Video Tapes
Video Tapes Collection
Hailed as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling, Ken Burn’s epic documentary brings to life America's most destructive and defining conflict: the American Civil War. This 9-part series presents a comprehensive account of the war—from battlefields to the home fronts, from the politicians and generals to the enlisted men and their families, from the causes of the war and the opening guns at Fort Sumter to the stillness at Appomattox and Lincoln's assassination and beyond.
The Civil War - The Cause 1861
The Civil War - A Very Bloody Affair 1862
The Civil War - Forever Free 1862
The Civil War - Simply Murder 1863
The Civil War - The Universe of Battle 1863
The Civil War - Valley of The Shadow of Death 1864
The Civil War - Most Hallowed Ground 1864
The Civil War - War is All Hell 1865
The Civil War - The Better Angels of Our Nature 1865
The Untold West
Hot on the Trail
Uncovers sizzling details of passion on the prairie, where tobacco was packaged with bonus “girlie cards” and infamous Calamity Jane galloped through 12 husbands.Outlaws, Rebels and Rogues
A funny and fast-paced look at whether the Wild West’s baddest bad guys– like Billy the Kid– were deadly desperados or just desperate for media attention.The Black West
The little known truth about Afro-American pioneers as farmers, outlaws, entrepreneurs and the cowboys who taught Teddy Roosevelt how to break a horse and Will Rogers his first rope trick.
The Korean War
This comprehensive 4-part series explores origins, conduct, military strategies and political implications of this pivotal struggle in unprecedented detail.
The Korean War - Volume 1
The Korean War - Volume 2
The Korean War - Volume 3
The Korean War - Volume 4
U.S. Immigrants: A Multi-Culture Journey
Take a historical look at immigration into the U.S. over the millennia! This program emphasizes the important point that everyone in America immigrated from another part of the world – even the “native peoples”.
The Winds Of Time - A History Of The Anasazi Culture
The canyons of Southern Utah and the Four Corners region echo with history. This documentary takes an in depth look at an early civilization, highlighting the Anasazi’s culture, the means by they lived in harmony with the environment, and their sophisticated archaeological dwellings.
I Will Fight No More Forever - The Heroic, Tragic Story Of The Nez Perce Indians And Their Leader
This reenactment accurately portrays the plight of the Nez Perce in their 1700 mile, 108 day fighting retreat.
Jubilee Singers - Sacrifice And Glory
In 1871, a chorus of nice black students set off from Nashville, Tennessee on a desperate journey to save their school from bankruptcy. Established after the Civil War, Fisk University mission was to prepare former slaves to meet the challenges of freedom. The prospect of losing Fisk was devastating. The students’ plan “to sing the money out the hearts and pockets of the people” was uncertain.
1812: THE FORGOTTEN WAR
An exciting, action re-enactments of the war of 1812 including Musket and cannon battles, Hundreds of red-coated British and blue-jacketed Americans, Tall ships, Dragoons (Cavalry), and Native warriors. Also included are dramatic, informative interviews with over 50 expert re-enactors at 1812 battles and forts.
Part 1: A Matter of Marching (1812)
Part 2: Controlling the Lakes (1813)
Part 3: Flowers of the Forest (1814)
African Contributions To U.S. History: African History And African-American Society
Discover the far-reaching influence of Africans throughout U.S. History in this documentary; and explore African-American’s involvement in government, business, education, labor, law, the arts, and science.
Chinese Americans - Multicultural Peoples North American
This tape celebrates the heritage of Chinese cultural groups by tracing the history of their emigration to North America, showing the unique traditions they brought with them, and who they are today.
Roots
Roots 1
His name was Kunta Kinte. Kidnapped from Africa and enslaved in America in 1767, he refused to accept his slave name of Toby. Heirs kept his heroic defiance alive, whispering the name of Kunta Kinte from one generation to the next until it reached a young boy growing up in Tennessee. His name was Alex Haley. And he proclaimed Kunta Kinte's name to the world.Through the lineage of one family, Haley and his Pulitzer Prize-winning Roots told a story for all America. The powerful tale (seen by 130-millilon viewers during its initial U.S. telecasts) begins in Gambia, West Africa, Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), son of Omoro and Binta, distinguishes himself in manhood training rituals. But he does not enjoy his new status long; slave traders sweeping through the countryside capture him. Chained with other unfortunates, Kunta begins an agonized odyssey to the New World.
Roots 2
The powerful dramatization of Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize-winning book about his family's origins and struggles for freedom continues aboard the slave ship Lord Ligonier in Roots Episode 2.For Star LeVar Burton (who plays Kunta Kinte), the first day's recreation of that terrible experience unnerved him. "They told me that I was trembling when I came off the set", he said. Despite a violent shipboard rebellion, the vessel completes its voyage… and Kunta Kinte endures the indignity of an Annapolis slave auction. Fiddler (Louis Gossett Jr.), the slave in charge of Kunta's training, becomes his only friend - a friendship that tested when Kunta plans an escape so he can be with Fanta (Ren Woods).
Roots 3
While on a journalistic assignment in London, Alex Haley saw the Rosetta Stone (the artifact that was the key to decoding hieroglyphics). The moment inspired him. Could he uncover his own Rosetta Stone? His research led to a Gambian oral historian called a griot. The old man provided the missing link to the family saga Haley was shaping, repeating from memory the African portion of the history Haley first heard from his grandmother.The cumulative force of Roots builds in Episode 3. In 1776, a nation fights for freedom, but not freedom for all. Kunta Kinte ( John Amos) escapes again and is crippled by slave catchers. He maries, gains a daughter and loses a friend - Fiddler (Louis Gossett Jr.) dies. Another chance for escape arises, but Kunta sacrifices his freedom to care for his wife and the newborn he names Kizzy, an African word for "stay put".
Roots 4
The book was only half completed. The author was not widely known. But film-maker David L. Wolper could see that the family history Alex Haley was writing was of monumental impact and significance. In 1974, Wolper acquired the rights to Roots.Episode 4 centers on Kunta Kinte's daughter Kizzy (Leslie Uggams). At age 16, she is sold to another "massa" and bears his son, who grows up to become fun-loving Chicken George (Ben Verren). Yearning to see her parents, Kizzy is comforted by Samuel Bennett ( Richard Roundtree) but the two are ill-matched. His deference to slave owners and lack of interest in African tradition run counter to Kizzy's fierce resolve to keep her heritage alive. When she returns to her birthplace, Kizzy learns of her parents' fates.
Roots 5
Roots initially unfolded over eight consecutive nights, January 23-30, 1977. As the history uncovered by Alex Haley played on the screen, IV history was being made. Roots became the highest-rated, most-talked-about program up to that time. America was looking at itself as it never before had - and the experience was profound.In Episode 5, Chicken George (Ben Vereen) is sent to England as payment for his owner's gambling debt. Fourteen years later, he returns home a free man, a status that was a profound effect on the family begun by Kunta Kinte. The Civil War erupts; at last the era of slavery draws to an end.
Roots 6
In addition to being one of the most-watched series of all time, Roots is one of the most highly honored. Among the 145 honors garnered by the series are nine Emmy Awards and the prestigious Peabody Award "for dramatically exposing us to an aspect of our history that many of us never knew but all of us will never forget."In Episode 6, the Civil War is over but night riders terrorize exslaves. By marking his clients' horseshoes, Tom (George Stanford Brown) identifies the raiders but endangers his own life. Chicken George (Ben Vereen), who fought for the Union, rejoins his family. He leaded them to a new home on Tennessee,…and recites a familiar litany about the man whose name was Kunta Kinte. Alex Haley appears on screen to narrate the epilogue of this remarkable saga.
WOMEN: FIRST & FORMOST
Volume One - Remember the Ladies
This is quite a story. For there are some stories that rise beyond their deeds. There are some stories that are so individually significant that they speak for an entire area of history.Image trying to become the first woman doctor, or being a slave woman who helped lead over three hundred others to freedom, or daring simply to write of an equality and a freedom that seemed so natural and yet was left out of the Declaration of Independence.
Within the individual stories of the progress and accomplishments of a history of women, one can only illustrate by example and hope that their courage, against often incredible odds, leads to an understanding of some of the ladies who with wit, perseverance and strong determination, enlighten us about women earning their place in the pages of history.
Volume Two - Touching the Clouds with Pen and Plane
Robert Shurtleff fought with the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment during the American Revolution, suffering at least two wounds in battle. While this is hardly worth noting in our history books, what is worth nothing is that Robert Shurtleff was a woman … a courageous young woman named Deborah Gannett who fought bravely disguised as a man.History by its expansive nature is selective. Perhaps, in the case of women, a bit too selective. Deborah Gannett is joined by generations of women who distinguished themselves in every phase of social accomplishment.
From journalism to soaring above the clouds, in the stories of a few who accomplished so much, we find examples of that unique strength of character that allowed so many women to go beyond the boundaries of society.
Volume Three - A Lady in the Spotlight
The lights dim, and across the silver screens of the world comes the flickering image of a lade. She is a movie star. In our movie stars, and in the entertainment industry as a whole, many women have worked to achieve a unique place in shaping the cultural lore of history. For no one has had the influence on what we wear, how we talk, and often, how we simply perceive this world, as did, and do, the ladies who shape and appear in films, on stage and on our television screens.Whether it is the first female film director, a leading Broadway lyricist, the first woman network co-anchor, or so many shining stars, we find example after example of women who fought the odds toward achievement and in doing so left a forever mark on the cultural development of society.
Lincoln: The Making Of A President 1860 - 1862
He has the vision of a statesman and the soul of a poet. Abraham Lincoln is one of the most beloved presidents America has ever known, and this remarkable portrait reveals why.
"Lincoln" captures the drama of this amazing man in his own words. Drawn from letters, speeches and diaries, Lincoln's words are brought to life by the voice of the acclaimed actor JASON ROBARDS, in a moving a sensitive performance. Robards' reading if complemented by the voices of an all-star cast that included GLENN CLOSE as Mary Todd Lincoln and narration by JAMES EARL JONES.
In "The Making of a President", we journey back from the White House to Lincoln's poor backwoods home, and visit the roots from which his legend grew. Lincoln's words, and those of the people who knew him, are made vivid by exceptional photographs from the definitive Lincoln archives. They capture not only the president's powerful face and those of his family and contemporaries, but also many personal details that reveal so much - images of his home, his horse, his barn, his dog, his books and even his back yard.
From humble beginnings, "Lincoln" traces the growth of the man's ambition to succeed and his simple eloquence, which moves all those who heard him speak. It takes us to the threshold of Lincoln's greatest challenge - to be both America's President and the Union Army's Commander-in-Chief. At the eye of the hurricane that was the Civil War, Lincoln held the moral compass to guide his nation onward.
Famous American Writers Biography Series
Tennessee Williams, Wounded Genius
He was the prototypical tortured genius – a man whose public triumphs were unable to dispel the fear and doubt that tormented him.Mark Twain, His Amazing Adventure
He was an American original, a gifted and irreverent storyteller whose portrayal of a young nation captured the imagination of the world.John Steinbeck, An American Writer
One of America’s greatest writers, John Steinbeck paradoxically remains one of America’s least understood artists.Ernest Hemingway, Wrestling Withe Life
He has been called the most influential writer since Shakespeare. But his fame came as much from his well-publicized personal life as from his celebrated works.Edgar Allan, Poe
He is the uncontested master of the macabre, a genius whose melancholy nature made his own life as tragic as one of his strange tales.
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great American Dreamer
His flamboyant lifestyle epitomized the madcap excess of the Roaring Twenties. His classic stories made him one of the most important American authors of the twentieth century.
Pearl Buck: The Woman, The World, And Two Good Earths
A tour of Green Hills Farm, the Pennsylvania home of this Nobel Prize-winning author, evokes a vibrant image of her as sculptor, pianist, organist, philanthropist, and mother of nine adopted children as well as a beacon of 20th century literature.
Toni Morrison - Profile Of A Writer
Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison has firmly established herself as one of the nation’s finest novelists and the leading chronicler of the black experience in American.
A Death In The Family
A tight-knit family faces the ultimate tragedy in James Agee’s poignant Pulitzer Prize- winning novel. Bases on a childhood tragedy that haunted Agee throughout his life, A Death in the Family explores the effect of a sudden, untimely death on a small family in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the summer of 1915.
RIDING THE RAILS &Ndash; WINNER 11 MAJOR AWARDS, INCLUDING “BEST DOCUMENTARY”
Riding the Rails tells the unforgettable story of the 250,000 teenagers who left their homes and hopped freight trains during the Great Depression. The film vividly combines the clear-eyed memories of speeding trains and newsreel interviews with lean-bodied kids full of bravado.
JAZZ
A virtuoso performance by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, JAZZ celebrates the music of America - from blues and ragtime to swing, bebop and fusion. With JAZZ, Ken Burns reaches the high note of his epic trilogy on American life that began with THE CIVIL WAR and continued with BASEBALL.
Episode 1 - GUMBO
Episode 2 - THE GIFT
Episode 3 - OUR LANGUAGE
Episode 4 - THE TRUE WELCOME
Episode 5 - SWING: PURE PLEASURE
Episode 6 - SWING: THE VELOCITY OF CELEBRATION
Episode 7 - DEDICATED TO CHAOS
Episode 8 - RISK
Episode 9 - THE ADVENTURE
Episode 10- A MASTERPIECE BY MIDNIGHT
Baseball
The 9-part series spans 150 years, starting with the myth-debunking tale of baseball's true beginnings—when it was a game one-degree above mayhem. Then follow the growth of America's National Pastime through the decades of glory and record-setting achievements, as well as the scandals, the bigotry, and the big money. The series portrays the game as a mirror of America itself—the passions, prejudices, and ambitions that have shape the country.
Baseball - Our Game 1840s – 1900
Baseball - Something Like a War 1900 – 1910
Baseball - The Faith of Fifty Million People 1910 – 1920
Baseball - A National Heirloom 1920 –1930
Baseball - Shadow Ball 1930 – 1940
Baseball - The National Pastime 1940 – 1950
Baseball - The Capital of Baseball 1950 – 1960
Baseball - A Whole New Ballgame 1960 - 1970
Baseball - Home 1970 – Present
A Tribute To Alvin Ailey With The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
In this brilliant studio recording, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the country's boldest and most exciting dance company, brings its distinctive style home to you - dazzling, brash and dynamic, yet graceful and poetic.
Divining was Judith Jamison's first major work as a choreographer for Alvin Ailey. The dance evokes a strong feeling for African tribal ritual and is set to hauntingly rhythmic drum music.
Revelations expresses Ailey's intense feelings for his roots in the South. Here you'll see Ailey's vivid "blood memories" of the blues, spirituals, gospel music, ragtime and folk songs as well as the hard life of the Southern black during the Depression.
Set to Modern Jazz, the Stack-Up takes place in modern-day Harlem. You'll witness the cruel reality of urban street life as a young man is destroyed by drugs.
Cry was choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1971 for Judith Jamison and is one of his most famous pieces. Created as a birthday present for his mother, it is Ailey's tribute to black women. You can't help feeling being moved by the struggle, the anger and most importantly, the celebration.
American Roots Music
American Roots Music is a landmark 4-episode, 4-hour documentary series featuring historic and contemporary footage of many of the 20th century's pioneering artist, including Jimmie Rogers, The Carter Family, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Earl Seruggs, Mahalia Jackson, Clifton Chenier, Woody Guthrie and many more.
Like America itself, this historic television series is diverse in its scope, democratic in its intentions, and dense with riches. From city or country, black or white, these sounds emerged from a cultural maze to define the country's musical heritage. These are the "roots" of America's popular music - blues, country, gospel, folk, Cajun, zydeco, bluegrass, tejano and Native American.
Episode 1 - When First Unto This Country
Episode 2 - This Land Was Made For You and Me
Episode 3 - The Times They are A-Changin'
Episode 4 - All My Children of the Sun