- Format: NTSC
- Number of tapes: 10
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Mpi ( Sma )
- VHS Release Date: Jun 1 2002
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00003L9BX
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
This 10-episode set devotes a video to each decade of the 20th century, and the results are mixed. The approach is fairly standard, utilizing archival newsreel footage or videotape shot for news programs to document the major events of each decade as well as using interviews with scholars and commentators to occasionally provide perspective. As the century began with hand-cranked film cameras and closed with endless news coverage on cable television, there is a great variety of material to draw from, and much of it is fascinating. However, devoting an hour or even more to each decade means that there is never much depth, and there is also an unfortunate lack of varying viewpoints. Most of the people interviewed in the various videos have a leftist perspective and, in some cases, such as the presentation of the Reagan years, the imbalance of viewpoint is striking. These videos do provide good overviews of the decades, and major events and characters are rendered in general terms, but at times a lack of depth and some curious editorial choices are frustrating. Still, the documentaries in this set do cover a tremendous amount of ground, and for the most part they do it in an entertaining and informative manner. --Robert J. McNamara
Additional Features
The DVD exclusive features on The 20th Century: A Moving Visual History include original newsreel footage from the 1920s through the 1970s. Also featured are rare interviews with Amelia Earhart, war newsreels, sports reporting, and even coverage of the world premiere of Gone with the Wind. Plus, there are Public Service Announcements originally shown in movie theaters of the 1940s and advertisements for, among other items, a Dick Tracy two-way wrist radio. Categorized and presented chronologically, this collection of short films provides an interesting (though arbitrary) look at newsreels throughout the century. --Ed Noble
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The 20th Century,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The 20th Century: A Moving Visual History (DVD)
My son asked for it, I have watched some episodes and love them. Great product where you can evaluate what was going on through history and make some assumptions of what could come.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good through the 1970s,
By
This review is from: 20th Century Set, the (VHS Tape)
Overall, this is a pretty good survey of most of the 20th century, although, like any attempt to capture 100 years on 10 VHS tapes, it cannot please everyone. Some interesting and important things are left out, but for the most part, it is a useful and entertaining series--at least up to 1980.In the 1980s and 1990s videos, the film takes a decidedly leftist slant (it is there all along slightly, but not excessively so). The most glaring example comes when the first Gulf War is described as a set of war crimes by the United States, but the slant is clear throughout those two volumes (even if Clinton is linked with Nixon in the opening montage). I still enjoy the series, and say this as a conservative and a professional historian and teacher (M.A. in history, M.Ed. in secondary education), but am sorry that the producers damaged their credibility with such obviously partisan approaches to the last two decades of the century.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great film survey of an entire century,
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This review is from: The 20th Century: A Moving Visual History (DVD)
I found this a fascinating overview of a topic that is too big for 12 hours of film -- 10 decades of mostly U.S. and some world history. There is a good balance of topics between wars-and-dates, popular culture and personalities, and the changes in conditions of regular people -- workers, soldiers, immigrants, and women.An ongoing theme is the evolution of things we now take for granted, such as access to information, equal rights, a decent standard of living, and core American values and civil rights. Most events are dealt with only briefly, an unfortunate necessity given the medium. But the topics, images, and film clips are always interesting. I read the reviews here before I saw the DVD and was watching for a left-not-just-liberal slant, but I saw very little for most "hot button" topics mentioned. There is little time even spent on Israel and the Palestinians, for example. And the internment of Japanese-Americans in WW II got only a brief mention, much shorter than the time devoted to "Casablanca." Yes, the film was sympathetic to the rights of minorities, but it didn't focus much time on Civil Rights except during the 60's. Yes, early Socialists were portrayed as idealistic in response to capitalist excesses, but Stalin and Mao were portrayed as evil. Nixon's achievements at home and abroad were praised as brave and underappreciated, while his personality was portrayed as contributing to his downfall. The survey of Clinton's presidency focused mostly on scandals. Perhaps recent events are still too fresh for either the film's makers or its viewers to see in a fully "historical" context. I found the coverage of the recent decades adequate, but I was even more interested in the presentation of the early decades and the portrayal of various cause-and-effect trends across the decades. I recommend this 4-sided DVD set, and think it is worth your time. It comes with a table of contents that lists the 100+ chapters, and a very detailed 35-page index. I wish it or its Web site ...included more depth about the myriad of topics that are touched upon, or at least references for further reading, but I guess that's what the library is for.
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