500 Nations

Starring:Kevin Costner, Gregory Harrison, Eric Schweig, Gordon Tootoosis, Wes Studi, Castulo Guerra, Tony Plana, Edward James Olmos, Patrick Stewart, Gary Farmer, Tom Jackson, Tantoo Cardinal, Dante Basco, Sheldon Peters Wolfchild, Timothy Bottoms, Michael Horse, Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, Amy Madigan, Frank Salsedo, Kurtwood Smith
Director: Jack Leustig
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
With six episodes spread out over four discs and a running time of well over six hours (in addition to an interactive CD-ROM filled with extra features), director-producer Jack Leustig's sprawling 500 Nations, a history of Indians in North America, is likely the most comprehensive effort of its kind ever undertaken.

Mention the word "Indian," and most will conjure up images inspired by myths and movies: teepees, headdresses, and war paint; Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and their battles (like Little Big Horn) with the U.S. Cavalry. Those stories of the so-called "horse nations" of the Great Plains are all here, but so is a great deal more. Using impressive computer imaging, photos, location film footage and breathtaking cinematography, interviews with present-day Indians, books and manuscripts, museum artifacts, and more, Leustig and his crew go back more than a millennium to present an fascinating account of Indians, including those (like the Maya and Aztecs in Mexico and the Anasazi in the Southwest) who were here long before white men ever reached these shores.

It was the arrival of Europeans like Columbus, Cortez, and DeSoto that marked the beginning of the end for the Indians. Considering the participation of host Kevin Costner, whose film Dances with Wolves was highly sympathetic to the Indians, it's no bulletin that 500 Nations also takes a compassionate view of the multitude of calamities--from alcohol and disease to the corruption of their culture and the depletion of their vast natural resources--visited on them by the white man in his quest for land and money, eventually leading to such horrific events as the Trail of Tears "forced march," the massacre at Wounded Knee, and other consequences of the effort to "relocate" Indians to the reservations where many of them still live. Along the way, we learn about the Indians' participation in such events as the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as well as popular legends like the first Thanksgiving (it really happened) and the rescue of Captain John Smith by Pocahontas (it probably didn't).

Amazon.com

With six episodes spread out over four discs and a running time of well over six hours (in addition to an interactive CD-ROM filled with extra features), director-producer Jack Leustig's sprawling 500 Nations, a history of Indians in North America, is likely the most comprehensive effort of its kind ever undertaken.

It was the arrival of Europeans like Columbus, Cortez, and DeSoto that marked the beginning of the end for the Indians. Considering the participation of host Kevin Costner, whose film Dances with Wolves was highly sympathetic to the Indians, it's no bulletin that 500 Nations also takes a compassionate view of the multitude of calamities--from alcohol and disease to the corruption of their culture and the depletion of their vast natural resources--visited on them by the white man in his quest for land and money, eventually leading to such horrific events as the Trail of Tears "forced march," the massacre at Wounded Knee, and other consequences of the effort to "relocate" Indians to the reservations where many of them still live. Along the way, we learn about the Indians' participation in such events as the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as well as popular legends like the first Thanksgiving (it really happened) and the rescue of Captain John Smith by Pocahontas (it probably didn't).

With its sometimes New Age-y music and many beauty shots of the great outdoors, 500 Nations has a rather different vibe than the average Ken Burns documentary. That may lessen its value for sober historians, but for the rest of us, this is an illuminating and important work. --Sam Graham

Description

This eight part documentary on the indigenous people of the Americas starts from Pre-Columbian history and covers the arrival of and colonization by the Europeans through modern times. The series shows the full and rich civilizations that proliferated in ancient times, as well as the current efforts of Native Americans to preserve their cultures and traditions. 500 Nations presents information from a variety of sources via documents, photographs, eyewitness accounts and computer graphics. Educational and entertaining.

Customer Reviews:

It's pretty one-sided.......2007-05-26

Tells the history from one point of view. It would have been more fair to include all sides. I get a little tired of one segment of the human race being held responsible for all the mistreatment in the world.

awesome.......2007-05-07

This was a very well executed film series and the music is great. The truth is a wonderful thing.

Not as titled.......2007-03-11

I bought this in the expectation that it would cover the People of the "New World" as they existed before Columbus. Instead, it was basically a recap of the cruelty of the Europeans to the native populations viewed through the standards and sensibilities of today. I read 'Bury My Heary at Wounded Knee' and 'The Chronicle of the American Indian's Complaint' 30 odd years ago and being part Cherokee there was nothing new in the DVDs. Correction, there were many new things, most of which didn't happen. A good example is the DVD version of the conquering of the Aztec (Actually they were called Mexica but the DVD got that wrong as well). Read 'Conquest' by Hugh Thomas for the best book on the subject.

A Need To Continue.......2007-03-08

The DVD Series 500 Nations is an excellent educational series, it shows a very good background history of the plight of the Native peoples of the Americas. From the time of Cahokia, and Mayans, Aztecs,and the Incas. It gives a look into the way that the natives were treated by the Spanish and Portugese Invaders and the true story of Columbus which the United States educational system doesn't teach the American students, instead a holiday is set aside for Columbus and backed by the US Government. The series gives an outstanding look into the true relations and maltreatment by the United States Government, towards the Native Peoples from the first settlers to the modern Government of our country, this is a shameful reality for those of us of the Caucasion ethniticity. The series is excellent and loaded with beautiful scenery and vital information into US history, but it cuts off way to quickly at the turn of the 20th century. When in reality the story continues to unfold even today and I believe there should be a continuation of the series to show the story of the Modern Native Americans, both there hardships and their Good fortune in some cases.

Excellent Overview of Indian History.......2007-03-01

I teach a college course on Native American history. This DVD has been a very good visual supplement to my class. It covers a wide span of history and uses many primary sources. "500 Nations" covers the origins of Indians in North America through the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee.

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