Black History: From Civil War Through Today |  | Director: various
Actors: Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Scott Joplin, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther Jr. King
Studio: St Clair Vision
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $21.00
as of 9/8/2010 18:14 MSD details
You Save: $3.95 (16%)
New (4) Used (3) from $13.78
Seller: Robert Nevels
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 60,559
Format: AC-3, Box set, Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Surround Sound
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Discs: 6
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1093 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.5 x 1.7
UPC: 777966886299
EAN: 0777966886299
ASIN: B000VD5HNQ
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: January 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
49 documentaries on 6 DVD's. includes: Fighter for Freedom: The Frederick Douglas Story; The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery; Tuskegee Airmen Palmour Street; Malcolm X: Nationalist or Humanist; Scott Joplin; John Matzeliger and more. Bonus features include famous speeches
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Extraordinary February 15, 2009
Ronald T. Myles (Cleveland, OH USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is an extraordinary collection of historical presentations that must be viewed in its entirety to be truly appreciated. The producers have done an excellent job in digitally restoring the vintage audio/videos but as must be expected by anyone who is knowledgeable of the restoration process some of the restorations are a bit jumpy and choppy. However, it is still a masterful job. As for content, it is quite easy to look at the first few videos dealing with the civil war and the plantation system and take umbrage that not much emphasis is put on depicting the pain and suffering of the slaves, but it should be remembered that this is a report on the history and progress of African Americans and not merely an indictment of the evils of slavery. As such it is entertaining as well as informative and very well put together. My advice is to watch it with an open mind and don't let the poor quality of some of the older training films, movie clips and documentaries distract you from the significance of their content.
Recommended for Black History Buffs and Teachers January 6, 2010
Andre M. (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Being that I teach Black History classes, I strongly recommend this set and will surely use them in my classes. The casual Black Hisotry fan will find much to enjoy here in this collection of vintage Af.Am. history documentaries and short films.
First of all, the Plantation and Civil War segments were originally filmed in the early 1950s to be used in classrooms. Given the time period, it would be unlikely that a film made for children during that period would be graphic about slavery, which leads one to wonder if this reviewer merely stopped watching this after that one segment. Actually, the no-holds barred view of slavery is represented in the John Brown and African Burial Ground segments, both hosted by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. Speaking of which, the John Brown segment aptly handles the indicents and controversy within 25 minutes. Surprisingly, a 5 minute film on the black inventor of the shoemaking machine gives a full understanding of that subject in a remarkaby short period of time.
Some 10 minute documentaries from the 1940s and 50s on the "Negro in Business/Entertainment/Sports" are interesting. Once such documentary has some exremely rare footage of Dr. Charles Drew, inventor of blood plasma storage. Modern viewers will find jarring the advertisments for Chesterfield cigarettes which sponsored that series. The documentaries on Blacks in the military that were made during WW2 (such as "The Negro Sailor" and "The Negro Soldier") may annoy some modern viewers with their non-mention of the fact that the military was segregated at the time, but they are still fascinating to watch for some little-known stories of Blacks in military service.
"Teddy" is a brief, but fascinating short film about a ghetto youth who considers, but is soured on the Black Panther movement. Surprisingly, this does not appear to be a propaganda piece as Teddy dispassionately talks about his life and allows the viewer some peeks into the pre-hip-hop Black teenage culture of the early 70s. We also have some excellent docs on the lives of Frederick Douglass, Paul Robeson, and Booker T. Washington. The latter, which is done in a "You Are there" style, pretty much takes an adversarial view of the early educator.
Among other goodies is a 1954 interview with Adam Clayton Powell on the integration of schools (poor picture, but great content). A full length 1957 discussion between a 28 year old Martin Luther King and Judge Julius Waring (the pro-integration white judge who was forced to flee Charleston, SC in 1952) is interesting, but the meat is a 1963 interview where Dr. King (on the eve of the march on Washington) faces off with a segregationist newspaper editor (William D. Workman of the Columbia State). King fans will admire the good Dr.'s skill in dignified mental combat with his adversary (a lost art today). Also included are films of Malcolm X speaking in Selma, Alabama and armed resistance fighter Robert F. Williams.
The only complaint here is that so few female heroines (aside from businesswoman Maggie Lena Walker) are mentioned. That aside, if you like Black History, you'll love this DVD set.
A great American history DVD set. March 25, 2008
G. T. BOSTICK (coram, new york United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm a buff for American history and all of the different groups of people that has made America such a great country.Black history is American history that is seldom ever seen on TV or in schools.This dvd set has a lot of chapters of American history that has not been viewed by most of the public in this country.It deals with the Black American's story and how White America dealt with the question of race in the land of the free.If you buy this dvd set you may want to set aside some time to see each and every chapter due to it's length.But you will not stop wanting to see and learn more.This is an educational trip back in time in a country that had not planned on giving Black Americans any part in it's freedoms that it had gladly shared with most other races and groups that had came here from other countries seeking freedom and justice.In this dvd set you will see the many attempts of America trying to educate it's majority White population on how to treat the minority Black population as equals.You will view how many Black leaders and other trail blazers of color made American history that very few Americans today ever heard of or really know about.You'll see how far the people of African heritage have come to be where they are today.Get this dvd set and educate yourself to American History.
 Black History August 14, 2010
Educator
This product has some interesting information. I thought as a whole the product fine. I look forward to more products from this company.
 Black History from Civil War through Today February 17, 2008
D. Kirk (Tulsa, OK USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This video series has a wealth of information. However the presentation of that information makes the videos not engaging.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
|
|
|
