Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)The films included are listed in the product description but not described. I do that here with information taken from the brochure about the DVD set:
Disc 1 - THE CITY REFORMED
The Black Hand (1906, 11 minutes) - Earliest surviving gangster film. Two members of a gang write a threatening letter to a butcher, demanding money, or else they will harm his family and his shop.
How They Rob Men in Chicago (1900, 25 seconds) - An elderly man is robbed in Chicago, but some money is left behind on his unconscious person. A policeman happens by, takes the money, and leaves the victim unattended.
The Voice of the Violin (1909, 16 minutes) - A terrorist plot foiled by the power of music.
The Usurer's Grip (1912, 15 minutes) - Melodrama arguing for consumer credit co-operatives.
From the Submerged (1912, 11 minutes) - Drama about homelessness and slumming parties.
Hope - A Red Cross Seal Story (1912, 14 minutes) - A town mobilizes to fight TB.
The Cost of Carelessness (1913, 13 minutes) - Traffic safety film for Brooklyn children.
Lights and Shadows in a City of a Million (1920, 7 minutes) - Charitable plea for the Detroit community fund.
Six Million Children are Not in School (1922, 7 minutes) - Newsreel inspired by census data.
The Soul of Youth (1920, 80 minutes) - William Desmond Taylor's feature about an orphan reclaimed for society through the court of Judge Ben Lindsey.
A Call for Help from Sing Sing (1934, 3 minutes) - Warden Lawes speaks out for wayward teens.
Disc 2 - NEW WOMEN
Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901, 1 minute) - Carrie Nation swings her axe.
Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce (1902, 2 minutes) - Role reversal temperance spoof.
Trial Marriages (1907, 12 minutes) - Male fantasy inspired by a reformer's proposal. A man tries marriage to several women and finally gives up on matrimony entirely.
Manhattan Trade School for Girls (1911, 16 minutes) - Training impoverished girls for better jobs.
The Strong Arm Squad of the Future (1912, 1 minute) - Suffragette cartoon.
A Lively Affair (1912, 7 minutes) - Comedy with women playing poker and child-caring men. The moral is that this is what to expect if women get the vote.
A Suffragette in Spite of Himself (1912, 8 minutes) - Boys' prank results in an unwitting crusader.
On To Washington (1913, 80 sec.) - News coverage of the historic suffragette march.
The Hazards of Helen, Episode 13 (1915, 13 minutes) - Helen thwarts some robbers and overcomes workplace problems.
Where are my Children (1916, 65 minutes) - This is Lois Weber's film against abortion that brings in the issue of birth control as well, which will be confusing to modern audiences. Tyrone Power's father stars in this one.
The Courage of the Commonplace (1913, 13 minutes) - A young farm woman dreams of a better life.
Poor Mrs Jones (1926, 45 minutes) - Why women should stay on the farm.
Offers Herself as a Bride (1931, 2 minutes) - A woman comes up with a way to survive the depression.
Disc 3 - TOIL AND TYRANNY
Uncle Sam and the Bolshevik (1919, 40 sec.) - Anti-union cartoon from Ford Motor Company.
The Crime of Carelessness (1912, 14 minutes) - Business version of the Triangle Factory fire.
Who Pays Episode 12 (1915, 35 minutes) - Lumberyard strike brings deadly consequences.
Labor's Reward (1925, 13 minutes) - Surviving reel showing the American Federation of Labor's argument for buying union.
Listen to Some Words of Wisdom (1930, 2 minutes) - Why personal thrift feeds the Depression.
The Godless Girl (1928, 128 minutes) - De Mille's sensational film about girls' reformatories and his last silent picture.
Disc 4 - AMERICANS IN THE MAKING
Emigrants Landing on Ellis Island (1903, 2 minutes) - Actual footage of the event.
An American in the Making (1913, 15 minutes) - U.S. Steel film promoting immigration and industrial safety.
Ramona (1910, 16 minutes) - Helen Hunt Jackson's classic about racial conflict in California as told by D.W. Griffith. Stars Mary Pickford.
Redskin (1929, 82 minutes) - Racial tolerance epic shot in two-strip Technicolor. Richard Dix plays Wing Foot, son of a Navajo chief who suffers heartache and prejudice before the film's happy ending with Wing Foot bringing peace between the Navajo and Pueblo peoples.
United Snakes of America (1917, 80 sec) - World War I cartoon assails homefront dissenters.
Uncle Sam donates for Liberty Loans (1919, 75 sec.) - Very odd patriotic cartoon.
100% American (1918, 14 minutes) - Mary Pickford buys war bonds and supports the troops.
Bud's Recruit (1918, 26 minutes) - Brothers serve their country in King Vidor's earliest surviving film.
The Reawakening (1919, 10 minutes) - Documentary about helping disabled veterans build new lives after the war.
Eight Prohibition Newsreels (1922-23, 13 minutes) - footage on raids along with various opinions about the effectiveness of Prohibition.

This set has quite a bit of a history lesson on film with several feature length films and shorts that are entertaining as well as informative on important social issues early in the twentieth century.

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See the movies that changed America! Prohibition, abortion, unions, atheism, the vote for women, organized crime, loan sharking, juvenile justice, homelessness, police corruption, immigration -- in their first decades, movies brought an astonishing range of issues to the screen. Whether exposing abuse or lampooning reform, films put a human face on social problems and connected with audiences in a new way. Movies were entertainment with the power to persuade. This third groundbreaking set in the Treasures from American Archives series presents over 48 films never before seen on video.Over 12 hours of rare cartoons, newsreel stories, serial episodes, advocacy films, and features. Preserved by the George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Archives, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Commentary by 20 experts, Digitally mastered from the finest archival sources, Newly recorded music in two-track stereo More than 600 interactive screens about the films and music, 200-page illustrated book with film notes and credits, Postcards from the films Films include: The Black Hand, How They Rob Men in Chicago, The Voice of the Violin, The Usurer's Grip, From the Submerged, Hope-A Red Cross Seal Story, The Cost of Carelessness, LIghts and Shadows in a City of a Million, The Soul of Youth, A Call for Help from Sing Sing!, 6 Million American Children Are Not in School, Kansas Saloon Smashers, Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce, Trial Marriages, Manhattan Trade School for Girls, The Strong Arm Squad of the Future, A Lively Affair, A Suffragette in Spite of Himself, On to Washington, The Hazards of Helen, Where Are My Children?, The Courage of the Commonplace, Poor Mrs. Jones!, The Crime of Carelessness, Listen to Some Words of Wisdom, Cecil B. DeMille's The Godless Girl, Emigrants Landing at Ellis Island, An American in the Making, Ramonda, Redskin, The United Snakes of America, 100% American, Bud's Recruit, The Reawakening and more! The acclaimed Treasures series has earned raves and awards for the past seven years including the National Society of Film Critics' Film Heritage Award and the VSDA's Best in Show Non-Theatrical Award.

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NOVA - Typhoid Mary: The Most Dangerous Woman in America (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)This Nova episode is something I saw on TV last evening.I knew about Typhoid Mary from historical legend but knew nothing about the facts.And as the actress portraying her so bluntly put it her NAME was Mary Mallon,an Irish immigrant cook living in New York at the turn of the 20'th century.And as this show so properly points out was responcible for one of the most mysterious and often deadly epidemics of the day.Only trouble is that in some significant ways Mary Mallon didn't come off as a particularly sympathetic character-she attacked Dr.Soper,who inicially informed her of her health status with a fork and constantly avaded the attentions of health service officials trying to track her down,while having killed three people and infecting others,unintentionally of course.
Mary was what was known as a healthy carrier.She was infected with Typhoid and was able to spread it to others but experienced no symptoms herself.There were in fact at least several dozen more like her but because of her unique case she got the most publicity by far.That was all compounded by the fact that dues to sexism and social Darwinism of her time she also became the literal poster child for Typhoid.
She died in the 1930's,near 70 years old and having been exhiled for years on North Brother Island,the American equivilent of a leper colony.The story itself as well as that of much of Mary's life is a tragic and sad one.But all sides made serious errors in judgement,and perhapes Mary's lack of respect over the years may have been due to her constant denials about having carried the disease and lack of remourse for those she's infected.Maybe the idea horrified her too much to bare and it drove her close to madness.She was afterall something of a caregiver by trade and likely resented having been blamed for causing so much misery.That's my personal opinion but nobody,as this shows really knew what was going on inside her head.And if this is to prove factual I don't know if we'd want to.So was she a victem or victemizer?Probably both but as such likely too frightened to live with it but to proud to admit it.But anyway this will prove very educational and eye catching.

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Interweaving biography and social history, The Most Dangerous Woman in America tells the extraordinary story of Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary. She gained this notoriety by being the first person in North America to be identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever. Despite her indignant protests of innocence, she was incarcerated for years on an island in New York's East River. Mary Mallon's saga throws into vivid relief the emerging science of public health and the social, ethical, and legal dilemmas it posed to its pioneers at the turn of the twentieth century.Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions;and described video for the visually impaired. On one DVD5 disc.Region coding: All regions.Audio: Dolby stereo.Screen format: Letterboxed.

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Life with Judy Garland - Me and My Shadows (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Arguably the single greatest talent to emerge from golden-era Hollywood, Judy Garland continues to fascinate us even more than four decades after her untimely death. As a singer, she was incomparable; as an actress, she was exceptional; as a star, she was perhaps the most brilliant celebrity of her generation. But behind the brillance there was a deeply troubled woman who began her career as a child in the hands of a driven mother and an all-powerful studio, who raced through five husbands, who fought a losing battle with chemical dependency throughout most of her life, and who self-destructed time and time again--only to arise, phoenix-like, from her own ashes over and over again. It was an extraordinary life.
So it should come as no surprise, really, that this three-hour television falls a bit short. Realistically, it would take a talent of Garland's own scope to bring her fully to the screen. But what the film does right, it does extremely, extremely well--and the centerpieces of the film are the remarkable performances of Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis. Both give extraordinary performances. That said, however, both performances are flawed due to the age of the actresses. Blanchard, who plays the teenage Garland, is clearly too old to be thirteen-ish when the film begins; Davis, who plays Garland from her twenties until her death, is clearly too old to be Garland in her twenties.
But so exceptional are the performances that these are actually minor quibbles. When made up for the role and placed in period attire, both Blanchard and Davis have the look to an absolutely uncanny degree. More importantly, they match each other in their skill at playing Garland, who was one of the most uniquely idioscyratic personalities of her era--indeed, Davis has been described by many as having "channeled" Garland, and I certainly wouldn't disagree. And the supporting cast is quite good as well, ranging from above average to extremely good, something of a surprise in a made-for-television movie. Equally impressive is the painstaking recreation of the world in which Garland moved; her wardrobe, both on stage and off, has been meticulously recreated right down to the hat she wore for her wedding to Vincent Minnelli. Be it sets, costumes, or props, the design staff did a truly miraculous job.
But the film falls down in both script and detail. Part of this is due to fact that Lorna Luft's memoir was, naturally enough, based on what her mother told her about her life. Doubtlessly Luft accepted much of this as fact, but Garland was notorious for twisting the truth if it would make a good story--and consequently the film includes several depictions of events that by all other accounts didn't happen that way, assuming they happened at all.
When filming THE WIZARD OF OZ, SHADOWS shows Garland being crowded out of the shot by her co-stars, prompting director Victor Flemming to say "You three dirty hams, let that little girl in there!" It was one of Garland's favorite party stories--but it didn't happen. Garland was well known for her ability to perform complex musical numbers with little rehearsal in a single take, and SHADOWS offers her performance of "The Trolley Song" in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS as an example of her ability to do that--but while she certainly could and often did perform her numbers in a single flawless take, she didn't do it for that particular number. In fact, she mis-mouthed her own vocal play-back during filming, and later had to re-record the vocal as a result. Perhaps the most obvious gaffe in the film is when Garland is found dead in the bathroom of her London apartment; SHADOWS shows her husband going to the bathroom door and seeing her sprawled out on the floor, clearly dead. In reality, the door was locked and he had to climb out on the roof to look in the window--and from her appearance he was unsure of her condition until he actually got into the room.
That aside, the script does a superior job of showing Garland's racy, acid, and often self-mocking sense of humor and her often-hidden powerful sexuality. It also does a fairly good job of displaying her love-hate relationship with her own talent. But it is extremely spotty, skipping over major events and focusing on considerably more trivial incidents. (Garland's first husband, David Rose, is never seen in the film--and indeed, scarcely mentioned at all.) It lacks flow. And were it not for the incredible performances of both Blanchard and Davis, it would often also lack drama--a pretty astonishing thing when one considers how electrically dramatic Garland's life was from day to day. Perhaps most frustrating, the film also has a certain aloofness from its own subject; we observe Garland, but the script itself never really allows us to get inside her.
In the final analysis, ME AND MY SHADOWS is a film that will most greatly appeal to casual viewers or to new Garland fans, for it does show the main outlines of her life and her career. Hardcore fans, however, will be frustrated by its covert inadequacies--and will be quick to spot the numerous moments when the script goes awry. Still, even with its numerous flaws, Blanchard and Davis are exceptional. And I strongly recommend it on that basis.

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30 Days: The Complete Second Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I teach a class in Current Events and we use 30 Days episodes as an educational, informative, inspirational, and motivational media presentation in the classroom. It ranks # 1 among the students who are continually asking for more and anxiously waiting (as am I) the arrival of season 2 of this premier program.

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30 Days features a diverse group of participants, each given the opportunity to experience first-hand a world antithetical to their own, comfortable existence. Each episode examines a very different subject and is hosted by Morgan Spurlock. In the final episode, Spurlock is also a participant as he turns the camera on himself. Episodes Include: "Immigration", "Outsourcing," "New Age", "Pro-Choice/Pro-Life", "Atheist/Christian" and "Jail"Bonus Features: Audio Commentary on Immigration and Jail

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