Documentary DVDs

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 08/15/2000 Run time: 165 minutes Rating: Nr

Funny, provocative and surprisingly accessible, MANUFACTURING CONSENT explores the political life and ideas of world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist Noam Chomsky. Through a dynamic collage of biography, archival gems, imaginative graphics and outrageous illustrations, Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick's award-winning documentary highlights Chomsky's probing analysis of mass media and his critique of the forces at work behind the daily news. Available for the first time anywhere on DVD, MANUFACTURING CONSENT features appearances by journalists Bill Moyers and Peter Jennings, pundit William F. Buckley Jr., novelist Tom Wolfe and philosopher Michel Foucault. This Edition features an exclusive ten-years-after video interview with Chomsky.

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 01/30/2001 Run time: 200 minutes Rating: Nr

It's September 17, 1862 and President Abraham Lincoln needs a victory in order to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and end slavery in the South. But Robert E. Lee has other plans - invade the North. When Lee's strategy falls into the hands of the Union Army, the result is the single bloodiest day in American history at the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Battle of Antietam results in more casualties than the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Spanish American War combined. In fact, the bloodiest day of World War II, D-Day, amounts to only one quarter of the casualties suffered at Antietam. Narrated by Ronald F. Maxwell, director of the epic Civil War films "Gettysburg" and "Gods & Generals," and written, produced and directed by Robert Child, "Lincoln and Lee at Antietam - The Cost of Freedom" vividly brings to life the story of America's fight for freedom in a battle that changed the course of the Civil War. Through first person accounts, an original music score from Composers Steve Heitzeg and Nicholas Palmer and scarce Antietam commemorative battle footage from the 125th, 135th and 140th Antietam Reenactments, this film tells the tale of the 14-hour epic Battle of Antietam. Historical insight provided by: - James M. McPherson, Princeton University, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom" and "Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam" - Allen C. Guelzo, Gettysburg College, America's only repeat winner of the Lincoln Prize; Nominated by President George W. Bush to the National Council of the Humanities - Dennis E. Frye, National Park Service (NPS) Historian at Harpers Ferry, author of "Antietam Revealed" and the Associate Producer of "Gods and Generals" - Patrick Falci, actor/performing historian portrays General Ambrose Hill at Antietam - Paul V. Chiles, National Parks Service (NPS) Historian at Antietam National Battlefield Park - Features Stanley Wernz, President of the Association of Lincoln Presenters, as Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Black as General Robert E. Lee Special Features: - 25-minute On-Screen Interview with Ronald F. Maxwell - Feature-Length Commentary Track with Writer/Director Robert Child and Narrator Ronald F. Maxwell - Original Music Score from Composers Steve Heitzeg and Nicholas Palmer - Trailers for: "EXPO-Magic of the White City," "Gettysburg and Stories of Valor - CIVIL WAR MINUTES® III," "Johnstown Flood," "Horses of Gettysburg - CIVIL WAR MINUTES® IV," "Winters of War," "Civil War Life - Shot to Pieces," "CIVIL WAR MINUTES® - Confederate"

This provides a richly detailed look at the bloodiest civil war battles fought on american soil with in-depth perspectives by leading civil war historians & striking reconstructions. Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 01/02/2007 Run time: 200 minutes Rating: Nr

Africans in America is now available on DVD! Everything you thought you knew about slavery is about to be challenged. Africans in America: America’s Journey Through Slavery is the groundbreaking series that makes history by sharing it from a new perspective. Nearly ten years in the making, this landmark six-hour set exposes the truth through surprising revelations, dramatic recreations, rare archival photography and riveting first-person accounts.

The enormous story of Irish emigration is well told in this documentary that mixes an adept historical overview and deeply touching personal stories with well-chosen archival material and gorgeously filmed modern footage. The troubled history of Ireland is covered by way of explaining why millions fled their homeland, and deserved attention is given to the uprising of 1798 and the Great Famine of the 1840s. The flood of poor Irish to the New World and their struggles to assimilate and eventually triumph is told with excerpts of letters, some of which are beautifully read by the noted playwright John B. Keane. Musician and folklorist Mick Moloney appears frequently to offer apt anecdotes and appropriate snatches of song, and historians provide perspective on the poverty and political repression at home that forced the Irish to cross a dangerous ocean to find a better life. Representative 19th-century Irish immigrants who found new lives in places as diverse as Massachusetts and North Dakota are profiled, and the contributions made in American society by the descendants of the millions who left Ireland are noted. As a striking blend of solid history and resonant personalities, Out of Ireland is a thoughtful presentation that also happens to be a pleasure to watch. <I>--Robert J. McNamara

One of the most important documents of the 20th century is now available to the public for the very first time. Witness the assassination of president john f. Kennedy in the first-ever digitally enlarged version of the zapruder film. Studio: Mpi Home Video Release Date: 07/07/1998 Run time: 45 minutes Rating: Nr

This 10-episode set devotes a video to each decade of the 20th century, and the results are mixed. The approach is fairly standard, utilizing archival newsreel footage or videotape shot for news programs to document the major events of each decade as well as using interviews with scholars and commentators to occasionally provide perspective. As the century began with hand-cranked film cameras and closed with endless news coverage on cable television, there is a great variety of material to draw from, and much of it is fascinating. However, devoting an hour or even more to each decade means that there is never much depth, and there is also an unfortunate lack of varying viewpoints. Most of the people interviewed in the various videos have a leftist perspective and, in some cases, such as the presentation of the Reagan years, the imbalance of viewpoint is striking. These videos do provide good overviews of the decades, and major events and characters are rendered in general terms, but at times a lack of depth and some curious editorial choices are frustrating. Still, the documentaries in this set do cover a tremendous amount of ground, and for the most part they do it in an entertaining and informative manner. <I>--Robert J. McNamara