The Long Way Home

The Long Way Home


Starring:Morgan Freeman, Edward Asner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margolyes, David Paymer, Nina Siemaszko, Helen Slater, Michael York, Richard Amend, Rick Bandes, Christo Brock, Pablo Bryant, Aaron Cain, Robert Cait, Kathryn Cressida, Curt Lowens, Marc Lynn, Akiva Potok, Yael Danieli
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris
Studio: KOCH LORBER FILMS
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
As Allied troops liberated Nazi concentration camps in the final weeks of World War II, the trials of the Jews in Europe were hardly over. The end of the war brought extreme deprivation and even, in some places, further violence directed against survivors of the Holocaust. This documentary tells the story of the struggle European Jews faced in trying to reach Palestine, which they hoped would become the new Jewish homeland. Archival footage documents how Jews literally walked across snow-clogged mountain passes to reach the Mediterranean. In Italian ports they boarded overcrowded freighters and tried to slip past the blockage of Palestine, which was then controlled by Britain. The physical hardships were only part of the problem, and The Long Way Home does a fine job of describing the complicated political dealings that involved the United Nations, the U.S. administration of Harry Truman, and, of course, the Arab states that were hostile to the very idea of the country of Israel. Drawing on letters, diaries, and oral histories of participants, as well as interviews with Holocaust survivors and those who volunteered to help the fledgling Zionist state, an inspiring human story of courage and fortitude emerges in the course of this moving and fascinating film. --Robert J. McNamara
Description
This Academy Award winning documentary explores the critical post World War II period from 1945 - 1948 and the plight of tens of thousands of refugees who survived the Nazi Holocaust and their often-illegal attempts to get to the Jewsih homeland. It explores how the world turned its back on these forgotten people and the world events that led to the creation of the State of Israel. The Long Way Home is narrated by Morgan Freeman and features the voices of Edward Asner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margoyles, David Paymer and Nina Siemaszko.
Long Way Round
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • What a motorcycle adventure!
  • Great DVD value at a Great Amazon Price
  • Dumb, Dumb, Dumb
  • Long way Round
  • Extended Version
Long Way Round
Starring: Ewan Mcgregor , and Charley Boorman
Manufacturer: Goldhil Home Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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  1. Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World
  2. Dust to Glory
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  4. On Any Sunday
  5. Faster

ASIN: B000BOH99A
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Amazon.com

Forget Breaking Bonaduce or The Surreal Life. Ewan McGregor has made a celebrity reality series that's entertaining without having to be called a guilty pleasure. Long Way Round is a documentary detailing the 20,000-mile motorcycle trip he took around the world with best friend Charley Boorman over 115 days.

Listen to our interview with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.
Their trip took them from London through locales such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, and Canada, to name a few, before ending in New York. Armed with a cameraman, McGregor and Boorman encounter separation anxiety from their families; a shifty stranger (later revealed to be Mafia) who leads them through winding dark corridors to a posh hotel room; delays at international borders; hosts who offer them Fear Factor-level animal parts for dinner; injuries, equipment breakdowns, and more.

The pair also film their own video diaries, in which they voice concerns and frustrations. The result is an emotional, rich breadth of experiences, from the hardship of logistical setbacks paired with the joy of visiting the children of Chernobyl and encountering hospitable locals who insist on escorting them wherever they go. McGregor and Boorman also make witty emcees, cheerfully upbeat even when they wonder aloud if one of their gun-happy hosts is a psycho murderer. The seven-episode series, originally aired on Bravo, concludes with their emotional ride into the Big Apple and some surprises for the pair courtesy of the show's producers.

The two-disc DVD includes some can't miss deleted scenes, including McGregor's story about being confused for Jude Law, and a clip of McGregor attempting Jedi mind tricks on commuters who keep stopping in the road to peer at his broken-down bike ("These aren't the bikes you're looking for."). Long Way Round may have been an arduous once-in-a-lifetime experience, but you can't help but hope McGregor and Boorman suit up for another road trip someday. -- Ellen A. Kim.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars What a motorcycle adventure!.......2007-07-05

This could be anybody's dream adventure on a motorcycle. It was really interesting to watch a dream become a reality and to watch what the planning involved to make it so. Even the best laid plans don't follow what you would like them to, as you watch Ewan and Charlie's trip from the beginning to the end. It was hard not to watch all 5 discs in one setting. There are two versions of Long Way Round - the 5 disc version sold in the US and the 7 disc version sold in the rest of the world. I have seen both. The Canadian Amazon carries the 7 disc version, if you are interested. I would highly recommended this series whether you're motorcyclist or not.

5 out of 5 stars Great DVD value at a Great Amazon Price.......2007-06-27

This is a great DVD to watch on a weekend. Especially if you are a BMW motorcycle fanatic who loves travel logs like myself.

1 out of 5 stars Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.......2007-06-18

Michael Pallin they ain't. This is worthless.

5 out of 5 stars Long way Round.......2007-06-10

Long Way Round
I have at this time of writing viewed disc 1. and I found it excellant and all I expected.

5 out of 5 stars Extended Version.......2007-06-08

This DVD collection was awesome. My wife couldn't wait for me to get home so we could watch more episodes from this series. We finished it in three nights! Excellent! More inspirational than Race to Dakar, which was made after this one, starring Charlie Boorman. Recommended!!!
The Long Way Home
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The Long Way Home

    Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

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    ASIN: B0007XG2FW
    Release Date: 2005-04-05
    Long Way from Home
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Beautifully conceived, shot and edited
    • the truth about being different
    • a unique inside view
    Long Way from Home

    Manufacturer: River Films
    ProductGroup: DVD
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    5. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

    ASIN: B000ENYYPK
    Release Date: 2006-07-13

    Product Description

    Cindy. Sarah. Sage. Three smart girls enter ninth grade at top schools. There they confront, for the first time, a world very different from the one they come from. A story of youthful adventure. The tumultuous emotions of coming of age. The anxiety of measuring up to the standards of their new communities. Armed with freshness and honesty, the girls pierce through the preconceived notions of a new world, whose attitudes don't encompass a larger sense of experience or history. An intense and intimate journey, Long Way from Home tackles timely themes: How does a society steeped in traditions, ideas and biases of the past, learn to embrace diversity as a strength? How do we rethink "belonging" to include differences?

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Beautifully conceived, shot and edited.......2006-08-15

    The earlier reviewers are right. This is an unusual film in that the issues are less hot-button and more enduring. As the director says in the DVD interview, when she approached the mother of one of the girls, the woman said, "Why my daughter? She's a good girl. She doesn't do drugs or anything?" Achievement is not considered media material!

    The production values are a bonus!

    5 out of 5 stars the truth about being different.......2006-03-22

    Most films pit two groups as different from each other (because of race or socio-economic background) and let them fight it out. That way, people feel they've done something about it. But in real life, we don't usually fight it out. We don't even talk about it.

    This movie's great. These girls are terrific. We get to know what they're thinking. That's what we need to do more of.

    5 out of 5 stars a unique inside view.......2006-03-21

    This film is special because it gives voice to young people as intelligent, thoughtful, observant members of our community. It's special because it lets the three girls speak for themselves. No experts, no scholars, no adults, no theories. As the viewer, I enter the girls' worlds and see that world from their perspective.I feel their doubts and fears, and their successes. I remember being 14, and I understand what they face. I appreciate the even greater pressures on them than those I knew.

    I like to watch the girls' faces shift in mood and tone as they grow. The music is just right. Sage's definition of being black is profound and heartfelt. Cindy's speech is eloquent. At the same time, the light banter between Sarah and her mother shopping for clothes, says a lot too.

    This is an unusual film. It stays with you.
    The Long Way Home Project
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • New price?
    • An important piece of historical filmmaking
    • A story that needs to be told
    • Powerful
    • The Long Way Home Project
    The Long Way Home Project
    Starring: James R. Schlesinger , B.G. Burkett , General John Cushman , General Sam Cockerham , and Tam Minh Pham
    Director: Calvin Crane
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

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    ASIN: B00006I4WY
    Release Date: 2002-01-31

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars New price?.......2004-07-30

    I didn't have the chance to purchase this DVD mostly due to its price. However on the [URL] the on line purchase is 39.95 $. Any update on that matter ( on Amazon.com )will boost the sales and more people (especially in Europe) will have an alternative source of information , other than those "blessed" by Jane Fonda or Joan Baez.

    5 out of 5 stars An important piece of historical filmmaking.......2002-10-21

    For those of us in the younger generations, this series will offer a view of the war that we have been denied in our schoold and films for too long. The series captures the essence of what we, as sons of Vietnam veterans, have known all along; that are fathers actions in this war should be noted in history as being as worthy as any other military campaign. I am proud to call my dad a Vietnam veteran, and after watching this series, you too will be proud to thank a veteran of that war, be it an American soldier, or one from the misrepresented south Vietnamese army.

    5 out of 5 stars A story that needs to be told.......2002-10-12

    My dad gave me these DVDs to watch when I mentioned that I had been reading a lot about Viet Nam, and war in general, trying to understand what it was all about. He said that he learned a lot from watching this, and I understand why now that I've seen it myself. There's a lot of flag-waving sentiment that sometimes paints a prettier picture than I think really happened, but there are plenty of anti-war movies you can watch to get that point of view. I'm glad someone decided to produce The Long Way Home Project.

    5 out of 5 stars Powerful.......2002-09-03

    This is the best documentary ever made about the Vietnam war. They scored an impressive 100% accuracy rating on the facts that I checked. The presentation is low key and visually subtle. The director does not hit you over the head with how clever he is, but each interview, each picture adds to the whole, making a very powerful point. No matter what your preconceptions about the Vietnam War, this will make you confront and rethink them.

    This needs to be seen by the electorate, especially is it appears that we may be getting ready to enter into another shooting war. There are questions about our national commitment that need to be addressed before we send off our sons to fight another war. Those question were never addressed in Vietnam, and that was the essential tragedy of the war.

    It's an absolute pity that the History Channel won't show this.

    5 out of 5 stars The Long Way Home Project.......2002-08-29

    If you were there, you need to see this film series. It tells the story we wanted to tell, but could not. Rejected by The History Channel as too "right wing". See [URL] for the full story. Buy it here and cast your vote for the truth.
    Follow the River / The Long Way Home / Out of the Woods
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Follow the River / The Long Way Home / Out of the Woods
      Starring: Follow the River , Long Way Home , and Out of the Woods
      Manufacturer: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
      ProductGroup: DVD
      Binding: DVD

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      ASIN: B000RGSX10
      Release Date: 2007-06-05

      Product Description

      TRIPLE FEATURE 3-DVD Pack. Featured Titles: FOLLOW THE RIVER - The settlement of the New World and the crossing of its two cultures form the backdrop for this sweeping saga of a courageous pioneer woman desperate to escape captivity and be reunited with her children. THE LONG WAY HOME - Retired and depressed Tom Gerrin meets a 21-year-old free spirit, and the unlikely pair hitchhike across the country, giving each other the courage to embrace new beginnings and face sad finales. OUT OF THE WOODS - When hotshot L.A. lawyer Matt Fleming agrees to head upstate into the wilderness to check on his father, he is faced with a decision that will change his life and the lives of all those he has touched.
      Charlie Rose with Jeremy Greenstock & Jean-David Levitte; Tom Brokaw (November 8, 2002)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Charlie Rose with Jeremy Greenstock & Jean-David Levitte; Tom Brokaw (November 8, 2002)

        Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
        ProductGroup: DVD
        Binding: DVD

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        ASIN: B000HBL3ZI
        Release Date: 2006-08-15

        Description

        Ambassadors Sir Jeremy Greenstock of Great Britain and Jean-David Levitte of France discuss the unanimous resolution of the United Nations Security Council on Iraq. Then, a conversation with NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw about his memoir of growing up in South Dakota, A Long Way from Home.
        Charlie Rose with Curtis Hanson; Louis Auchincloss; Richard Trank, Mark Jonathon Harris & Marvin Hier (October 24, 1997)
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Charlie Rose with Curtis Hanson; Louis Auchincloss; Richard Trank, Mark Jonathon Harris & Marvin Hier (October 24, 1997)

          Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
          ProductGroup: DVD
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          ASIN: B000IU34SM
          Release Date: 2006-09-18

          Description

          Filmmaker Curtis Hanson talks to Charlie about his film L. A. Confidential based on the novel by James Ellroy. The film, which is receiving much critical acclaim, starts Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger. Next, Author Louis Auchincloss discusses his book, The Atonement, that follows a young man who committed a financial crime. Finally, filmmaker Mark Jonathon Harris, producer Richard Trank and Rabbi Marvin Hier tell Charlie about their documentary called, The Long Way Home. The film focuses on the years 1945 to 1948 of the holocaust when many Jews were ignored by their governments.
          The Long Way Home
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • A long sad story
          • a fair look at the founding of israel
          • So-so documentary
          • The Untold Story of Jewish People 1945-48
          • Highly recommended
          The Long Way Home
          Starring: Morgan Freeman , Edward Asner , Sean Astin , Martin Landau , and Miriam Margolyes
          Director: Mark Jonathan Harris
          Manufacturer: KOCH LORBER FILMS
          ProductGroup: DVD
          Binding: DVD

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          Astin, SeanAstin, Sean | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
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          ASIN: B0000AOV6R
          Release Date: 2003-09-09

          Amazon.com

          As Allied troops liberated Nazi concentration camps in the final weeks of World War II, the trials of the Jews in Europe were hardly over. The end of the war brought extreme deprivation and even, in some places, further violence directed against survivors of the Holocaust. This documentary tells the story of the struggle European Jews faced in trying to reach Palestine, which they hoped would become the new Jewish homeland. Archival footage documents how Jews literally walked across snow-clogged mountain passes to reach the Mediterranean. In Italian ports they boarded overcrowded freighters and tried to slip past the blockage of Palestine, which was then controlled by Britain. The physical hardships were only part of the problem, and The Long Way Home does a fine job of describing the complicated political dealings that involved the United Nations, the U.S. administration of Harry Truman, and, of course, the Arab states that were hostile to the very idea of the country of Israel. Drawing on letters, diaries, and oral histories of participants, as well as interviews with Holocaust survivors and those who volunteered to help the fledgling Zionist state, an inspiring human story of courage and fortitude emerges in the course of this moving and fascinating film. --Robert J. McNamara

          Description

          This Academy Award winning documentary explores the critical post World War II period from 1945 - 1948 and the plight of tens of thousands of refugees who survived the Nazi Holocaust and their often-illegal attempts to get to the Jewsih homeland. It explores how the world turned its back on these forgotten people and the world events that led to the creation of the State of Israel. The Long Way Home is narrated by Morgan Freeman and features the voices of Edward Asner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margoyles, David Paymer and Nina Siemaszko.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars A long sad story.......2006-08-19

          A good documentary on the period between the end of WWII and the formation of the tiny nation of Israel. No need to see feature films for drama, it is all here.

          I tend to think that once WWII ended then all was well with the Jews and the other displaced persons in Europe. But that is far from the truth as this movie will show.

          There is some great footage of the Exodus.

          This movie is required viewing for my children of 12 and up.

          3 out of 5 stars a fair look at the founding of israel.......2006-06-04

          ah yes, once more a holocaust movie, this one using the darkest moment of 20th century history to justify the establishment of the modern state of israel. i will not go into the politics here, but merely rate the movie as a piece of art, by which definition it was good.

          2 out of 5 stars So-so documentary.......2006-04-06

          A grave documentary of the struggles of European Jews liberated from Nazi encampment to survive the isolationist aftermath of World War II. While the Allied nations strengthened their immigration laws and the survivors' formerly occupied homelands still bore the taint of anti-Semitism, the Jews were forced to live as refugees until founding the nation of Israel three years after the end of the war. I prefer movies such as Schindler's List and Anne Frank to this.

          5 out of 5 stars The Untold Story of Jewish People 1945-48.......2006-02-21

          There is very little public knowledge of what happened between the time when the German concentration camps were liberated in 1945 and when Israel was founded. The story is told in this very well done and interesting documentary.

          First, many of the survivors were kept in the same camps under armed guard by Allied soldiers. Reports got back to President Truman about the conditions, and he sent an envoy to find out what was happening. The envoy reported about back the horrible conditions, and as a result, Eisenhower was pressured to fire Patton, who had responsibility for the camps. The movie then quotes Patton's private diary, which shows that he was an extreme racist against the Jews.

          Many people survived the camps initially, but died in the next month because of disease or over-eating.

          Then some Jewish survivors tried to return to their hometowns in Poland and elsewhere. Many survivors were murdered by local people. In some cases, new families had moved into their homes, and didn't want the refugees reclaiming them. (Most Jews in the concentration camps were not actually from Germany, but were from countries that the Germans had control over.)

          The Jewish survivors then tried to reach Palestine/Israel. The British refused to let them. The movie said part of the reason was that the British needed Arab oil.

          Many survivors climbed over the Alps on foot to try to reach Israel through Italy. A group of American Jews purchased and manned ships to try to sneak the survivors into Israel. Almost all were intercepted by the British and turned back. The most famous ship was the Exodus, which was the subject of a famous book and movie. The British actually fired upon the refugee ship and killed many people. The British kept many of the refugees in concentration camps in horrid crowded conditions.

          Jewish groups then turned to terrorism to try to force the British out of Palestine. It worked, and the British left. The British turned the matter over to the UN, who tried to partition Palestine. That led to the founding of Israel. The movie said that a main reason why Israel was successful was because Truman officially recognized the new country instantly, against the advice of all of his advisors. (Throughout the entire 1940s, the US State Dept. was very anti-Semitic.)

          For those people with a weak stomach (including myself), it is important to know that the movie is not overly graphic and, on the whole, is not depressing. It is intended to tell the story of people who struggled and succeeded against all odds.

          5 out of 5 stars Highly recommended.......2005-09-23

          This two-hour Oscar-winning documentary does a great job at narrating the events of 1945-48 for the survivors of the Shoah and their often horrific ordeal as refugees. For most of them, the heartache was only just beginning; liberation and the end of the War for them were not the same as they were for the soldiers who had fought in the War or the non-Jewish people who had been in the camps or in the various nation-states across Europe. Many of them found they had no home to go back to, and were often greeted with hatred and disgust that they'd dared to return and survive. Some angry villagers even killed the returning survivors, as happened in the Kielce pogrom of 1946. During and before WWII, most of the nations in the world had sealed their borders against the people trying to immigrate before the Nazis devoured them, and even after the War finally ended, they continued keeping them out. Even nations that hadn't been able to wait to get rid of them, such as Poland and Hungary, now made it very difficult for the "repatriated" survivors to leave, and many of them had to be smuggled out in very secretive dangerous border crossings, with border guards who had to be bribed heavily. The initial destination for many of them was a DP camp. Many of these camps were in Germany, and were in the very sites of actual concentration-camps. The Americans running them insisted barbed wire be strung along the fences and that armed guards be in watch towers. There also often wasn't enough to eat, there was little privacy, and the people still had to sleep on the wooden planks. The only difference between life in a DP camp and life in a concentration-camp was that in the DP camps the Allies running them weren't exterminating people or physically abusing them. And yet in spite of all of this, the amount of marriages and children being born were totally off of the charts, people finding one another and recreating families, getting together out of loneliness, these people who never would have found one another or considered getting married under such circumstances, after such short courtships, were it not for the Shoah.

          97% of the survivors wanted to go to Israel, and when asked for a second destination, hundreds wrote "The crematorium" on their applications. Many survivors did go to other places, such as Australia, America (which was still holding to its pre-war racist xenophobia immigration quotas, coupled with millions of citizens who didn't want any immigrants either), Canada, and South America. But for the majority, Israel was the only place they could envision themselves being. The British too were keeping the survivors out of Israel, and only six ships managed to elude being captured. The rest were pirated, many of the people on board severely abused, and sent to concentration-camps on Cyprus. And yet these people still kept hoping for the day when they would be released and would finally live as free people again, in their own land. Some of them even admitted they were only surviving and getting through these postwar years so their children would have a future. The world closed its doors and its eyes and ears while millions of people were slaughtered and barely changed its tune after the War, but as these people proved on their long road home, they were strong enough to survive another round of hardships and never gave up on their dream of going home.
          The Long Way Home
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • A long sad story
          • a fair look at the founding of israel
          • So-so documentary
          • The Untold Story of Jewish People 1945-48
          • Highly recommended
          The Long Way Home
          Starring: Morgan Freeman , Edward Asner , Sean Astin , Martin Landau , and Miriam Margolyes
          Director: Mark Jonathan Harris
          Manufacturer: Vanguard Cinema
          ProductGroup: DVD
          Binding: DVD

          GeneralGeneral | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
          World History & CultureWorld History & Culture | History | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
          PoliticsPolitics | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
          GeneralGeneral | Military & War | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
          DramaDrama | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video
          HolocaustHolocaust | By Theme | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video
          Asner, EdwardAsner, Edward | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Astin, SeanAstin, Sean | ( A ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Freeman, MorganFreeman, Morgan | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Landau, MartinLandau, Martin | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Lowens, CurtLowens, Curt | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Margolyes, MiriamMargolyes, Miriam | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Paymer, DavidPaymer, David | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Siemaszko, NinaSiemaszko, Nina | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Slater, HelenSlater, Helen | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          York, MichaelYork, Michael | ( Y ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
          Harris, Mark JonathanHarris, Mark Jonathan | ( H ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
          Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
          ( L )( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
          HolocaustHolocaust | Jewish Heritage | Specialty Stores | DVD | Video
          Similar Items:
          1. Into The Arms Of Strangers - Stories Of The Kindertransport
          2. In Search of Peace: Part One 1948 - 1967
          3. Liberation
          4. Partisans of Vilna
          5. The Last Days

          ASIN: 6305933634
          Release Date: 2000-08-01

          Amazon.com

          As Allied troops liberated Nazi concentration camps in the final weeks of World War II, the trials of the Jews in Europe were hardly over. The end of the war brought extreme deprivation and even, in some places, further violence directed against survivors of the Holocaust. This documentary tells the story of the struggle European Jews faced in trying to reach Palestine, which they hoped would become the new Jewish homeland. Archival footage documents how Jews literally walked across snow-clogged mountain passes to reach the Mediterranean. In Italian ports they boarded overcrowded freighters and tried to slip past the blockage of Palestine, which was then controlled by Britain. The physical hardships were only part of the problem, and The Long Way Home does a fine job of describing the complicated political dealings that involved the United Nations, the U.S. administration of Harry Truman, and, of course, the Arab states that were hostile to the very idea of the country of Israel. Drawing on letters, diaries, and oral histories of participants, as well as interviews with Holocaust survivors and those who volunteered to help the fledgling Zionist state, an inspiring human story of courage and fortitude emerges in the course of this moving and fascinating film. --Robert J. McNamara

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars A long sad story.......2006-08-19

          A good documentary on the period between the end of WWII and the formation of the tiny nation of Israel. No need to see feature films for drama, it is all here.

          I tend to think that once WWII ended then all was well with the Jews and the other displaced persons in Europe. But that is far from the truth as this movie will show.

          There is some great footage of the Exodus.

          This movie is required viewing for my children of 12 and up.

          3 out of 5 stars a fair look at the founding of israel.......2006-06-04

          ah yes, once more a holocaust movie, this one using the darkest moment of 20th century history to justify the establishment of the modern state of israel. i will not go into the politics here, but merely rate the movie as a piece of art, by which definition it was good.

          2 out of 5 stars So-so documentary.......2006-04-06

          A grave documentary of the struggles of European Jews liberated from Nazi encampment to survive the isolationist aftermath of World War II. While the Allied nations strengthened their immigration laws and the survivors' formerly occupied homelands still bore the taint of anti-Semitism, the Jews were forced to live as refugees until founding the nation of Israel three years after the end of the war. I prefer movies such as Schindler's List and Anne Frank to this.

          5 out of 5 stars The Untold Story of Jewish People 1945-48.......2006-02-21

          There is very little public knowledge of what happened between the time when the German concentration camps were liberated in 1945 and when Israel was founded. The story is told in this very well done and interesting documentary.

          First, many of the survivors were kept in the same camps under armed guard by Allied soldiers. Reports got back to President Truman about the conditions, and he sent an envoy to find out what was happening. The envoy reported about back the horrible conditions, and as a result, Eisenhower was pressured to fire Patton, who had responsibility for the camps. The movie then quotes Patton's private diary, which shows that he was an extreme racist against the Jews.

          Many people survived the camps initially, but died in the next month because of disease or over-eating.

          Then some Jewish survivors tried to return to their hometowns in Poland and elsewhere. Many survivors were murdered by local people. In some cases, new families had moved into their homes, and didn't want the refugees reclaiming them. (Most Jews in the concentration camps were not actually from Germany, but were from countries that the Germans had control over.)

          The Jewish survivors then tried to reach Palestine/Israel. The British refused to let them. The movie said part of the reason was that the British needed Arab oil.

          Many survivors climbed over the Alps on foot to try to reach Israel through Italy. A group of American Jews purchased and manned ships to try to sneak the survivors into Israel. Almost all were intercepted by the British and turned back. The most famous ship was the Exodus, which was the subject of a famous book and movie. The British actually fired upon the refugee ship and killed many people. The British kept many of the refugees in concentration camps in horrid crowded conditions.

          Jewish groups then turned to terrorism to try to force the British out of Palestine. It worked, and the British left. The British turned the matter over to the UN, who tried to partition Palestine. That led to the founding of Israel. The movie said that a main reason why Israel was successful was because Truman officially recognized the new country instantly, against the advice of all of his advisors. (Throughout the entire 1940s, the US State Dept. was very anti-Semitic.)

          For those people with a weak stomach (including myself), it is important to know that the movie is not overly graphic and, on the whole, is not depressing. It is intended to tell the story of people who struggled and succeeded against all odds.

          5 out of 5 stars Highly recommended.......2005-09-23

          This two-hour Oscar-winning documentary does a great job at narrating the events of 1945-48 for the survivors of the Shoah and their often horrific ordeal as refugees. For most of them, the heartache was only just beginning; liberation and the end of the War for them were not the same as they were for the soldiers who had fought in the War or the non-Jewish people who had been in the camps or in the various nation-states across Europe. Many of them found they had no home to go back to, and were often greeted with hatred and disgust that they'd dared to return and survive. Some angry villagers even killed the returning survivors, as happened in the Kielce pogrom of 1946. During and before WWII, most of the nations in the world had sealed their borders against the people trying to immigrate before the Nazis devoured them, and even after the War finally ended, they continued keeping them out. Even nations that hadn't been able to wait to get rid of them, such as Poland and Hungary, now made it very difficult for the "repatriated" survivors to leave, and many of them had to be smuggled out in very secretive dangerous border crossings, with border guards who had to be bribed heavily. The initial destination for many of them was a DP camp. Many of these camps were in Germany, and were in the very sites of actual concentration-camps. The Americans running them insisted barbed wire be strung along the fences and that armed guards be in watch towers. There also often wasn't enough to eat, there was little privacy, and the people still had to sleep on the wooden planks. The only difference between life in a DP camp and life in a concentration-camp was that in the DP camps the Allies running them weren't exterminating people or physically abusing them. And yet in spite of all of this, the amount of marriages and children being born were totally off of the charts, people finding one another and recreating families, getting together out of loneliness, these people who never would have found one another or considered getting married under such circumstances, after such short courtships, were it not for the Shoah.

          97% of the survivors wanted to go to Israel, and when asked for a second destination, hundreds wrote "The crematorium" on their applications. Many survivors did go to other places, such as Australia, America (which was still holding to its pre-war racist xenophobia immigration quotas, coupled with millions of citizens who didn't want any immigrants either), Canada, and South America. But for the majority, Israel was the only place they could envision themselves being. The British too were keeping the survivors out of Israel, and only six ships managed to elude being captured. The rest were pirated, many of the people on board severely abused, and sent to concentration-camps on Cyprus. And yet these people still kept hoping for the day when they would be released and would finally live as free people again, in their own land. Some of them even admitted they were only surviving and getting through these postwar years so their children would have a future. The world closed its doors and its eyes and ears while millions of people were slaughtered and barely changed its tune after the War, but as these people proved on their long road home, they were strong enough to survive another round of hardships and never gave up on their dream of going home.
          The Long Way Home Summary - Boris Grebenshikov / Dolgij Put' Domoj - Boris Grebenwikov - DVD PAL
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            The Long Way Home Summary - Boris Grebenshikov / Dolgij Put' Domoj - Boris Grebenwikov - DVD PAL

            ProductGroup: DVD
            Binding: DVD

            GenresGenres | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
            Used DVDsUsed DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
            ASIN: B000M5HVUA

            Product Description

            Boris Grebenshikov, popular folk singer, spoke for his generation in the same way as did his American counterpart, Bob Dylan, to whom the Russian musician has been likened. This documentary tells the story of his life and music, which was banned in his native land. An interview with the singer gives insight into his personal and political beliefs, and musical influences. The film finds him at work in Los Angeles, New York, London, and at home again in the city then called Leningrad. He is accompanied in the musical numbers by Annie Lenox and Dave Stewart.

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