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Films & DVDs on U.S. History  Text Size Increase Font Size Decrease Font Size
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    A

  • Afghanistan 1979: The War That Changed the WorldAfghanistan 1979: The War That Changed the World - A behind-the-scenes history of the Soviet Union's 10-year long war in Afghanistan.

  • Americas in Transition - A concise and fast-paced history of the volatile forces at work in Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua in the 1980s

  • C

  • Clara Lemlich - The story of the young, Jewish, Ukrainian-born woman who in 1909 sparked the 'Uprising of the 20,000' -- the first massive strike of New York City garment workers.

  • Conversations with Roy DeCarava - The life of the first black photographer to win a Guggenheim Fellowship.

  • Cul de SacCul de Sac - An allegory for a working class suburb in decline, this film investigates the story of Shawn Nelson, who stole a tank and went on a rampage through the residential streets of Clairemont, CA.

  • D

  • Dear Dr. Spencer - From the early 1920s until his death in 1969, Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer practiced medicine in a small town in Pennsylvania, where he treated colds, set fractures - and performed illegal abortions.

  • Devils Don't Dream! - Analysis of the CIA-sponsored 1954 coup in Guatemala.

  • E

  • Egg Cream - The beloved chocolate soda drink, born in immigrant neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century, is explored in this short film about a simple beverage and its meaning to generations of Jewish Americans.

  • An Empire of ReasonAn Empire of Reason - What it would have been like if television had covered the ratification process of the US Constitution in 1781.

  • F

  • Far from Vietnam - The landmark collaboration between Jean-Luc Godard, Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais in protest of the Vietnam war.

  • The Film of Her - A Library of Congress clerk tries to save early cinematic treasures in Bill Morrison's doc-fiction hybrid. Music by Henryk Gorecki & Bill Frisell.

  • Finally Got the News - A film about the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, which was, "in many respects the most significant expression of black radical thought and activism in the 1960s." - Manning Marable, Prof. of History, Columbia Univ.

  • Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (48 min)Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (48 min) - Friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker played an instrumental role in shaping the American civil rights movement. 48-minute version.

  • G

  • Ghosts of Attica - The definitive account of America's most violent prison rebellion, its deadly suppression, the days of torture that ensued, and the almost 30 year legal case that followed.

  • The Great Flood - Artist Bill Morrison and musician Bill Frisell evoke the Mississippi River Flood of 1927 and ensuing transformation of American society.

  • A Grin Without A Cat - Chris Marker's epic film-essay on the worldwide political wars of the 60's and 70's: Vietnam, Che, May '68, Prague, Chile, and the fate of the New Left.

  • I

  • I Am SomebodyI Am Somebody - Named to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress and preserved by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Madeline Anderson’s essential work brings viewers to the front lines of the fight for civil rights.

  • In Motion: Amiri Baraka - Biographical profile of the out-spoken African-American writer.

  • An Injury To One - Reconstructs the long-forgotten murder of union organizer Frank Little in Butte, Montana, and draws a connection between the unsolved murder of Little, and the attempted murder of the town itself.

  • The Intolerable Burden - One black family's commitment to a quality education, from the pre-1965 time of segregation, through desegregation, and through the recent period of resegregation. **Winner, John E. O'Connor Film Award, American Historical Association**

  • L

  • The Last Happy DayThe Last Happy Day - A portrait of a doctor who saw the worst of society and ran.

  • The Loving Story - Oscar-shortlist selection, this is the definitive account of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage.

  • N

  • Notes on Marie Menken - The story of the "mother of avante-garde film"—the influential experimental filmmaker who inspired artists such as Stan Brakhage, Andy Warhol, and Kenneth Anger.

  • O

  • Outerborough - A trolley traveling over the Brooklyn Bridge in 1899 helped create the footage underlying Bill Morrison's neo-travelogue. Music by Todd Reynolds.

  • R

  • ReleaseRelease - Al Capone's release from prison is eagerly awaited by a crowd in Bill Morrison's split-screen panorama. Music by Vijay Iyer.

  • Route One/USA - New restoration! A journey along Route 1, from Maine to Miami, yields a rich tapestry of American life. 

  • Route One/USA - Pt. 1 - New restoration! A journey along Route 1, from Maine to Miami, yields a rich tapestry of American life. Part 1.

  • Route One/USA - Pt. 2 - New restoration! A journey along Route 1, from Maine to Miami, yields a rich tapestry of American life. Part 2.

  • S

  • Sermons and Sacred PicturesSermons and Sacred Pictures - Profiles Reverend L.O. Taylor, a Baptist minister and inspired photographer / filmmaker who documented the fabric of black American life prior to the civil rights movement.

  • Seven Songs for Malcolm X - An homage to the inspirational African-American civil rights leader.

  • Seventeen - A group of high school seniors hurtles toward maturity with a combination of joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency.

  • The Sixth Side of the Pentagon - Chronicle of the 1967 Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam protest march on the Pentagon, by documentary essayist Chris Marker. Also on this disc is a second film, THE EMBASSY.

  • State of TerrorismState of Terrorism - The war that was launched in the name of defense of our democracies might have become its biggest threat.

  • T

  • Tighten Your Belts, Bite the Bullet - The 1970s fiscal crises in New York and Cleveland.

  • Time of the Locust - Critically examines American involvement in Vietnam through a compilation of American, Japanese and Vietnamese combat footage.

  • To Tell the Truth - Two films that place familiar historical events in a startling new perspective and help viewers understand the choices behind, and consequences of, on-screen "reality."

  • To Tell the Truth: The Strategy of TruthTo Tell the Truth: The Strategy of Truth - Directly follows the previous episode and examines documentary filmmaking in times of war and how it was used as propaganda.

  • To Tell the Truth: Working for Change - A history of documentary filmmaking in the US and UK from 1929-1941, including The Great Depression and The New Deal.

  • W

  • Wandering Souls - Thirty years after the end of the war against the United States, two Vietnamese veterans continue to search for the remains of their dead comrades.

  • We All Fall Down - The rise and fall of America's mortgage system and the damage in the wake of its collapse. With Nouriel Roubini, Richard Sylla and Chris Mayer.

  • With God On Our Side - Episode 1With God On Our Side - Episode 1 - Conservative Christians rise up in Anaheim, California, to launch a nationwide revolt against sex education.

  • With God On Our Side - Episode 2 - The symbiotic alliance between Billy Graham and Richard Nixon foreshadows the coming union of religion and politics

  • With God On Our Side - Episode 3 - Carter's election heralds a new era of evangelical engagement in every area of modern life, from broadcasting to basketball. But modern life also means divorce, feminism, and gay rights...

  • With God On Our Side - Episode 4 - New Right conservative strategists midwife a brood of new Christian political organizations.

  • With God On Our Side - Episode 5 - Calls for renewed patriotism and fierce attacks on liberalism set the agenda for George H.W. Bush's victory over Michael Dukakis.

  • With God On Our Side - Episode 6 - The Christian Coalition becomes one of the most politically adept membership organizations ever. Yet many inside the movement question if, in gaining power in the secular world, conservative Christians have lost their evangelical soul. 

More Films & DVDs on U.S. History
  • Death Squadrons - The previously untold story of how the French military trained Latin American death squads in the 60s and 70s (and even U.S. Special Forces in the early days of our Vietnam War).

  • The Internationale - Draws on people's stories of an emotionally charged radical song (the long-time anthem of socialism and communism) to celebrate the relationship between music and social change.

  • Jesus Politics - A personal investigation into the role of religion in American politics, and specifically this year's presidential election.

  • Justice and the Generals - Investigates the human rights and legal issues involved when two Salvadoran generals are sued in an American court for atrocities (such as the murder of four American churchwomen) committed during El Salvador's civil war.