cumulative impact of all this----the island fighting, Nazi rallies, shipyard workers, civilians hanged by Nazis, radiation victims, Pearl Harbor wreckage, air war footage, death camps, and on and on----is almost overwhelming. Like having your nose shoved into the sheer mess and folly of mass war.

Now that I hear that the UK version of this documentary was narrated by the redoubtable John Thaw I'd love to see THAT version, but otherwise I unreservedly recommend this to anyone and everyone. Too many people think of documentaries as boring but this demonstrates how mesmerizing they can be. For anyone too young to have first-hand memories of it (which is most of the population now) this makes WWII far more visceral than you ever thought possible.

the lost archives appear to be still lost
The footage in this film is fantastic but in no way whatsoever does justice to what the individuals who participated in the war experienced. Unlike the Land of the Czars or other films produced this production does not provide enough detail for any of the events listed in the contents. It is almost like fast forwarding through the war. There is no way i would subject my students to this film. I would be boring them to death and I would here about it.
The purchase of this dvd was a total waste of money. I would sooner use many of the dusty copies in our library.
pjk

My comment
It is fascinating and exciting to see World War II not in black and white, as we are used to seeing it, but in color. Its kind of like how it was for theater audiences of the day. Most movies of the day were in black and white, but those that were in Technicolor were absolutely stunning, and still are. Unfortunately, that's what the problem with these tapes are. Even though the colors are realistic, the picture is quite grainy and the image suffers from poor contrast, muddy blacks and blurred colors; it is very slow and sometimes fringing becomes apparent. The reason for this was because it was shot on nonprofessional 16mm film, separated into negatives and then blown up onto 35mm. The best examples of color film remain the old Technicolor movies from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, not Kodachrome films like these. Unfortunately, we can't see World War II in Technicolor, because it would have been way too expensive and out of bounds to shoot in it, but nevertheless the picture would have been much better.

Very Good Documentary Even if it Were Not in Color
Apart from the obvious important issue of color, "Lost Color Archives" is different from many other documentaries dealing with World War II. The emphasis is much less on causes and facts than it is on the impact of the war on society and individuals. Its use of personal observances is remeniscent of the way Ken Burns used eye witness accounts in "The Civil War" to make more of an impact on the viewer.

Evenso, from a historical perspective, "Lost Color Archives" does deserve high praise as a solid explanation of the war as a whole. Because it is told largely from the eye witness point of view, the viewer has a sense of the impending conflict, then the endurance through the war, and finally, the exhausted conclusion. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the war was over, but that much of the world had been destroyed and that the effects and rememberance of the war would linger on.

Add color to all this and the documentary clearly stands above anything else I've ever seen about the war. Some of the images are average, some are stunning, some are beautiful, some are horrifying, but all are in color.

The combination of the color video and the first person narratives often sent chills down my spine. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Excellent!
This nine-part documentary is not only a history of the Jews, it's a history of the western world! Hundreds of thousands of dollars were probably spent in the production of this series. Abba Eban takes the viewer all over the world to examine one of the world's most gifted and intriguing people - the Jews. These tapes will not put you to sleep. The music and images allows the viewer to relive Jewish history. And consequently, come to understand the world we live in today much better. I know the tapes are pricey, but own this documentary if you ever have the chance. You'll never regret it.

Heritage Civilization & the Jews by Abba Eban
I thought the documentry was thought provoking, and set a good example of what documentries should convey -- "the facts" -- minus "too much" so-called "perspective". I took an amature film-making class years ago, and as much as I like classic films; it is always super to view "factual" documentries (minus the "revisionist" approach to manipulating the facts!) The legacy of the relative time factor puts adequate perspective on such "factual" documentries. It's NOT a regular movie after all -- it's a "review of historical facts". ... Thank you for the great books, and service you provide at Amazon.com. :)

Heritage - Civilization and the Jews DVD
WOW! This is an incredible set to have. The DVD is a reprint from a PBS special in 1984 (Peabody winner, at that). Abba Eban is an incredible, captivating speaker. My only problem is that there is so much information, I can only watch about two hours at a time. This is a must have whether you are Jewish or not. The series pulls together world history unlike any class I took in college. The addition of the DVD-Rom with tons of maps, historical documents, and video clips is awesome. It has answered most of the questions I had, and let me view a moving graphical history by sliding the scroll bar. Super buy for a history buff!

superb! Teaches us that Jews and christians are brothers
and sisters. One realizes how alike we are andwonder how we could have persecuted our Jewish brothers for the past 2000 years.

Re-issue of a great documentary from the 1980s
This DVD is a re-issue of a 9-hour mini-series that first aired in the 1980s, and was recently (Nov-Dec. 2001) aired again on PBS. Each segment is 1 hour long, making it a useful tool in history classes covering many different periods. Since the "history of civilization" textbooks rarely mention what the Jews were doing in the 1900-year period between the rise of Christianity and the Nazi Holocaust, this series plays an important role in helping to make the curriculum more inclusive. Plus, The DVD version has a lot of additional resource materials not in the original PBS series.

Regarding classroom appropriateness in public schools, this is a documentary, not a "religion" series. Yes, the series does talk about religion in some places, but it's called "Civilization and the Jews" for a reason. To be Jewish is not just a "religion," it is also a culture, with its own art, music, literature, etc. The approach is a mix of history, theology, archaeology, art, architecture, etc. that is intended to inform, not preach. The series clearly shows how Jews have contributed to the various civilizations where they lived, and how, in turn, the Jews benefitted from interaction with many of the different cultures where the Jewish communities were located. Yes, it also covers the pesecutions of the Jews, but it's well-balanced with positive experiences and events. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Rome: Power & Glory is a six-volume comprehensive introduction to the rise, rule, and fall of the Roman Empire. The series covers the political, military, and social history of the empire from its miraculous engineering feats to the exorbitant taxation that contributed to its downfall. Learn about ancient sporting events and Roman opinions on sex, fashions, slavery, and taxes. The series covers many of Rome's most famous, and in many cases infamous, figures, including Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero, and Caligula. One of the series' main strengths is its coverage of all levels of Roman society, depicting the diverse strata of Roman civilization in all respects: economic, religious, geographic, and such. While providing a good general overview, Rome does not have time to make a detailed study of any one topic. The other disadvantage is a reliance on old gladiator movie footage that detracts from the seriousness of the topic. All in all, this is an excellent visual introduction to the history of the Roman Empire. --Tara Chace ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Best for the Beginner
This is not a DVD series for someone already familiar with Roman history. It is, however, a decent introduction for a beginner.

As other reviewers have said, the series is laid out in six independent chapters. Although the layout is roughly chronological, it does jump forward and loop back at times, which can lead to confusion if watching the entire series at one sitting (wait, didn't we already cover Commodus? Did I start the wrong chapter?). This repetition occurs because the chapters were meant to be shown one at a time, and are thematic, rather than chronological. For example, one chapter might cover the legions, and another the growth of Empire, and both chapters might discuss the second Punic War and the fall of Carthage.

The narration is fair. I was a bit off-put at first by the American voice (though American myself, I always expect a British narrator in this sort of film) but quickly grew accustomed to it. Many of the images are of very old (look to the the 1920's or 1930's) films about Rome, with modern images added and similarly made to look dated. It's a decent effect. The more modern images, such as those of a man throwing hay into a wagon with his pitchfork, are repeatedly used throughout the film -- any time the series discusses farming, we see this same film clip.

The experts are...fair. I found it disheartening to hear one compare Rome's gladiators to Mike Tyson in the first few minutes of series -- the comparison, while true, felt trite and overly focused on pop culture. It will date the series in a few years when people say, 'Mike Who?'.

All-in-all, a reasonable effort.

Order the Pasta! This Caesar Salad is not Roman
I took a chance ordering my first DVD series about the power and glory of Rome. I felt it would be an excellent idea for my family to gain a complete perspective about the Roman Empire. I understood it was not going to have the same quality of "The Passion" or the blood and hoopla of "Braveheart," however, I was expecting to get an excellent historical perspective about the splendor and magnificence of Rome, the greatest empire of the World.

Instead, my family viewed a hodgepodge of ruins, black and white blurred segments, 'candy-coated' imagery to soften the senses (the hysteria and shock could not be absorbed as to how Rome really functioned on a daily basis) and colossal amounts of repetitive film clips that became so nauseating that the narrative, in audio, intellectually overwhelmed the content presented on video.

There was some beautiful footage of the countryside and fleeting glimpses of grandeur sprinkled throughout the series, but the splicing and cuts shut down any momentum. Regrettably, even the documentary got repetitive. Several comments were contradictory. Important aspects of Roman society were utterly dismissed, ignored or avoided. Many statements were biased, misrepresented and utterly false!

For example, the narrative claims that the Barbarians and other cultures were more sadistic and treacherous than the Romans. Let us use some common sense! On the admission of the narrators, the Romans were embedding for centuries the fine art of sadism and treachery...while the video is showing repetitive scenes of earlier periods from Disc 1, 2 3 and 4.

I was not very comfortable with the comparisons made between America and Rome. In fact, it was confusing without deeper analysis. Some incredible comparisons were made, but like many comments given on other subjects on the DVD, they needed to be backed up with evidence, proof and further discussion.

Great introduction to Rome
I thought it would be worse due to the importance given to fighting and gladiators, but it has a lot of information and is quite entertaining. Great for students. However, I was aiming at something more intellectual.

Superficial and Simply Wrong
If this were a book rather than a video then I would say there is a mistake on almost every page. The author's understanding of what he/she writes about is superficial in many areas, and often what is said is simply wrong. If you already have a good foundation in the history of Rome then this might be a two star video since parts of it may be entertaining or otherwise interesting. However, this is a very misleading way to start an understanding of Roman history. The author seems either to be incompetent, or perhaps is consciously unconcerned with the facts in order to twist Roman history to fit into some political statement the author wants to make. Either way this is not a very insightful, accurate work.

A good resource on understanding the Roman world
I would give this 4.5 stars if I could. The content on this DVD is arranged topically instead of chronologically. Because of this, you can watch each episode independently of the others instead of all in a row like I did. :-)

Some of the content is repeated across episodes as they recap an earlier one (this originally aired on TLC) so even though it is 5 hours total, it is probably closer to 4 hours of unique content.

The narrator is generally good in giving content and the expert sound bites are just long enough, though it would be nice to hear more.

There are very few re-enactments in this series. They have a stock set of actions they re-use in different contexts.

I would definitely recommend this for people to watch. ... Read more

Description

Robert Flaherty's classic film tells the story of Inuit hunter Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada's Hudson Bay region. Enormously popular when released in 1922, Nanook of the North is a cinematic milestone that continues to enchant audiences. Criterion is proud to present the original director's cut, restored to the proper frame rate and tinted according to Flaherty's personal print. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

a great film about Inuits (Eskimos)
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This film is credited with being one of the first documentary films. When first released it became known worldwide. Although the film was staged it is partially accurate. At the time of the film was being made, Inuit society was beginning to modernize and the film was made to portray traditional life for the Inuits.

To this day the film remains one of the most famous documentaries ever made.

The film is well photographed and is the first silent film the Criterion Collection has released on DVD. The new musical score is excellent and often appropriate for the particular scenes. This film is generally appropriate for all ages but near the end of the film there is a scene of brief female nudity.

The Criterion Collection has resotred the film to its original frame rate and the special features include photographs of the region where the movie was filmed and also inclused a rare interview with the director's widow.

The beginning of Documentary Film, One of The Greatest Films
Most of what I could say has already been said. It is an important historical document of a vanished way of life. It is a unique tribute to one man & his stand agianst the elements. Flaherty invented documentary as we now know it in this film. The filmmaker displays almost as much tenacity & courage in recording the material as Nanook does in his everyday life. A measure of the film's greatness is the profound effect it had on Orson Welles. After seeing the film Welles is said to have abandoned the editing of his 'Magnificent Ambersons' & taken on a journey to South America to shoot in documentary style.

Good Movie
I saw this movie during a documentary class and my whole class enjoyed watching this movie. However there are many who refer to this movie as a view of "eskimo" life, which it is not. We learned in class that this movie was actually representing a time about 10-15 years prior to the filming. Many of the things in this movie were contrived for the making of the film. Some examples of this were Nanook's name (and family) and the walrus hunt (they no longer used harpoons to get walrus', instead they used guns).

However, that said, this WAS one of the best fictional accounts of inuit life I have ever seen. It truely had the flavor of reality and I found myself numourous time pulling for the people in the film. It also had an essence of comedy that I had not expected. I found my self very satisfied with the movie in general.

A classic of ethnographic film
Robert Flaherty's "Nanook of the North" is a true classic of ethnographic film. The principle behind anthropological film in the early days of its existence was to capture traditional societies in time, a sort of "salvage ethnography." In doing so, filmmakers like Flaherty and others particularly focused on Amerindian cultures, which were seen as a dying remnant of early America. In creating his silent masterpiece, Flaherty used actors of Inuit extraction, who still knew the traditional ways, and who could reproduce their culture for posterity through film. Though his methods have been criticized as contrived and retrogressive, post-modernist rhetoric has not succeeded in ruining this film in the popular or anthropological circles. "Nanook" remains a warm account of traditional Inuit/Eskimo life, despite their frigid setting. The DVD collectable edition contains some photo galleries and useful material about Flaherty and his subjects.

best movie ever
nanook is a true inspiration and a magnificent human being. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Intellectual Self-Defence
With the recent media frenzy surrounding Michael Moore's documentary, Fahrenheit 911, it is interesting to observe how the controversy currently swirling around it (Disney backed it financially but won't distribute it) has been documented in the press. It makes a film like Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media all the more relevant more than ten years after its release. Chomsky is a soft-spoken professor at MIT who has become quite a vocal political activist and critic of the American media. He believes that ordinary people can comprehend and act on the issues he raises, but this is not always an easy task because of the thick web of doublespeak that the government creates to blind us from what he calls the "elementary truths" that are right in front of us.

However, people are indoctrinated to be apathetic so that they don't want to make the effort that is needed to see what is really going on. And the media doesn't help either. In fact, one might say that they promote this sense of apathy by showing redundant, repetitive sitcoms and reality shows that turn us into mindless couch potatoes. Now, you might be thinking, this sounds like a lot of conspiracy theory garbage, but Chomsky does not look, act or speak like some crazed conspiracy nut. He is an intelligent man who talks to a BBC reporter the same way he would talk to an ordinary person. Chomsky is a clear and concise speaker who backs up everything he says with an ample supply of facts and unfaltering logic. He is a man dedicated to uncovering the deception and atrocities that are committed by governments all over the world and teaching others how to become aware of and act on these acts.

With funding from the National Film Board of Canada, Peter Wintonick and Mark Achbar followed Chomsky around the globe for five years. The result was a two hour and forty-five minute documentary that explored Chomsky's view of the media and his relationship with it. The film acts as a sort of "stepping stone" to Chomsky's books, which are filled with pretty heavy concepts and a lot of information to absorb. The film doesn't water down his ideas, but rather represents them on a visual level so that they are a bit easier to grasp.

In Manufacturing Consent, Chomsky reveals that all major decisions over what happens in our society are controlled by a heavily concentrated network of corporations, conglomerates and investment firms. This network also has considerable influence over positions in the government. Just looking at the big Savings and Loans scandals that plagued the U.S. a few years ago reveals this link. Corporations also own the media and therefore decide what we watch and hear for the most part. They control the resources and as a result show only what is in their best interests. This is achieved by propaganda or the "manufacturing of consent," a term borrowed from political philosopher and journalist, Walter Lippmann. Manufacturing consent is a technique of control over the masses-in other words, propaganda or the creation of necessary illusions to marginalize the general public or reduce them to apathy in some form. The news media participates in this manufacture of consent by simplifying, selecting, and dramatizing events.

Wintonick and Achbar take a look at various forms of alternative media, from the successful independent publishers, South End Press to Alternative Radio that is dedicated to reporting events that the U.S. media conveniently ignores and giving people like Noam Chomsky more exposure. The film has certainly exposed Chomsky's ideas to a wider audience creating a sort of cult following in Canada and in Europe where he is more popular than in his native United States.

The film doesn't talk down to the viewer and brilliantly conveys Chomsky's ideas on a visual level utilizing all forms of media. The directors also dedicate time to show some of Chomsky's detractors like William F. Buckley, Jr. and Tom Wolfe who come across like pretentious bullies while Chomsky appears calm and rational in response to their vicious, snide attacks. They are ironic scenes that add more credibility to Chomsky's views.

Manufacturing Consent is a fascinating look Chomsky and his ideas that are guaranteed to provoke discussion. It also makes one want to check out some of his work and sparks a desire to wake up and realize what is going on in our society. The film is a real eye-opener to the behind the scenes mechanics of our government and the media and how little we realize what they are really up to. The film does not dip into tabloid or conspiracy depths, but presents a logical and intelligent analysis with a good sense of humour that is often missing from such material. Chomsky is a man who sincerely believes that we can identify and react to the problems in our government and media, but realizes that it cannot be done by just one man, it will take a massive grass-roots organization. First, people must be educated and this is hard because it is so easy to do nothing. Realizing that there is a problem is the first step, correcting it is the next.

A great tool for understanding
This film is a fantastic starting point for those interested in exploring the ideas of Noam Chomsky. It should function less as a typical biographical portrait and more as an overview of concepts--an overview which happens to include a bit of historical information about Mr. Chomsky's life. Those concepts, particularly those of the abolition of unwarranted power and authority should lead the viewer to take this film not as an authoritative documentary, but as a jumping block for a new means of analytical thinking. Taken as such and put into practice, I think this film's subject matter could help transform the narcotized western mind into a valuable, alert tool--a tool for healthy skepticism that could lead to a remarkable rethinking of power and domination in any guise, media or otherwise. It's length is not at all a disadvantage. The filmmakers manage to present a comprehensive body of ideas in as short a time as possible while maintaining an enjoyable pace. Well worth the time--insights like these are priceless.

A Great Introduction To Important Alternative Views
Chomsky is a man of fact, reason, and simplicity. This documentary highlights some of the basic ideas of his important books about the domination of the media by indoctrination, the elites who own them, and how this affects the average person's access to information about the world and thus his view of his community and its relationship to outsidce societies.
This is a great film if you're becoming disaffected with our current political situation and looking for a way out of the mess we're in.

Great Important Documentary on Noam Chomsky
Manufacturing Consent is the 1992 documentary directed by
Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick about the perennial dissident lecturer Noam Chomsky. The focus is on how the media deals with both Chomsky and the issues he raises: mainly by ignoring him. Here we get clips of everything from his discussion with William F. Buckley from the 1960s to interviews in Europe to his 10 second clip on McNeil-Lehrer.

Chomsky is shown as an important force that critiques both the destructive policies of power elites as well as the media that keeps the masses ignorant by spoon feeding them non-critical propaganda. The scenes are cleverly done with some humor, showing Chomsky speaking on Times Square screens and such.

And yet this isn't a quintessential Chomsky film as it does narrow the focus to the media, and spends a lot of time on a French Holocaust denier and Chomsky defending his right to speak (though not his views). This is a bit of a side track from his true significance as an Anarchist, Human Rights, and Peace activist. But when we hear his views on Vietnam, East Timor, Central America, and Iraq we start to see the bigger picture. Namely that everything the media tells us is half-truth if not outright false.

His message is important and it comes through in this film. Is he always right? I would say no, but he always sticks to his guns, never wavers, to the point where his views get predictable. But without him the peace movement would be much worse off intellectually (we'd be stuck with the likes of Michael Parenti wining at us). Chomsky is always low key, not in your face, and this film paints a sympathetic portrait while giving him some exposure the U.S. media usually denies him.

More Depth, Please!
Avram Noam Chomsky was born in 1928, the son of Jewish parents who worked as Hebrew language teachers. Young Noam showed promise in the brains department, devouring huge stacks of books and learning languages at an extremely young age. He went to the University of Pennsylvania after high school, where he eventually earned a doctoral degree in 1955 in the field of linguistics. Quickly snapped up by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chomsky went on to develop a larger theory of language that soon won him worldwide acclaim, leading some people to refer to him as the "Einstein of Linguistics." Still residing at MIT to this day, Chomsky is perhaps better known as one of the preeminent social critics of American foreign policy and the American corporate media systems. The author of literally dozens of books on linguistics and contemporary social problems, Chomsky continues to make his rounds on the lecture circuit in an effort to awaken citizens to the dangers present in the power structures of the United States.

"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media" represents the efforts of three documentary filmmakers to condense Chomsky's ideas about the media and the structures of American power into a nearly three hour visual presentation. The title of the film, according to Chomsky, comes from a phrase coined by Walter Lippmann, an early twentieth century public intellectual who feared the American public to such an extent that he argued for the implementation of specific methods to control and shape public opinion. This, says Chomsky, leads us to our present predicament, a situation where elites in American society acquire control of media through corporate institutions in order to manage the flow of information to the public. In other words, propaganda supporting elite activities is the name of the game at the New York Times, ABC, NBC, CNN, CBS, The Washington Post, and other primary forces in the news business. Secondary or tertiary news outlets simply take their cues from these trendsetters, often running stories only after the national elite media decide that they are stories.

Moreover, the media systems filter out dissident opinions through various techniques. One of these methods is "concision," or giving limited airtime or column space to a specific story in order to control the parameters of that story. Chomsky claims concision keeps people like him out of the news because only allowing a person to make comments within a two-minute period does not let new ideas get through. If a person should get on the air and claim that the government bears primary responsibility for the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, for example, the audience would want to know a lot of facts about such an alien idea. According to Chomsky, this rarely happens. Instead, the short time allotted to guests on a news show serve only to reinforce already accepted propagandistic platitudes that ultimately support elite positions. "Concision" keeps new ideas out and stymies debate regarding accepted ideas. There are several more points to Chomsky's theory in the film, along with a test case concerning the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in the 1970s presented in an effort to prove the propaganda model. I am leaving a ton of stuff out here, but since I also believe that the media promotes elite interests, the whole thing ultimately boils down to what type of news system we should have.

The good professor supports alternative/small press media as a balance to the huge corporate news systems, and I agree with this conclusion too. For far too long, big East Coast interests have controlled what the majority of the population eats, thinks, wears, and discusses. There is simply no geographical balance. The recent blackout in New York City had absolutely no bearing on my life out here in the wilds of the Midwest, but there it was on every news channel on television and prominently displayed in my local newspaper. Chomsky argues that alternative media will lead to a greater, freer dialogue about important issues. The professor claims the alternative press might even lead to a complete overthrow of capitalism and its replacement with anarcho-syndicalism, a belief system that posits self-management, direct democracy, and working class solidarity. This political system sounds like communism, doesn't it? Well, I really don't think Chomsky is a communist, but I simply don't trust anarcho-syndicalism. At one point in the documentary, the professor avers that there are no perfect solutions to our problems and that we should all at least try his theory. One presumes that if we don't like it, all we need to do is say so, right? Wrong. Revolutions don't work that way. Replacing one political system with another tends to be quite messy, and telling the new masters that you just don't think you can go along with them always seems to lead to the behavior we saw in Stalinist Russia. Chomsky's promise that his new order will be open to different ideas doesn't satisfy this cynic. I am not ready for a cure that might be worse than the disease.

Overall, "Manufacturing Consent" left me unsatisfied. In an attempt to cover as much ground as possible, the filmmakers never provided as much depth to Chomsky's theories as I would have liked. Obviously, I could buy the book and see for myself exactly what the professor's arguments are, but you would think a nearly three hour documentary could provide a better presentation of this man's beliefs. As for the DVD, the picture and sound are good and there are several lengthy extras consisting of debates Chomsky had with Michel Foucault and William Buckley. Noam Chomsky comes across as an accessible, likeable guy who really cares about social problems, and I agree with most of what he is saying. I just disagree with his vision of a post-capitalist world. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A magnificent series.
The DVDs faithfully reproduce the videotapes; I see complaints about the quality of the transfer as unjustified. One would think from reading the other reviews that the DVDs are somehow technically defective; this isn't the case. They don't improve on the original footage, but who reasonably expects them to do that?

This is a fascinating documentary series, covering a retracement of the Silk Road from east to west, as recorded by NHK over the course of several years, beginning in 1979. This set contains the first dozen episodes, part I of the series (Boxed Set 1 and Boxed Set 2, which is not to be confused with Silk Road II, the final 18 episodes). It begins in Chang-An and ends in the Pamirs. Part II, alas, doesn't seem to have made it to DVD; that covers the journey from Central Asia to Rome.

Titles of the episodes in this set are:
The Glories of Ancient Chang-An
A Thousand Kilometers Beyond the Yellow River
The Art Gallery in the Desert
The Dark Castle
In Search of the Kingdom of Lou-Lan
Across the Taklamakan Desert
Khotan -- Oasis of Silk and Jade
A Heat Wave Called Turfan
Through the Tian Shan Mountains by Rail
Journey into Music -- South Through the Tian Shan Mountains
Where Horses Fly Like the Wind
Two Roads to the Pamirs

TOO BAD
We have watched the series on VHS--also a very poor transfer but fascinating film. I had hoped the DVD would be a good transfer but sounds as if that is not the case.

Outstanding documentary
The content of this documentary is outstanding. Though the video deficiency is not as bad as previous reviews suggest, the content more than makes up for it. I give it a 4-star rating because of the technical deficiency. If not, this is definitely 5-star material.

Content 5 stars--video 3 stars
Having watched this entire set, I can say that the quality of the content outweighs any qualms about sound or video quality. Yes, the picture looks more like an old VHS tape than a new DVD, but it's not THAT bad. I found it it didn't get in the way of enjoying one of the best documentaries ever made. Bottom line: if you're picky--make that super picky--about video quality, avoid this. If, however, you are really interested in an excellent documentary on the Silk Road, then take the plunge. You won't be disappointed.

thanks for the helpful review
After reading the one star review, I was really glad to have checked reviews before buying it. As a doctor, I really have no problems spending thousands of dollars per month on dvds. But once you get a lemon, you are very very annoyed. I must thank the reviewer for pointing out the poor transfer to dvd. As for myself, I am a Kitaro fan. Hey, how can you do justice to Kitaro with a MONO soundtrack. Joke, right? ... Read more

Reviews (11)

growing up with hal holbrook and mark twain
if you have not heard the recordings or saw the television special 'mark twain tonight' starring hal holbrook, you are in for a real treat. my aunt took me to see the one man show many years ago in toronto. when he came a second time, years later, i took her.

i have listened to the two recordings of mark twain and mark twain tonight at least once a week for over twenty years. hal holbrook is not talente, he is gifted. listening to 'jim and huck on a raft' is so touching to me it defies description. if hou have ever trusted anyone on anything trust me. this is not to be missed. i have never heard or seen anything quite like it.

Holbrook's Mark Twain
If there has ever been a polished performance, this is it! I've been fortunate to see Holbrook do this show live on three occasions. He really catches the essence of Twain's marvellous story- telling, which sets the tone for later artists such as Gene Shepard and Garrison Keillor. Hal Holbrook changed his show at every performance, and this video features him at the peak of his craft. From ghost stories to humorous anecdotes to shaggy dog yarns and tall tales, this video has them all. You'll want to watch it many times.

wry genius returned to life
my only regret about MARK TWAIN TONIGHT is that it's only 90 minutes. holbrook apparently has about 12 hours worth of material that his life shows alternate among. these 90 minutes include his views on man (the only animal that blushes), his mississippi adventures as seen through tom's eyes, and jim blaine's story of the ram and old man wheeler. the ram story alone is enough to be twice worth the cost of the dvd. buy the disk. holbrook is now at just the age where his twain would be even more sublime. let's hope the sales of this dvd inspire him to do another all these years after this 1967 performance. the sound and video are good (for broadcast tv) -- mainly though, holbrook is outstanding and twain is -- twain IS twain. buy it. watch it.

Mark Twain Tonight!
I was introduced to Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain Tonight in a high school English class in 1962 and have been fascinated with Holbrook and his Twain presentation ever since. As the story goes, Holbrook took up cigar smoking to get the timber in his voice, spends three hours in make-up preparing, and has even listened to Edison recording tubes of Twain to get the voice and inflection just right. Sit back and enjoy tales from a hundred years ago that are just as germaine today. You'll soon be convinced that the man in front of you is actually Mark Twain!

Hal Holbrook-Mark Twain Tonight
Having seen Hal Holbrook live, in Mark Twain Tonight on two occasions, most recently this past January, I must say I was delighted to aquire the DVD of his 1967 television broadcast performance. My aquaintence with Mr. Holbrooks' Twain goes back to two LPs, recorded in performance in the early 60's, lost, but not forgotten. I have long believed, and this DVD confirms that Mark Twain Tonight is easily one of the greatest treasures of the stage in the last half of the 20th Century. That Mr. Holbrook has performed Mark Twain every year since 1954, in close to 2000 shows, is nothing short of miraculous. But there are twelve hours of material that he draws from. Hopefully, all twelve hours will one day, be available in this format. This 90 minute show brings the wisdom, humor and humanity of one of the most morally brave men of the 19th century to life; and his words are as funny, poignant and relevent going into the 21st century as they were then. I am simply in awe! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The four programs from the History Channel in this set profile America's Founding Fathers, noting right at the outset they were a "mismatched group of quarrelsome aristocrats, merchants, and lawyers." The story of how these disparate characters fomented rebellion in the colonies, formed the Continental Congress, fought the Revolutionary War, and wrote the Constitution is told by noted historians, and the production is enhanced with beautifully photographed reenactments as well as intelligent use of period paintings and engravings. The story begins with Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Boston, whose protests against British taxation led to the Boston Tea Party. Moving on to the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, the brilliant delegates from the South, particularly George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, appear on the scene, and the story is told of how an improbable cohesion between the colonies began. Other main characters, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, appear in turn, and each of the major participants is portrayed in a biographical profile. How these men all came to act together, despite the stark differences in their backgrounds and temperaments, becomes the main thread of the story. They were all quite human, as the historians who appear in interviews remind us. Some of them drank too much, some had illegitimate children, some owned slaves, and some could hardly get along with anyone. Yet these men with complicated private lives worked together and performed heroically. This is an intelligently rendered and captivating look at the men who formed the American nation. --Robert J. McNamara ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Well worth watching despite the annoying commentators.
This DVD offers an interesting and useful perspective on the Founding Fathers. It is a relatively painless way to learn a great deal about these men, their ideals, and some of the things that gave rise to the American Revolution.

I personally thought that the historian-commentators were largely mouthy and annoying. The narration was pretty good, and in fact I wish there were a way to simply edit out the commentators while leaving the narration. It is possible to present the Founders both as the human beings they were without losing sight of the fact that America was extraordinarily fortunate to have brought forth such men at this critical time. At times I thought that this series missed the mark in this regards, and went out of its way to focus on minor personal quirks that frankly are of no importance and only minor interest. The Founding Fathers were, after all, giants.

Nevertheless, at least this piece deals with the American Revolution and the Founders, which are underrepresented topics.

History, As Good As It Gets-Pure & Simple
We often think of historical documentaries as a bunch of boring pictures with a cracked voice describing events like a list. This is however something very different. It tells the story of how we (USA) became a country through independence and the formation of a constitution as a true yet still continiously fasinating story. The history channel does that by telling the COMPLETE BACKGROUND (like how Franklin was a womanizer, or John Hancock was kind of a rich playboy, Patrick Henry's recitation of Church sermons that developed his speaking and ablities & much more that I encourage you to find out by buying this video) and from that they show you how those past personal experiences influenced all the actions of our founding fathers that resulted in the founding of America. By doing that the history channel allures any viewer to hold there breath and feel the amazement of how as humans such different yet all bright men found a country. And with that along with the hollywood style of clear, realistic-like voices of our founding fathers and with broadway like re-enactments that makes watching this movie feel like watching Braveheart. By shows end any viewer will be off better informed about the true founding of America (I learned so much, I even stumped my 9th grade teacher) and have this great feeling of how lucky we are to be Americans thanks to the amazing contributions of human people (for those overseas, the feeling of how extraordinary America is).

Good Cover, No Meat
What a waste of time. I wanted to learn about the founding of America, instead I am force-fed moronic "professors" obviously chosen for their willingness to say stupid things. One said he was surprised the Founding Fathers were able to function because they were so drunk, using about four different descriptive slang terms rather than "intoxicated." Another said that John Adams was a candiate for Prozac and implied that the first child he had with his wife may have been illegitimate despite being born 9-10 months after the wedding (married in October, baby born in July).

I am so sick of the tripe A&E and the History Channel release. The History Channel used to seem more legitimate than A&E, now it's just the same nonsense. Something calling itself "The HISTORY Channel" should do more than try to revise it.

Don't waste your money.

Great way to learn.
This helped to shine an unexpected new light on our heritage.... Definetly more real than the way it was presented to me in my youth.
A good additional learning tool.

Brings intellectual history to the masses
Recently, I viewed and purchased the sequel to this, "Founding Brothers". I found this series, focusing on the start of the revolutionary spirit to the creation of the Constitution, a bit better.

It is very rare indeed that any video (let alone something for the always mainstream 'History Channe') focuses on the intellectual history of our nation. Usually, the physical aspects of the revolutionary war is focused on. The subject matter here, the revolutions intellectual fire, is not only interesting; it's host of characters: Patrick Henry, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Thomas Paine, etc. is a great "cast".

There are two problems. First, the documentary, like its sequel (see my review) is very one sided towards the federalists. Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and John Adams are treated as saints whereas Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson are written off as purely self-motivated hacks. Similarly, James Madison is focused on AS a federalist but his later anti-federalist leanings are not even MENTIONED.

The second flaw is that some of the voice-overs do not seem quite right. Burt Reynolds as Patrick Henry, James Woods as John Adams, Hal Holbrook as Franklin, these are fine. But imagine my suprise when I found country singer Randy Travis reading for James Madison. And whoever did Thomas Jeffersons voice had equally little passion.

Ryan Setliff's review below may well be a typical reaction to a DVD like this. No, it does not paint the founders as perfect noblemen, but it is accurate. Patrick Henry had a monstrous temper, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were flirts. John Hancock and Alexander Hamilton were greedily ambitious, John Adams was disagreeable in most senses of the word and Thomas Paine was a drunk. Strong statements but I would challenge Mr. Setliff or anyone else to find citations to disprove them. many of the scholars, contrary to Mr. Setliffs contention, have proven themselves. Jack Rakove anyone? ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Visually Stunning Historical Document
This is by far the best and most comprehensive documentary series on world war II in the pacific I have seen thus far. It covers the pacific war meticulously on the land, air, and sea campaigns. It was not made to entertain, but rather to inform. It covers the entire pacific theater in authentic reel films. One should not be dissappointed with the black & white and grainy quality of most of the DVDs. They are after all transfered from sources of a bygone era. But the images are often fascinating to watch. They are absolutely indespensable in the recordings of history. Where paper documents alone may fail to inspire younger generations about the desperate struggles against the brutality of Imperialist Japan, this set of visual documents could project an everlasting memory of the Allied heroism that must be remembered for life. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

WOW! THIS HAS TO BE SEEN!
You won't be the same after watching this amazing well done documentary. There are moments that will move you to tears. It's a declaration that Black American history IS AMERICAN HISTORY! How can an American go through life not knowing so many famous names like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, you don't get more American than that. EXCELLENT, a must buy!

AFRICANS IN AMERICA!
Originally produced for PBS in 1998, this DVD includes all four installments of this POWERFUL DOCUMENTARY! The focus here is on SLAVERY IN AMERICA, starting with JAMESTOWN in 1607 and ending with the start of the CIVIL WAR in 1861! This documentary combines FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNTS and HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS with INTERVIEWS with not only historians but the descendants of those slaves! This might be the FINEST look at America's PECULIAR INSTITUTION available on DVD!

A very moving series
I actually watched this series when it was on PBS a couple of years ago and it almost brought me to tears. It was incredibly sad to hear about the way that the slaves were treated.

This video would be a great learning experience for classes. I am thinking about using it as an visual aide for my speech on slavery in NY.

This is a journey that every American must make.
Narrated by Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett, "Africans in America" is the first television/video documentary which works to chronicle the full history of slavery in America. The documentary is an incredibily ambitious effort that employs relevant scholarly data, interviews with noted historians, lively story-telling, and vivid accounts from slave descendants to detail, in four ninety-minute episodes, events from when Black and White indentured servants worked side by side (the colonial era) to the freedom from slavery that came at the end of the Civil War. "Africans in America" could not come at at a better time, when issues of racial strife continue to have a stranglehold on this nation. By looking at our racial past, we may be able to understand our racial present and future. The first part of the documentary, "The Terrible Transformation," details the origins of slavery in America. It dispels misconceptions that slavery was a sudden, full-blown institution. Rather, it shows that during the early 17th century slavery became institutionalized over many decades, law by law. Part two, "Revolution," focuses on the popularity of slavery in both the South and North, and on George Washington's role in legalizing slavery. Again, little known facts are highlighted, such as the role slaves played as combatants in the American Revolution. Part three, "Brotherly Love," turns to the then capital of the nation, Philadelphia, to recount how the government recommitted to slavery for Blacks while promising Whites liberty. This part also explores how the White scientific community worked to link the Black race with biological inferiority, thereby justifying the enslavement of African Americans. The final part of the documentary, "Judgment," covers antebellum and post-antebellum years. It reminds us of the constitutional amendment to free the slaves. More importantly, this final part challenges viewers to consider if slavery was really an inevitable institution, and, based on past behaviors, whether this country can ever gain racial harmony. "Africans in America" is thorough-- it took 10 years and millions of dollars to produce. It was shot on location across 12 states and 3 continents. It draws upon documents, scholars' insights, and a few well-knows such as Gen. Colin Powell. In all, it is a masterful educative effort. This is a journey that every American must make-- preferably through more than one viewing-- so that salient events are understood and so that we may begin to comprehend that the journey to racial reconcilation is far from over.

The best teaching instrument to date on the issue of slavery
I have always been interested in the issue of slavery. This video series is like none I have ever seen before, it is excellent! Its as if there are hundreds of slave narratives combined with countless facts and documents to back them up. These videos are more than history, they are windows into the the lives and hearts of American slaves. I would recommend this to any American, whether you are black or white. It is time for the truth. ... Read more

Description

Leading statesmen, generals, terrorists and others who made the headlines in one of history's most bitter and enduring struggles tell the story of the Arab-Israeli conflict in The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs. Opening with the U.N decision to partition Palestine in 1947, the program charts the ensuing half-century of enmity, warfare, mediation and negotiation.

Among the current and former heads of state and prime ministers interviewed or featured in the series are Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir of Israel; King Hussein of Jordan; Yasir Arafat of the Palestine Authority; Hafez al-Assad of Syria; Jafaar Numeiry of Sudan; and U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Jimmy Carter. Also appearing are foreign ministers, defense ministers, commanders in the field, heads of intelligence and guerrilla leaders, as well as high-ranking officials in the United States and the former Soviet Union. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Excellent but narrow documentary
Whatever your political views are regarding the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians (and I certainly have my own strong opinions), all serious students of the conflict in the Middle East should watch this PBS documentary. For those intimately familiar with the general course of the conflict, there are no groundbreaking revelations here. On the other hand, this five-hour DVD is chock full of archival footage and interviews with many of the political leaders, generals, guerrila/terrorists and diplomats that shaped the many decades of this frustrating struggle after World War II. Arafat and Sharon, enemies that they are, get to tell their fascinating sides of the story, as does Peres and an aging King Hussein, along with file interviews from Rabin and Sadat.

This DVD is essentially the diplomatic history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its story narrowly revolves around wars, conversations between diplomats and heads of state, etc. If you are looking for an account of the social history of the Israeli or the Palestinian people and their grievances, or want a detailed discussion of the history of settlement activity, terror bombings or life under the occupation, you will be disappointed. Such controversial and disputed topics are (perhaps wisely) beyond the scope of this documentary.

A significant shortcoming in the video is the absence of any prelude episode that looks over the history of the area in the early twentieth-century under Ottoman rule or the Palestinian mandate. It begins rather abruptly just as the new state of Israel declares its independence in 1948. For an understanding of how the roots of the conflict were sewn, again you will have to look elsewhere. Finally, the video was produced several years ago, when Netanyahu was still Israeli PM. Eager viewers will have to await a future DVD to explore the terms of Barak and Sharon and the al-Aqsa intifada.

Moving. The human face of a bitter political conflcit.
This is a moving story that shows the human face of one of modern history's longest and bitter conflicts. "The 50 Year War, Israel and the Arabs" shows in two Dvds, with a running time of five hours a complete and balanced account of the Middle East, starting in the first episode with Israel's struggle for statehood, the partition of Palestine and the war of 1948. Also on the second and third part of the first DVD, the viewer will find about the Six Days War of 1967, the history of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Yasser Arafat's turbulent rise to the leadership of his people, the lebanese war and the tragedy of the refuggee camps. On DVD number 2 also divided in 3 chapters, the film deals with the Yom Kippur War, the peacemaking process, the Camp David accords of 1978, the Palestinian Intifada, the Oslo agreements of 1993 and later events up to 1999. Included in this documentary are interviews with Middle East leading statesmen, political leaders and warriors, such as the late King Hussein of Jordan, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres, Arafat, former israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton among others. A well made documentary, a complete and balanced film that show us the tragedy and the drama, the hopes and the dreams of arabs and jews, and in a sense of the whole world that has been protagonist and witness of one of the most dramatic events of modern times

Excellent Documentary
Documentary is excellent for everyone who want to know what had been happening in the middle east for past 50 years or so. I agree with one of the reviews made earlier that the beginning of the documentary is not what it should have been. It does not tell about the region under Ottoman rule and the British mandate after World War I. Furthermore, I was very shocked and in utter disbelief that there is no mentioning of massive airlift provided by the United States to Israel in the 1973 war that effectively saved Israel. No word at all. One must wonder why? Any way overall a very informative documentary.

Arafat should shut up!!!
Yasir Arafat is a baby.

He blames everyone for the woes of the Palestinians.

Did you see the 60 Minutes report on what a criminal he is? He is a thief!!!

The worst thing Israel has ever done is not getting rid of him years ago.

the naked truth...
This is the only objective report I ever came across.All the ones
I watched or read before are biased -99% of them favoring the jews.This DVD , in contrast , shows the naked truth of how the jews under the cover of British colonialism came to Palestine as illegal immigrants and took over...
I wish I had 6 billion copies to give to the whole world for free so that they see the naked truth... ... Read more

Description

Relive the most spellbinding scenes from our television documentaries of exploration and delivery. Year: 1994 ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Nothing new, but it doesn't matter
With 30 years of some of the best documentaries around to choose material from, it scarcely matters that there is no new footage. The narration seamlessly bridges the gaps between the various shorts from Nationa