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This majestic, French-made film wishes viewers a "latcho drom"--a safejourney--as it follows the roots of the Rom, traveling people better known as Gypsies. Stunning and evocative, it transcends language and culture, bringing together the best elements of National Geographic-style documentary and music video in a kind of anthropologicalMTV. Using only music and image, without any steady characters or plot, award-winning director Tony Gatlif (himself of Rom descent) tells a compelling story of Rom migrations from Northern India to Europe and the rest of the world. Beginning with a gathering of lavishly dressed nomads singing across the harsh deserts of Rajasthan, viewers are transported through the lush oases of Egypt into the ghettoes of Turkey, from the muddy lanes of Eastern Europe through lush French fields to the windswept coastal cities of Spain. Every step of the way, there are hypnotic reminders of the harshness and beauty of the Rom lifestyle: the rhythms of labor pounding into vibrant dance, the songs of Turkish flower sellers merging with the plaintive political satires of a gray-haired Romanian violinist. Music is everywhere--children barely able to walk dance alongside great-grandmothers--and covers all styles and subjects--from the wintry strains of an Auschwitz lament to a flamenco devotional in a Spanish shrine to a festive Dixieland number that borrows as much from New Orleans as from northern India. And wordless stories abound, told in the smiles of strangers waiting for a train or in the frowns of rifle-toting farmers come to evict travelers from their land. --Grant Balfour ... Read more

Reviews (25)

An enthralling glimpse into a hidden world
If you've ever been interested in learning about Gypsy (or more accurately, Rom) culture and history, this is the film for you.Made by Tony Catlif, himself a Rom, the film (the title means "Safe Journey," a serious blessing in this culture) takes the viewer on the same path travelled by the gypsies themselves a thousand years ago. It begins in India, showing a gypsy band in a desolate spot, telling their own story in dance and song. He travels ever westward, through Egypt, Turkey, Eastern Europe, France, and finally Spain, where the stunning beauty of gypsy flamenco dance and music will hold you spellbound. There is no dialog: Catlif lets the lyrics of the songs, the language of the dances, and the unforgettable faces of the gypsies themselves tell the story. You'll feel like you've been given a brief but magical tour of a mysterious, rarely seen world. Gypsies have always been persecuted and ostracized; this film, made by one of their own, gives them a voice in their own language. END

Stunning
The film Latcho Drom is a unique product, which is more like a 2 hour long music video, showcasing gypsy music (and sometimes dance) from all around the world. This is an amazing way of seeing the common treads that unite Roma (or gypsy) culture in all parts of the world, but also how these people have adapted to their surrounding by adopting bits and pieces of local traditions. This is also finally, a positive and maybe even objective look into Roma culture, free of stereotypes and prejudice. For fans of "Deep Forest", one of the songs from the film, the one from Slovakia, was sampled for one of their pieces on "Boheme." This film has rapid beats and heel-taping rythms, but also sad and melancholic songs and laments. Some images will make you want to get up and dance, while other can move you to tears, for example the old Roma lady singing about gypsy persecution at Auschwitz during WWII. A true pleasure to watch and listen to. I just hope there would now be a Latcho Drom 2 to explore the other regions of the world where Roma culture flourishes, but which were not included in the film.

extraordinary!
one of the most beautiful films of the past 20 years, almost shocking. what an extreme pity the film is not available on dvd so that it can be projected in home theater settings----a visually spectacular film on a large screen.

not a documentary in the usual sense in that there is no script or text, no interviews. the story is told wholly through gorgeous visuals and incredible music----and it is not any less informative for that fact! furthermore, by beginning in india and moving its way circuitously west to spain, one hears in sequence the transmutation of the musical styles---an obvious and simple yet truly amazing cinematic structure.

the sensitive viewer will absorb the pathos of rom people without difficulty. not a film for literalists, however, or those who need their cultural experiences explained to them. in this way the film is also very french.

Should be on DVD
Others have amply described this film. I just want to note that it would be great on DVD, because unlike most documentaries, the production values are on a par with Hollywood feature films. It's shot in 35MM wide screen, beautifully staged and lit, with a high quality digital audio track. Seen on the big screen it has immense impact because it transcends the documentary genre.

Greatness
When I first saw this video I could not belive it. It is truly beautiful, the music captivating and soulful. Although I was stoned out of my mind (high as a kite) I really new this was greatness and went out to pursue the soundtrack. It is one of my favorites to this day. I'm patiently waitng for the DVD release because let's face it video cassettes blow....cassette... wow, is that how youreally spell cassette.... weird man..... wierd. ... Read more

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The definitive screen adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, the 1961 production of The Innocents remains one of the most effective ghost stories ever filmed. Originally promoted as the first truly "adult" chiller of the big screen (a marginally valid claim considering the release of Psycho a year earlier), the film arrived at a time when the thematic depth of James's story could finally be addressed without the compromise of reductive discretion. And while the Freudian anxiety that fuels the story may seem tame by today's standards, the psychological horrors that comprise the story's "dark secret" are given full expression in a film that brilliantly clouds the boundary between tragic reality and frightful imagination.

In one of her finest performances, Deborah Kerr stars as Miss Giddons, a devout and somewhat repressed spinster who happily accepts the position of governess for two orphaned children whose uncle (Michael Redgrave) readily admits to having no interest in being tied down by two "brats." So Miss Giddons is dispatched to Bly House, the lavish, shadowy estate where young Flora (Pamela Franklin) and her brother Miles (Martin Stephens, so memorable in 1960's Village of the Damned) live with a good-natured housekeeper (Megs Jenkins). At first, life at Bly House seems splendidly idyllic, but as Miss Giddons learns the horrible truth about the estate's now-deceased groundskeeper and previous governess, she begins to suspect that her young charges are ensnared in a devious plot from beyond the grave.

Ghostly images are revealed in only the most fleeting glimpses, and the outstanding Cinemascope photography by Freddie Francis (who used special filters to subtly darken the edges of the screen) turns Bly House into a welcoming mansion by day, a maze of mystery and terror by night. Sound effects and music are used to bone-chilling effect, and director Jack Clayton, blessed with a script by William Archibald and Truman Capote, maintains a deliberate pace to emphasize the ambiguity of James's timeless novella. The result is a masterful film--comparable to the 1963 classic The Haunting--that uses subtlety and suggestion to reach the pinnacle of fear. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (66)

The greatest ghost story ever filmed
Jack Clayton's superb film version of Henry James's novella THE TURN OF THE SCREW is unquestionably the most faithful rendition of James ever brought to the screen: the film retains not only all the famous ambiguity of the novella but also all the beauty as well as all the suspense and horror. Deborah Kerr gives the performance of her life (with the exception only, perhaps, of Sister Clodagh in BLACK NARCISSUS) as the beautiful and hysterical governess brought to a gigantic mansion to care for two odd children, who may or may not be communing with the ghosts of Kerr's predecessor and the manor's manservant. The uncertainty as to whether the ghosts are real--or products of the governess's repressed fears and insecurities--is the famous crux of the James novella, and beautifully translated into the film. There are teasing moments of narrative uncertainty, such as the classic sequence in the schoolroom, that capture all the mystery of the original source, and the great sequence with Kerr trying to restrain a hysterical Flora from joining what looks to be the ghost of Miss Jessel out by the manor's lake in the pouring rain is authentically creepy.

Another classic chiller
This black & white movie starring Deborah Kerr is truly chilling. Without the use of blood, guts or special effects the film has a creepy quality that makes you watch every dark corner for an unexpected scare. Shadows and haunts weave in & out of the lives of two children (brother & sister) left to the care of hired help. When Miss Giddens (Kerr) comes as governess to care for the children she soon discovers she has competition for the attention and affection of the two youngsters. As she confronts dark forces she attempts to unravel the sinister influence from their innocent hearts and minds. Her only hope is to save them before they are lost forever.

Scream if you want to see this on DVD ASAP!
Coming from a generation that considers the Scream movies to be pretty scary, I honestly think that this film should be essential viewing for all slasher movie fans. The high school horror crap so readily churned out appals me when I watch a film like The Innocents, and I'm reminded what a good scary movie is really like.

Although I'm not 100% sure about Deborah Kerr's performance in The Innocents, it certainly didn't tarnish my respect for this film. Miles and Flora are played by two outstanding children, who truly are stars. Miles' character was just the most eerie thing I've witnessed in a movie for a long time - he indeed had the air of an innocent, but there was definitely an adult, almost sexual side to the boy. Very creepy.

The lighting effects, multitude of mirrors and spooky Miss. Jessel filled me with fear from the moment I started watching this - and I was hooked until the closing credits. My favourite part of The Innocents was the governess's bizarre dream sequence - spinechilling stuff.

I'll be sure to recommend this film to all my friends in the hope that it'll get the recognition it deserves. More of this style of psychological horror please Hollywood - if I'm subjected to another bad teen horror movie I will not be responsible for my actions.

The devinitive version of "The Turn of the Screw"
Without doubt, this is the definitive version of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw." The acting of Deborah Kerr as the governess is superb, as are the performances of the actors playing the two posessed children. Filmed in atmospheric black-and-white, this is one film that deserves the full DVD treatment. My only reservation is with the title. While appropriate, it should have retained the title as given by Mr. James. Five stars!

STILL SCARES AFTER MORE THAN FORTY YEARS!!!
The Innocents, featuring an excellent performance by Deborah Kerr, is a perfect example of why less can be so much more when watching a psychological thriller. Even after forty years this masterpiece still delivers the thrills and scares. The Innocents not only makes the viewer think, but it provides many jolts which will keep any seasoned horror/suspense buff on his or her toes. This film is definitely worth seeking out, although, unfortunately, it has yet to appear on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

--An experience never to forget--
Seeing this film for the first time was not exactly an easy thing to get through. Watching the torcher at first hand is alot easier to understand then a teacher trying to explain it (not saying they do a bad job). This film gives you an upclose + personal look at life as a prisoner in one of the death camps. It also gives you a tour of some of them, and you'll be surprised how many there were, not only the famous ones like Auswitz. I can't express enough the fact that its not an easy film to get through, but its one that everyone in this world should see, everyone should know what they went through, and everyone should know and be sure to see that something like this will never happen again.
--My Prayers to all those who not only died, but who survived to tell the tale of the Holocaust--

**And i really recomend this film**

History-Social Studies Educator's Perspective
Every history-social studies teacher is given the almost impossible task of describing to students things which we have not personally seen. The challenge of teaching the Holocaust becomes even greater, because most people cannot begin to imagine the horrors let alone the mind that could conceive them. Our challenge as educators is not to just to communicate the concept, it is to provide understanding. Once the process of understanding has begun, our task is then to help students deal with it.

To do this in any real manner is next to impossible. Hollywood has tried to depict the events but falls far short. This is not Hollywood's fault. The Holocaust is too vast, far beyond description, and just how far is in some small way shown in this film.

The footage comes from the official film record taken by Allied Forces in Europe. Labelled "The Death Camps," the film documents not only some of the smaller camps, but some of the other institutions of mass murder. Living survivors, like walking skeletons with terror in their eyes along with the callousness of the Germans is all there. Bergen-Belsen is beyond description.

Auschwitz is not included because it was captured by the Russians. The film record of Auschwitz is, retrettably, scant. The film is in black and white and has precious little narration. Only one clip with a voice recording. The images are as dispassionately shown as possible.

Clearly, this video is shocking and graphic. It is not for the faint at heart, but it is mandatory viewing for any history-social studies educator. Since 1945, there have been more than a dozen attempted genocides. This is a lesson that must be learned if we are going to survive as a species.

This is not just a video. It is a historical archive of one of the greatest horrors the world has ever seen.

You don't know what it was like until you've seen this......
I'm a fifteen year old student in high school and our teacher let us watch a portion of this video after reading Elie Wiesel's "Night". It definately helped me get a better understanding of the death camps. As a student it is hard to understand and believe that this type of inhumane activity happened, but after getting a visual of the mass graves and the diseased, hungry, mistreated people it gave us the right impression. ... Read more

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A man crouches and pokes at what first appears to be a wad of chewed-up pink bubble gum on the ground. "That's what a scab will do to ya, by God," he says, his voice quavering with emotion. The pink wad is brain tissue from a striker shot in the head by a strikebreaker. That's one of the harsh realities of Harlan County USA. Barbara Kopple's documentary camera looks at this forgotten corner of 1970s America, the site of some of the bitterest labor violence in American history. It's hard to believe that some 40 years after the Depression, there were parts of Appalachia that were hardly better off than they were in the 1930s. The care-worn faces of the miners and their families speak volumes. They're the tough, proud faces of people struggling to make a living the way that their parents and grandparents did in generations past. Kopple skillfully weaves archival footage and traditional labor songs through the film to give a historical perspective to the strike against Eastover Mining Company. Above and beyond the labor issues, the film takes a hard look at the living conditions, health issues, and poverty faced by Harlan's residents, the human toll that goes along with the mining industry. The tense confrontations between Eastover's slimy security goons and the unionizers are particularly gripping, with the threat of violence hanging thick in the air. Sometimes ugly, always absorbing, this is an important, enlightening social record, one that serves the highest calling of the documentary filmmaker's art. --Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Great movie..but not the entire story!
The Movie didnt tell much about the people of Harlan County..Henry Ford first exploited the people here at Wallins KY to mine coal to make coke to make his automobiles..untill then the people of this area were totaly self sufficient and didnt need a thing... most spoke several launguages..and were for the most part more educated than the rest of the US...So Henry Ford decided to do us a favor!..Just goes to show you technology isnt always a good thing!..Would have been a nice add in to the movie I think??...I'm in Harlan County..was here during the strike...and remember my grandparents talking of all the battles here in the 30's....This strike was nothing compared to the Days when "Bloody Harlan " got its name...As far as this movie goes?...Just another average strike In Harlan County*S*

The heart and soul what it is to be a coal miner
Produced and directed by Barbara Kopple, the film crew lived with the miners and their families during that period and were able to somehow get into the heart and soul of what it is to be a coal miner.

There are shots inside the mine where I can almost taste the dust and feel the claustrophobic confines. There's a shot of a woman giving a small child a bath in a tin bathtub and promising that when the strike is over, they might be able to live in a house with a real bathtub and running water. There are the miners' wives who are organizing to take a big part in the strike. And there are labor songs sung with the voices of people who really understand what these songs mean.

Most of all though, it is the faces of the people that I will never forget. There are no professional actors here; all these people are real. They are hollow cheeked, with deep lines etched on their faces and rotted which teeth which have never seen a dentist. Some are already victims of black lung disease. Others speak of husbands and grandfathers who died in mine explosions.

All this is mixed with just the right amount of historical footage to give background. There is no annoying voice over, just an occasional line of writing superimposed on the screen to clarify a point or give specific details. The miners and their families speak for themselves, sometimes directly into the camera, other times among each other.

Because of their thick Kentucky accents, I sometimes found it difficult to get every single word of dialog but this actually added to the authenticity of the video. I found myself moved by their plight, and feeling shivers of emotion throughout.

This stands out as an outstanding film and understand why it won an academy award. Recommended.

One of the best documentaries I've ever viewed...
When I told the librarian I wanted to see a video on coal mining, she handed me "Harlan County." I looked at the date - which indicated that the coal miners' strike featured in the movie took place in the early 1970s and I handed it back to her saying, "No, I'm interested in something with more history in it."

A few days later, I felt impelled to return to the library and get this VHS. I sat down to watch it one morning and could not turn it off. It's compelling, intriguing, educational and emotional. I cried several times, watching the struggle and learning more and more about a coal miner's life.

For the last few months, I've been doing research (in preparation for a book on Sears Homes) about Standard Oil's coal mines in Macoupin County, Illinois in the 1920s. "Harlan County" showed archival footage and presented information that showed what a miner's life looked like - through the ages. Duke Power's coal mines in Harlan County, Kentucky were so backwards and Standard Oil's coal mines in Macoupin County, Illinois were so progressive, that I learned more than I ever expected about early 1900s mining techniques.

The story about the man and the mules is something I'll never ever forget. Or the miner's conversation with the New York policeman. Thank God for the director Ms. Koppel, who was inspired to create this documentary! And for her having the wisdom and foresight to record these old miners' reminiscences of life in the coal mines in the early years of the 20th Century.

Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces from my months of book reading and research came together when I saw these old films and heard the miners talk.

I'll be watching it again and again - with my family, too. And I hope every person who uses electricity in this country will watch it, too.

An interesting aside - in the 1920s in Macoupin County, Illinois, one coal miner died (on average) for every 279,000 tons of coal that was mined. Between 1900-1969, 100,000 miners died in this country. Standard Oil's mines (operated from 1918-1925) in Macoupin County may have been the safest mines in the country, but several men died in those mines, too.

In 1918, Standard Oil of Indiana built 192 Sears Modern Homes for their (mostly immigrant) miners in Macoupin County. (The term "Modern Homes" simply meant that the houses had kitchens, bathrooms, running water, central heat and electricity.)

In 1973, Duke Power's miners in Harlan County were still living in shacks with no running water.

Rose Thornton

Real-Life Rancor
Dirt-poor miners struggle (to the death, in many cases) to unionize against the insurmountably evil coal bosses in this Oscar-winning documentary. Watch in awe (no joke) as simple men, women, and children, exemplify the true meaning of chasing the American dream. After watching "HCU," you'll never complain about YOUR job again. Ever.

Not just a strike against the Coal Operators
Not only does Ms. Kopple's work bring to the table the injustice, served daily, in Harlan, but also displays to the viewer the inner politics of powerful, present-day unions. This film should be required viewing for every Rank and File member of a Union. It should also be required viewing for all management and salaried employees. The management will say, "Good thing I got my degree and I'm not down in the hole with those redneck miners. Haw-Haw-Haw!"

The Salaried Employees will respond: I hate my job, I hate my boss, if I could kill everyone in this office, I would; NO---- Not my boss, "like the Nazis", he's only following orders. Not my co-workers---They're only doing their job and trying to lead a healthy life.

Whom then? Who do we crucify? In every management situation there is an overseer and a slave, in every salaried position, there is an overseer and a slave, AND in every rank and file position there is an overseer and slaves.

Rank and File, Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains, held by your big union and management Overseers!

Jason ... Read more

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A thousand years in 10 hours is an ambitious project, to say the least. But the team at CNN succeeds with its now-typical aplomb, as the team that brought us Cold War shares with us Millennium."We know the history of our own country," narrator Ben Kingsley intones. But this series purports to give us "history from a global perspective, not through the eyes of the West." Using reenactments and impressive computer graphics--used with inspiration for everything from rebuilding the 11th-century Pueblo Bonito to representing Freud's idea of the subconscious--the history of the world for the past 1,000 years is re-created. Each episode covers 100 years, from the 11th century's "Century of the Sword" to the 16th century's "Century of the Compass" to the final 100 years of the millennium in "Century of the Globe."Segmented by time and place, Millennium focuses on five topics in five separate locations in each episode.The wealth of topics is mind-boggling: the spread of Islam,Mongol conquests, the rise of Gothic spires across Europe, Australian Aborigines,the trail of Marco Polo, Black Death, Chinese naval power, the Ottoman Empire, the religious conversion of the Mayans, the Mogul Dynasty, science, slave trade, the Industrial Revolution, to name just a fraction of the stories told. Granted, given the constraints of covering 1,000 years in a mere 10 hours, the video may leave you longing for more, but what a way to whet your appetite for history. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Best series yet, I hope another 1,000 years is made soon.
I am a football coach and not some profeesor, but a video series like this has never been made. Just turn on the VCR and learn why we live the way we do. This video set is by far the best and most enjoyable out there. The facts enlighten even the most naive viewer to the history of the world as it will be seen hundreds of years from now. People only understand the view of religion, culture, and history as that of there own country. This amazing set opens your eyes to facts your history teachers never understood, and does so with the use of great computer graphics to take you back to the age talked about. One can only wait for the wonders of knowledge CNN/TIME will offer in the future. I am waiting for the previous 40,000 years to be made. ... Read more

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There are many remarkable things about the documentary 4 Little Girls. Spike Lee's striking, beautifully realized film is a cinematic lesson of what kind of material is better suited to the documentary format. In his first documentary, Lee shares an attribute of Ken Burns: the major event in his documentary is not seen on camera. Except for four quick glimpses of black-and-white autopsy photos, the picture stays clear from the bombing. Lee remains with the faces, the girls' friends, families, and the historic figures of the era. They've all grown up since the bombing but their memories haven't faded.The vital facts of the case are certainly here: the troubled history of Birmingham, the court proceedings, friends' last run-ins with the girls. What touches us deeper though are those witnesses telling us of living through the core era of segregation and bigotry: a father explaining to his child why she can't have a sandwich in a cafeteria and a woman offering up tears of past events. There's even an interview with George Wallace, the prince of segregation, that belongs in a David Lynch feature.Lee's film asserts the bombing energized the civil rights movement and when the voice of America, Walter Cronkite, echoes those sentiments, you believe he may have it right. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (21)

America's Embarrassment . . . . Where were you?
Spike Lee has struck a cord in this classic work. Poignant portrayals of racism in 1964 as 4 Little Girls are brutally murdered in the Birmingham church bombing by the KKK. I was 4 years old living in an all white community in rural Ohio. I didn't even know these things were happening and I am embarrassed and outraged at the ignorance and stupidity of those involved. The scars the community and a nation carried from that moment on will last a lifetime for those who lived and relived the beautiful memories and the horror of the deadly event in the interviews provided in this documentary. The pain, sorrow and powerful message will affect the lives of anyone who views this picture. This should be required viewing for all school aged children so we can work to eliminate hatred and encourage a celebration of diversity in America.

4 Little Girls superb documentary
Spike Lee's 4 Little Girls was briefly released to theaters in 1997 to qualify for Oscar contention as Best Documentary. It was first broadcast nationwide on Home Box Office. It is a remarkably clear-eyed telling of an incendiary tale--how four young black girls, ages 11 to 14, were killed in a 1963 bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.

I hesitate to compare 4 Little Girls to Schindler's List, and yet it has that same quality of being a restrained, dignified recounting of an emotional incident. Spike Lee had been wanting to tell this story since before he became a noted filmmaker, and Lee brings all of his remarkable talents to bear. The movie is not flashy, just quietly gripping.

Lee frames the incident within the bigger picture of the Southern civil rights movement, particularly as it took place within an inflamed Birmingham. We see the town's police commissioner, Bull Connor--described by one interviewee as "the dark spirit of Birmingham"--keeping order in town while driving a tank painted white, an image that is sure to bring gasps to those who aren't familiar with the full story (which, I humbly admit, included me). And we see a repentant Gov. George Wallace, dragging a reluctant black colleague on camera so that Wallace can introduce him as "my best friend in the world." (Notably, the "friend" looks quite unconvinced.)

It is that Wallace footage that might seem the most showy in a documentary otherwise bereft of editorializing. But it seems right to include the footage after seeing how the segregationist tactics of Wallace and others led indirectly to the deaths of Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, and Cynthia Wesley. Using little more than home movies and interviews with surviving family members, Lee brings the dead girls back to life and shows us that, when racial stereotypes are accepted and even honored, individual tragedies are the result.

Mostly, the story is told through simple, heartbreaking facts. Chris McNair tells us of the day he had to explain to his daughter Denise how she was taken by the aroma of a cooking hamburger at a lunch counter but could not eat there because she was black. And the film comes full circle by pointing out the inexplicable resurgence of black church bombings in the 1990's.

Most of the victims' relatives, understandably, become quite emotional on-camera. It can't have been easy to reopen these old wounds, but 4 Little Girls makes you grateful that they endured their pain to do it. I only wish the movie had been up for Best Picture, as it is worth a dozen L.A. Confidential's.

4 Little Girls is rated TV-14 for violence, brief nudity, and racial epithets.

Great, but.....
Having been to Birmingham numerous occasions and having met Mr. Chris McNair (who is now a county commissioner) as well as Carolyn McKinstrey, who also appears in this film (she was a survivor of the church bombing), I pretty much knew the story, but was pleased with the way it was told. A really fascinating segment for me was seeing the actual home movie of Denise Mc Nair and a couple of the other girls. Good job Spike. This is by far his best film.

The DVD extras are very good, particularly the pathetic interview with the notorious George Wallace uncut. Poor Ed (see the film and you'll understand that last statement).

Only minor complaint is that there isn't a scene selection on the DVD. You'll have to watch it all the way through. Also, it would be nice if some mention was made of Johnny Robinson and Virgil Ware (the two little boys who were also killed on that fateful Sunday, which is another story waiting to be told).

But that aside, it's great that Spike did this while so many of those who were around to remember all this are still alive. This is history that needs to be seen.

a great documentary
I'm actually watching the special features on this disc right now, and the "making of" special is as well done as the film. This is a powerful and moving film about people before, during, and after a great tradedy. The stars of this film are the parents and friends of these children.

One of the most startling things is an interview with violent segregationist George Wallace. Much like Micheal Moore handing the mike to Charleton Heston, the rope is handed over, and Wallace just hangs himself with it. Like Heston, he is old and outdated, illogical and mostly just old. You look at this old old man and you feel a strange pity, because he is so old and small and insignificant.

Absorbing and heart-rendering...
Spike Lee's _Four Little Girls_ is a masterpiece of continuous stream interview documentary of a period that Birmingham would like to forget, but with which it has yet to come to terms. No holds are barred in the recounting of the 1963 Sixteenth Street Church bombing, which forever changed the face of the Civil Rights struggle in the U. S. By interviewing the remaining family members, Lee brought home not only the human suffering of the surviving families, but made the world wonder what universal loss we all experienced in the deaths of these 4 little girls.

I had the honor of attending the world premiere of this film in 1997 at the invitation of the McNair family at the historical Carver Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. Seeing the historical film footage of places I knew myself as a child in that city, seeing the anguish again on the face of dear friends as they recount identifying their dead daughter, and knowing the effects this tragedy has had in Birmingham and elsewhere in the 40 years since it occurred made this much more than a historical documentary for me.

Its effect will be the same for you as well, I think, and well worth having this film as part of an American non-fiction collection. ... Read more

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The Survivors of the Shoah (Hebrew for Holocaust) Foundation grew out of Steven Spielberg's research for his film Schindler's List. He interviewed many survivors of the Holocaust and found that, despite their similar experiences, each had a unique story to tell. In order to preserve these memories for future generations so that the horrors of Nazi Europe might never be forgotten, Spielberg created the foundation, whose mission involves taping interviews with the remaining survivors. Survivors of the Holocaust provides just the briefest glimpse of the many stories the foundation has collected. The video is broken into thirds by year, so we learn of life before the Holocaust, during internment in concentration camps, and after liberation. The testimonies are powerful, and at times overwhelming. The photos and film clips are frequently horrifying and may be too much for younger viewers. The video opens with a brief presentation, hosted by Ben Kingsley, about the foundation itself. This is the weakest part of the video--at points it seems to serve simply as a reminder of how wonderful Spielberg is for his involvement in this effort--but don't let it deter you . No matter how much you may have seen or read about the Holocaust, the interviews will affect you tremendously. A powerful, powerful experience. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Teacher's Dream
This sad but powerful video is a must-have for any English or History teacher dealing with the Holocaust. I *do* agree with many Holocaust survivors who urge teachers to NOT begin their units with such a film, but to use it as a tool that complements a balanced discussion of this horrific time period. I begin my unit with a study of poems from the book, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," recommended by another teacher, and then proceed to this video. Finally, we read the book, "Night," by Elie Wiesel. I feel all the first-hand accounts really hit home the reality of the time, as well as the need to be wary of recurrences in such hatred today.

IF THIS TOPIC INTERESTS YOU....
This was an excellent movie...If you are interested in this topic, you should check out the critically acclaimed books of Dorit B. Whiteman (she is a Holocaust survivor herself as well as a pysychologist): "The Uprooted", a classic which insightfully examines how some Jews (including many Kindertransport members) managed to miraculously escape Nazi occupied countries and describes the emotional aftermaths of their ordeals, and the more recent "Escape Via Siberia", which tells the dramatic story of a Polish boy who surived exile in Siberia and joined the only Russian Kindertransport.

A Teacher's Point of View
I am a 6th grade teacher and I teach the Holocaust to my students. This video is one resource tool that I use. It is quite powerful and the students get so much out of it. Through accounts of survivors, drawings, paintings, and vivid footage, we are taken through step by step the horror of the Holocaust and how it happened, from pre-occupation all the way until they day the war was over. The stories are fascinating, the visual images horrifying. This video is intense, but not on the "sickly" level of "Night and Fog." However, if you are interested in this subject, I strongly suggest getting your hands on this movie.

A work of maturity and discernment
what emerges is a redifine understandig of the holocaust as experienceby those who lived it..those of us priveileged to see this work (or as i think this piece of art) will come close to understanding what it was like to be there. I can thinkl of no work that brings us closer. not even anne frank wich i particulary hate. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A trip into the perilous state of Chiapas in southern Mexico is taken in this documentary, which focuses on the Zapatista National Liberation Army and its mysterious leader, Subcomandante Marcos. The narration notes that The New York Times has referred to the struggle of the Zapatistas as the "world's first postmodern revolution," and there is a remarkably surreal air at times. At one point Subcomandante Marcos is filmed while posing for the French fashion magazine Marie Claire, yet there can be no denying that the residents he champions are extremely poor. The interviews with farmers who fear they will be murdered by government troops are moving, and a press conference in which tape recordings of death threats are played is disturbing. The film's director, Nettie Wild, has a definite point of view and notes stoically that a memo from American bankers may have inspired the violence directed against the local rebels by the Mexican government. The background of the rebellion in Chiapas is told concisely with most of the film consisting of atmospheric footage showing life in the troubled and violent region. The film crew was itself threatened by right-wing paramilitary death squads, and the paranoia that is an asset in such an environment is tensely translated via filmed encounters with government troops. --Robert J. McNamara ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Not bad but could have been better...
This video is for everyone: hardcore supporters of the Zapatistas and for those who know next to nothing on the struggle. It details the history and cause of the uprising in Chiapas but leaves much out of Marcos' personality. If you'd like to know more of his agenda you'd be better off reading his speeches in the internet. I also liked the way the documentary depicts the culture of those living in Chiapas.

A too gringo vision of Chiapas
I saw this movie without previous warning, following the advice of intellectuals' reviews seemingly to the left of US political arena. I can only admire the camera of Netie Wild's. The best part of this documentary is undoubtly the photography, to which Chiapas geography and people contributed generously. Most of the interviews are well-conducted and some just missed the point entirely. In some passages of the film, the title of this review becomes embrassingly obvious. Wild demonstrates why in Latin America many social movements don't often trust pseudo-progressive artists and intellectuals. In her unsuccessful effort to surgically separate the armed movement from the communities, Wild's film becomes amateurish. For instance, she forces the script to describe the Zapatistas as cold-hearted when dealing with the displaced communities from Tila, after attacks from paramilitary groups. In her efforts, she provokes the Zapatistas into turning untrustful of hers. No wonder! Nobody who has been into Zapatistas communities in Chiapas could believe this side of Wild's story. In the end she forces herself into pretending to be an "objective" observer, while in a few parts of the movie you can see she really loses her coolness in front of the camera. In the end, this is a barely accurate vision of Chiapas, told by a typical USian (born in the US, "Americans" are all those born in the Americas) with a mentality of a charity tourist.

A Place Called Chiapas
This film serves as an excellent presentation in summarizing the Chiapas plight. While it has been criticized, which I don't believe is justified, Wild and team weaves factual events - regardless of your viewpoint - to provide a unique perspective. Chiapas is closer than you think and while Mexico shares in this predicament, it is a real problem as oppressed people eventually gain the courage to say Basta!!!

An informing documentary about the Zapatista uprising
I found this documentary to be essential to my understanding of the indigent peoples' movement for independence and recognition in Chiapas and other parts of Mexico, under the leadership of Subcomandante Marcos. I really think that Nettie Wild did a great job of making this documentary. Although she is a zapatista sympathizer like most of us, she was very brave in showing the other side. There was a part where the rich ranchers told how the Zapatistas had taken their land. However, it was hard to feel bad for them when they were sitting in a very nice parlor with nice clothes, food, and educated manners, and the children, adults, and elderly of Chiapas are accurately pictured as almost naked, starving, homeless, terribly undereducated, etc. Although it is hard to agree with everything Marcos says and does, there is no doubt he is a brave and good human being and this film captures both parts of him - the actor who knows how to play the media just like his readers to get what he wants, as well as the human and indigent rights champion who is fighting for an awesome cause - very well. It contains exclusive interviews with him and many other leaders in the movement, as well as some heart-breaking interviews with the people of Chiapas themselves. It is important to the understanding of the situation in Chiapas, just as much as Marcos' book "Shadows of Tender Fury" and other correspondence by him is. If you want an accurate and moving look at the problems in Chiapas, this film is a must to watch. I recommend finding a library to rent it from as I did or waiting until the price goes down, but if you have the money now it is worth it, because this documentary is invaluable in its originality, source of information, and inspiration.

Please See This Film!
I was fortunate enough to see this film at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. i highly recommend it because it is not only a facinating look into the life of the Maya in the highlands of Chiapas, but there are very rare interviews with Commandante Marcos. a HUGE THANKS to Nettie Wild for being a woman of great courage and compassion! May Peace be restored to Chiapas. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

One-sided view which does not capture the full story.
Although the video does offer an interesting perspective of events leading up to Operation Just Cause, it does not reflect the hatred the Panamanian people had for Noriega and his cronies. I frequently spent time in Panama in the mid 1980s and later was stationed there for three years as a US military officer both during and post-Just Cause and can state that Panama under Noriega and Panama today are two entirely different countries for a good reason -- Noriega harmed his own people, raided public coffers and held the country back from progessing in the international community. There was a lull for two years in Panama post-Noriega as the population experienced a collective sigh of relief. Today, Panama is becoming an economic competitive force in the region and is posturing itself to become the "Singapore of Latin America" - an impossibility had Noriega remained in power. My own informal survey of 300 Panamanians from all walks of life a few years after Just Cause found that the overwhelming majority were thankful for US intervention and removal of Noriega. It is interesting on how little attention is given to US involvement in Panama associated with the building of roads, schools, medical facilities, economic support in the form of loans and grants and knowledge transfer associated with the Panama Canal.

Don't forget. high farenheit degrees in Panama Old Town
As I remember this documentary win an Oscar for best documentary award like Michael Moore did with "Bowling for Columbine" last year. Now thanks to M.M. this category is known.
Don't forget it was prohibited its exhibition around the land of the no free to watch it.
Please edit "Panama Deception" in DVD.

Overly strident, but partially accurate nonetheless
It's unfortunate that this film was so over zealous to make its point, but it is equally unfortunate to see those who would deny what is clearly factual.

Just hours before I read the reviews here I happened to be reading "You Back the Attack! We'll Bomb Who We Want" by Micah Ian Wright who served in the US Army Rangers and participated in the invasion of Panama. Wright states quite clearly what many try to deny. He stood on the roof of a building overlooking a civilian neighborhood that had been bombed by the US and had burned for two days unchecked. And Wright is not the only military witness to confirm that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of civilians were killed by US weapons. Just because the producers of Panama Deception failed to interview these soldiers does not mean they don't exist.

It is also equally harmful to make the debate about this film about Bush or the Republican Party. The issue at hand is post Vietnam War foreign policies which clearly ignore moral principles for unknown ulterior motives. These policies have been carried out by Democrats and Republicans alike. Clinton, for example, had his own fiasco with his support of the sanctions against Iraqi civilians which ultimately strengthened Saddam Hussein's domestic power.

I make these observations as a former US Army Intelligence Analyst who saw the lies under Bush I. But the same lies could have been stated under Clinton. It doesn't matter.

The issue is not so simplistic that films like Panama Deception are "anti-military" or even "anti-American." As Teddy Roosevelt said at one time, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President . . . or that we must stand by the President right or wrong . . . is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

Ultimately, that's what this is all about - that we send our troops into harms way and they, as soldiers in combat, invariably end up killing innocents in accomplishing their mission. This is a fact of life. To criticize those who would send them into combat is not an attack on the soldiers, but on the leaders who would abuse them and then refuse to acknowledge what they've done.

When it comes to Panama, I'm not aware of any American leader ever admitting what happened. Furthermore, it is false to say that other nations did not protest. The UN General Assembly did in fact condemn the attack. But the US is the world's superpower and the condemnation ultimately resulted in nothing. This has been the case for well more than a decade, most notably in regards to Iraq.

And just like in so many other military actions, the media, as shown in the video, did indeed play an integral role in creating the perception that US soldiers did not kill civilians and/or that our motives were entirely pure. They used terms like "our attack" or "we captured Noriega" as if all of us were in on the plan from the very beginning. There was no effort made to even create the image that the media were somehow separate from the invasion.

Which brings me to my last observation about this film and its critics. It is often the mistake of those who disbelieve those who challenge US foreign policy to say that these individuals must therefore support the opposing side. Against the invasion? Then you must support Noriega. Against Gulf War II? Then you must support Saddam Hussein. This is childish thinking. It's not about the goal, it's about HOW the goal is acheived. Only a fool would support either of those dictators. What most critics have a problem with is the method by which these men were removed from power - a method that, as the film shows, kills innocents and at least creates the image in the minds of those living outside the US that we have ulterior motives.

Given these random thoughts, some portions of "Panama Deception" have stood the test of time while others fall flat. Watch it and see for yourself. If you can get beyond the strident tone, perhaps this will be the seed that will help you see that not all the military actions of the United States are something we should be proud of.

Agitprop
Samantha, we hardly knew 'ye.

This movie is sloppy anti-American propaganda at best; a joke at worst. There has never been any credible report of mass civilian death in Just Cause, and the absolute highest Panamanian combat deaths I've heard (from NYT) was 500.

Not to engage in post hoc justification, but try to think objectively about the 15 years or so since Just Cause and what we've learned:

1. No one in Panama is agitating for Noriega to return.

2. We returned the Panama Canal, dead on schedule.

3. Noriega has made no claim of some secret CIA-Bush-drug nexus. Those on the left who make such claims sound just like the wackos on the right that talked about Mena Airport during the Klinton years.

4. Most tellingly, no formal call in front of a world judicial body has been made for supposed civilian deaths during Just Cause. If you think that the anti-U.S. folks over in Europe wouldn't love to do that, then you're kidding yourself. Remember that Irish chick (Mary something) at the U.N. who opened an investigation into NATO war crimes in Kosovo? Remember when the International Criminal Court issued a futile injunction just before Angel Breard was executed? Believe me, if 10% of the allegation in Panama Deception were true, the international America-haters, victocrats, bleeding hearts and dictator-huggers would be all over Just Cause like Kerry on an heiress. They're not.

Folks, get a grip. If you want to bash Bush (41 or 43) then, as Nike would say, "Just do it." There's certainly enough out there. No need to manufacture it, like this piece of agitprop.

Panama Deception
I thought this documentary was very well done. It opened my eyes to things I never thought the US gov't would do. I feel the producers did a good job showing all sides and really made me want to continue to watch even though there were a few tough scenes to watch. I would definatley recomend this documentary to everyone who wants to know the truth about what goes on in the gov't ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Paris Is Burning closes with two neon-lit boys holding each other on the streets of Harlem. One looks into the camera and asks, "So this is New York City and what the gay lifestyle is all about--right?" This documentary takes an honest, humorous, and surprisingly poignant peek into one of America's overlooked subcultures: the world of the urban drag queen.It's a parallel dimension of bizarre beauty, where "houses" vie like gangs for turf and reputation ... only instead of street-fighting, they vogue their way down makeshift catwalks in competitive "balls." The only rule of the ballroom: be real.

In surprisingly candid interviews, you discover the grace, strength, and humor it takes to be gay, black, and poor in a straight, rich, white world.You'll meet young transsexual "cover girls," street hustlers saving up for the big operation, and aging drag divas reminiscing about the bygone days of sequins, feathers, and Marilyn Monroe.

Made in the late 1980s, this fashion-conscious film shows its age less than you'd expect. It's still a great watch for anyone interested in the whole range of humanity, or anyone who's ever been an outsider, desperately wanting something the world hides out of reach. --Grant Balfour ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Defiance and Pathos
In the beginning of this film, one of the commentators says that he was told that he has two strikes against him: he is black and male. But in addition to that, he has a third strike: he's gay. "You're going to have to be stronger than you ever imagined," he is told. "Paris is Burning" is a documentary about gay black and Hispanic men who are tranvestites (men who dress in women's clothing) or transsexuals (people who have The Operation and become, biologically, the opposite sex). They come together and hold "balls" in which they compete in categories like "Executive Realness," "Opulence," and "the Boy Who Robbed You a Few Minutes before Arriving at the Ball." Although several of these categories seem like a satire of society at large, we are told by elder stateswoman/cynic/voice of reason Dorian Corey that "this isn't a parody or take-off. They are very seriously trying to pass as what they are dressing up as." The miracle of "Paris is Burning" is that director Jennie Livingston takes a subject that could have very easily become a freak show and allows the people in it their humanity. We learn their views of homosexuality, men, women, their hopes, their disappointments, their dreams. Some of these dreams are so unattainable it's tragic (does anyone seriously believe that a transsexual can become a successful female model and make the cover of "Vogue" magazine?). Many of the people are seriously in denial; Venus Xtravaganza, in particular, refuses to see himself as a prostitute ("I'll go out with a man...and sometimes he'll give me money so I can buy a dress and look pretty for him...but I don't have to go to bed with him 99% of the time...well, 95% of the time.")

This is not a film for everyone. There are shots in this movie of nude transsexuals. It is definitely not for children, and if you have a problem with homosexuality, then this movie isn't for you, either. But if you do see this movie you'll realize "Paris is Burning" isn't really about men wearing women's clothes, it's about a group of people who are routinely marginalized and put down by society at large, and what they do to get a sense of community in their lives.

I've watched this movie four times since it was released in 1991, because it says so many things: it's a commentary about materialism in our culture, about gender roles, about rich and poor people, about the media and what it celebrates, about fame and adulation. "Paris is Burning" is one of the most humane, and one of the saddest, movies I've ever seen.

THE GAY HOUSE BALLS AT THEIR FINEST! VOGUE-BATTLES!
I THOUGHT THIS FILM SHOWED THE BALLROOM SCENE WONDERFULLY. IT WAS GREAT SEEING ALL THE LEGENDARY CHILDREN ON FILM. I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ANY YOUNG BLACK GAY MALE AS A START OF PERSONAL GAY BLACK PRIDE. THIS IS WHERE VOGUEING ORIGINATED.THEY BETTER WORK.

I want this movie on DVD right NOW!
What's up with the entertainment industry? They shovel [bad stuff] down our throats like Spy Kids 2 and Gigli, but try to find brilliant, daring movies like Paris is Burning or Hoop Dreams on DVD - forget it. You might as well try to find Barbara Bush in a tube top on Bourbon Street. Which, now that I think about it, has an demonic sort of appeal all its own. And with that Wilma Flintstone pearl necklace of hers...what a sizzling hot look! I can hear Beelzebub cackling with delight right now.

See you in New York this August, Barbara!

Yes, alive and well
Reading many of the reviews I'm saddened to see that most people today don't know that the House scene, still is, alive and very well. The Los Angeles House scene, yes modeled from that of the NY scene, is 11 houses and strong, with many fierce, and fabulous balls to brag about baby. Although most of the categories have been modified and simplified with a lil' L.A. flava our balls hold true to where we first began.
Many of the House family members display their voguing in the L.A. hip hop club scene. However our style of voguing has changed slightly, we 'chop', 'sha-blam', and 'shut 'em down' with ol' school/new school flava. Enjoying our unity as a community, a family, and as a people. See you at the next ball.
:-)

'Reflections' Of Lives That Used To Be .......
When I first saw this movie back in 1993, I was only 20 years old, and the first thing that crossed my mind after I saw it was "Aaahh, this is just a movie about a bunch of queens in NY, what-ever!!!" so I saw it once, and never saw it again, I didn't even pay attention to what they were talking about, I had other things in my mind back then. TEN years later (2003), now that I am 30...I decided to rent the video again, and sit down, watch it again and this time really listen to what they had to say. Now at my age, I can trully say, that this film really touched me, because these people are not just a bunch of drag queens and transsexuals, these are real people, with real feelings, hopes and dreams struggling to stay alive and be noticed. There is nothing to laugh about here. I have seen this video now like a hundred times, and it saddens me to find out now, that most of the people on this film are now dead, and their hopes and dreams never came true. My respects goes to ALL of them, because on one way or another, we are all on the same game of survival in this world. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Truly Amazing
Amazing Grace with Bill Moyers is almost as inspiring as the song itself. The interviews with people from all backgrounds, races, genders and ages are a testament to this song and its overwhelming and widespread effect on all who hear it. It will make you laugh, make you cry and help you see the hope of grace.

OUTSTANDING
I purchased this video right after it came out, and placed it in my church library. It is an excellent history of probably the most famous hymn ever written. There audio clips from MANY singers who have sung it well, and some who butchered it (lovingly). If you are a music buff, a Bill Moyers fan, or a child of the 60s who loved Judy Collins' version, you'll love this video!

The Bill Moyers Collection - Amazing Grace
This is one of the best videos that I have ever seen. I originally saw the progam on a public television chanel and enjoyed it so much that I searced until I found the video. The song, Amazing Grace, is featured thoughout the video by first telling how it was written and then by showing it being sung by many diverse individuals and groups. The Harlem Boys choir sings it in rehearsal and on a concert trip. Jesse Norman, a wonderful black opera singer sings and talks about it with so much warmth that I feel I am talking with her personally. Amazing Grace is sung in the mountains of the Carolinas and the most humble churches and still carries the wonderful and haunting message of the song to the world.

UPLIFTING & ILLUMINATING
This is a beautiful film of the history of the hymn "Amazing Grace". Bill Moyers excels at this sort of documentary. I particularly enjoyed the testimonials from the people whose lives were enhanced when they heard or sang it. The story of the man who wrote the lyrics will astound you. Best of all is the various renditions of the hymn. I give this documentary to people I love when they feel they "..are lost, but now are found". ... Read more

Description

For almost a century their fabled dynasty and tragic fate has beenenveloped in myth and surrounded by mystery.Now, with the opening of the formerSoviet Union, the true story of Nicholas and Alexandra can be told.This groundbreakingproduction, filmed on location throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe, presentsa treasure trove of information and documents that have been kept secret for decades. Intimate diaries, letters and personal effects from the once-sealed imperial archives tellthe astonishing story of the Romanovs' reign.Chilling eyewitness accounts, testimonyfrom executioners, and a somber exhumation finally put to rest the enigma of theirdynasty's horrifying end.Stunning, fact-filled and grand, this is the ultimate chronicle ofa romance that changed the world. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Powerful video of one of histories greatest stories
This was a wonderful film, it almost didn't feel like a documentry at all, but a real cinematic film. It is rich with the families private family videos and diary entries sharing their story through their point of view. There are also many videos of the 300th year anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty,and the powerful Russian music that accompanies them is a really nice touch. The film does not dab that much into political affairs but stays on the path of their family life which most people are truly fascinated with anyway. This film presents everything including their begining, their rule, war, imprisonment, death, and even their suspected remains found in siberia with great detail. If your are interested with this great family and how they lived and died than this film is for you.

The most tragic love affair in history
The last czar of all the Russians was a most reluctant monarch, assuming the throne before he was ready and at a time when the contradictory forces were too powerful for such an absolute monarchy to survive. Despite its' vastness and backwardness, Russia was a great industrial power as the twentieth century arrived, and the strains felt in Europe were also pressing on it. This would have probably been enough to topple even the most forceful of men, but the last of the ruling Romanovs was not a strong personality.
Unlike so many other monarchs, his relationship with his wife was a true love affair, which ironically proved to be part of his undoing. Had he paid less attention to her, it is more likely that he would have physically survived, and perhaps even as a ruler with vastly truncated power.
The particulars of that love affair are a point of emphasis in this tape, with a great deal of quoting from their letters. In contrast to others who have ruled the Russians, Nicholas comes across as a romantic fluff, more capable and comfortable in professing love and devotion than in making the decisions that determined the lives and deaths of millions. From this tape, you learn the details of their relationship, the manner of their death and how their final resting place was discovered a half-century later.
While historically accurate, there are some points where greater explanation should have occurred. The establishment of the Duma in 1905 is mentioned, but not one word of the disastrous war with Japan appears. Given that this was the impetus for the creation of the legislative body, such an omission is a glaring one. A second point that should have been mentioned was the assassination of Pyotr Stolypin, the reformist minister who was trying to modernize Russian society and was killed for his efforts.
I was also impressed with the description of Rasputin, the monk who held such power over the Empress in their last years. He is often put forward as an evil manipulator, when he was in fact just another faith healer who managed to gain the confidence of a powerful person desperate for a cure for an incurable disease. Blaming the givers of bad advice is not the way to justify the fact that the rulers used it when they should have known better.
During my last visit to the Soviet Union, it was visibly coming apart and one of the members of my delegation asked the question, "Will the Russian people ever forgive Lenin?" The forces that led to his rise and decades of brutal government were centuries in the making, but those with the last chance to avoid it were Nicholas and Alexandra. This is the story of their life together, pointing out the irony that love interests and ruling interests are often incompatible.

a glimpse of their Imperial Highnesses persons...
If you are a Romanov fanatic this movie is a must for you!! It is very touching, excellent narration, this movie has captured moments that you won't find anywhere else.

A love story more than a history.
Nicholas and Alexandra tends to romanticize the Romanov dynasty to some extent; it particularly focuses on the personal relationship between Nicholas and Alexandra and, at times, glosses over his historical malice and ineptitude, which unfortunately resulted in the even-more malicious and inept "reign" of the Bolsheviks. The final portrait of the Romanovs with which this video leaves us is one of two incompetent, but well-meaning and earnest rulers. The many films included are very interesting to watch, and the murder of the Romanov family is handled well. If you are interested in the Romanovs as individuals rather than as historical figures, then you will enjoy this... but if you are more interested in such details as their complicity in Bloody Sunday, the Tsarina's Lady Macbeth complex, and the Tsar's collaboration with the anti-Semite Black Hundreds organization, then this video will leave you feeling as though Nicholas and Alexandra's numerous faults have been minimized for the sake of romantic nostalgia.

Very Moving!
As a collector of Romanoff items, I found this video well documented. This is a must for your Romanoff collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

As the Nazi war machine marched across Europe and Jews were rounded upand killed, a small town in France became an unlikely haven for the persecuted.The small village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, which was inhabited mostly by Huguenots (devout Protestants whose own history involved being persecuted), became a place where families took in Jews and hid them in their houses and on their farms.The villagers risked their lives, and their bravery is evident in interviews with residents who recall the Nazis searching house to house for Jews in hiding.Produced by Pierre Sauvage, who was born in the village while his parents were being sheltered, this documentary is a moving look at ordinary people who performed extraordinary feats.What is perhaps most impressive is how the elderly villagers interviewed on camera seem to think what they did wasn't very heroic at all, but rather a simple expression of their religious faith.It is humbling to hear them describe how it was impossible for them to do anything other than protect their fellow humans from great evil.This edition of the documentary is introduced by Bill Moyers, and also features an interview Moyers conducted with filmmaker Sauvage.--Robert J. McNamara ... Read more

Reviews (4)

8888
I would like to view it again, so can you help me get it
in the PAL version.
Thanks Charles

Deeply moving and challenging film
I first saw this film on TV on a local PBS station several years ago. From that day on I searched in video stores, the PBS station's gift shop in the Philadelphia area (WHYY) and video catalogues to find it. Then, for a paper I was writing on "altruism" I searched the web and came across this film,a copy of which I ordered from Amazon. This is a true story of French people who, while unremarkable in many ways, were extremely remarkable in the way they almost naturally lived out their Christian faith by, along with their neighbors, hiding and helping to protect many French Jews during WWII from Nazi terrors. After seeing this film and reading "Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There," by Philip Hallie I have pondered what I might do in their place. I can only hope I might be like them, and have asked, "Lord, enable me to be like these people who loved You and others this way - in a real way, when faced with evil and danger." Please view this film and share it with others.

Every church and synagogue in America should own this
Five stars aren't high enough for some movies. This is a masterpiece to savor, watch again and again, share with children, and pass along to generations yet to come. Why can't more movies inspire as much hope and goodness as this one? Buy a copy for yourself; buy another to give to your church or synagogue.

A deeply moving account of simple dedication and love.
Through personal interviews and on site filming, a young Jewish film maker recounts and attempts to analyze the courageous display of love and commitment to essential truth in the French Heugenot village of Le Chambon during WWII. French Protestant Christians, themselves with a history of extreme persecution, shelter five thousand Jews in a village of five thousand. Not one Jew is lost. The mystery of the courageous response, the sacrifice and the success is skillfully laid out in a series of interviews. You won't take your eyes off this film for one minute, you won't go away without tears and you will want to see it again ... and share it! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Covering the entire 20th century in one video series is an ambitious project, but one that Peter Jennings and ABC News are up to. In The Century: America's Time, a 12-part documentary on six videotapes that is a companion to the book of the same name, Jennings guides us through a century of technology and advancement like no other. As he says in his introduction to episode 1, "Seeds of Change," "Unlike previous centuries where leadership was defined by royalty and other rulers, the 20th century more than any other was shaped by the will and actions of the common man." The series is a sweeping presentation of the United States of the 1900s and tries to encompass a mind-boggling amount of history. And while at moments the videos may leave you longing for more, Jennings does an excellent job of creating smooth segues between disparate pieces.

The first episode, for instance, begins with the influx of immigrants at the turn of the century and touches on Jim Crow laws, moving pictures, planes, Henry Ford, the sinking of the USS Maine, child labor, suffragettes, the Panama Canal, imperialism, and more, right up to the beginning of World War I. The archival footage is stunning and interviews with historians, veterans, journalists, POWs, politicians, authors, celebrities, and common people help bring the past to life again. Mickey Spillane discusses the speakeasies of the 1920s; Dennis Hopper talks about Easy Rider in the '60s; Tom Wolfe reads from The Bonfire of the Vanities for the episode on the '80s. Eudora Welty, E.L. Doctorow, Martin Scorsese, John Updike, Pat Buchanan, Oliver Stone, Stephen E. Ambrose, among many others, lend their voices to this documentary. Yet, despite the great names, at times the pictures and people are allowed to speak for themselves, without intrusive narration--the stark images of the Challenger explosion or the sad words of a political activist mourning the death of his partner to AIDS are more powerful because of it. This chronological tale (with the exception of the last episode, "Then and Now," which is arranged thematically) is an insightful and poignant reminder of all the marvels--and tragedies--of America in the 20th century. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A fascinating documentary of a fascinating century
I love history. It fascinates me, but especially American history, especially the 20th century. This school year, I have taken a unique, new course at my school, titled: 20th Century World. As a teaching tool, my teacher has shown the movie for each decade whenever we've started that decade as our next unit. Even the kids who usually sleep through class sit and watched it with great interest. It makes you feel like you're there. For example, yesterday we watched the video for the 80s. Through the segment about AIDS and gays, my entire class was sitting there saying, "Ohmygosh, I never knew it was that bad." or "That is so sad." Through every decade, The Century: America's Time has offered a personal touch to every event, instead of making it boring. Every event mentioned on this documentary has affected our life today, and this documentary actually makes you think about how it has.