Teddy Roosevelt - An American Lion (2002) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)TR is like America's favorite uncle - sure he was President but wow was he cool. I saw this new, sweeping biography on cable and immediately pre-ordered it. Technically innovative and thoroughly accurate, it presents a moving portrait of a man you can't help but like. Stunning in the use of camera angles, dissolves, pans, edits and re-creations, the action is riveting. Rare film clips abound, perfectly edited. We see, for example, TR chopping down a tree, galloping on horseback, flashing his famous grin; troops landing and horses swimming onto the Cuban shore for the Spanish-American War; TR in "his" Panama clambering, clad in white suit, onto a giant bulldozer. And much more indeed.
The stills are also revealing: his father's honest face ("the best man I ever knew"); Alice, his lovely first wife (dead on the same "cursed" day as his mother: "the light has gone out of my life"); his comely childhood sweetheart and wife, Edith; TR in a dandy's cowboy outfit complete with Tiffany knife; his favorite son Quentin, later to die in the Great War, with head cocked lovingly on TR's shoulder. Richard Dreyfuss as TR proves the value of a good actor's voice and Edward Hermann's narration is richly textured. Presidents Bush II and Clinton, numerous TR descendants, and scholars galore are nicely picked and interwoven into the narrative. Though TR was the first American to win the Nobel Prize (settling the Russo-Japanese War) and the only president to earn the Medal of Honor (charging up San Juan into a hail of bullets), these awards seem almost incidental to his simple humanity. We are left wondering if there are men like him today, warts and all. But we are grateful for what one writer calls "this largest of American characters". (Also recommended: McCullough's classic "Mornings on Horseback"; Morris' Pulitzer-winning "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and his meticulous second volume, "Theodore Rex").

Click Here to see more reviews about: Teddy Roosevelt - An American Lion (2002)

TEDDY ROOSEVELT:AN AMERICAN LION - DVD Movie

Get 10% OFF

Click here for more information about Teddy Roosevelt - An American Lion (2002)

Wright Stuff (2005) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This "American Experience" documentary of the Wright Brothers is superb. The assembled band of historians and family members provide matchless insights, and the rare archival footage and evocative musical score help capture this fascinating story in a way that the printed page alone simply cannot do.Even if you're familiar with the Wright Brothers you will go away from this with an even deeper appreciation and affection for these two humble but brilliant men and the era in which they lived. While at all times factual and perceptive, the "Wright Stuff" is full of humanity and subtlety. Garrison Keillor's narration is deft and utterly appropriate, and David McCullough's brief introduction gives the production added weight and impact. Great for Wright Brothers aficionados as well as those wanting to take stock in what these two great Americans achieved not so very long ago.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Wright Stuff (2005)

Garrison Keillor narrates the all-American story of two Midwestern boys who truly believed they could fly-Orville and Wilbur Wright. While they had produced a working plane by 1903, they didn't publicly reveal their invention until five years later when Wilbur executed a perfect take-off and landing on a racetrack outside Paris. Discover little-known facts about these visionary brothers and their flying machines that changed the world.

Get 35% OFF

Click here for more information about Wright Stuff (2005)