The Donner Party

Starring:David McCullough (II), J.D. Cannon, Donal McCann, Paul Roebling, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach, Amy Madigan, George Plimpton, Lois Smith, Frances Sternhagen, Gene Jones
Director: Ric Burns
Studio: Pbs Home Video
Product Type: DVD

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While brother Ken Burns was redefining mammoth entertainment with his public television events, brother Ric was creating tighter, more definitive documentaries such as The Donner Party, whose tragic subject has seemed more a punch line than a historical event. Yes, members of the Donner party ate human flesh when they were caught snowbound in the Sierra Nevadas just 150 miles away from the end of their 2,500-mile trip across the United States in 1846. But there's more to the story, and Burns uses the customary array of old pictures, current landscapes, and readings of historic dispatches and letters by actors (including Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, and Eli Wallach) to create a vivid portrayal of the pioneers' tough life. The heartbreaking circumstances of and miscues by the Donner party turned a common migration into one that is remembered as a landlocked Titanic tragedy. What if the snow had come one day later? What if the winter was not the worst on record? And most importantly, what if Lansford Hastings had not advertised a "shorter" West Coast route that he had never seen? Other details bring to light the human achievement of the survivors, including the intriguing fact that the women and children survived in greater number than the men. Anchored by the eerie music of Angelo Badalamenti's "Dark Spanish Symphony," the film constructs the fate of the Donner party as the gloomy side of the American dream. --Doug Thomas

Description

Of all the 19th-century pioneer stories, none exerts such a powerful hold on the American imagination as the tale of the Donner Party in the high Sierra Nevadas in the winter of 1846. The excursion became a terrifying tale of misery, death, madness, and cannibalism. Through family journals, newspaper accounts, and interviews with historians and descendants of the party, the program re-creates the Donner Party's now legendary journey.

Customer Reviews:

The Donner Party-Ric Burns.......2007-01-12

This is one of the best documenteries I've seen. Ric Burns did an amazing job of drawing the audience into a real sense of the horrors these people experienced. The interviews made you feel as if the people interviewed actually experienced the tragedy themselves. Finally, the musical score draws you into the forlorn experience through its haunting melodies. I highly recommend this DVD.

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen.......2005-02-11

Very moving and award winning. You actually feel like you are traveling with the doomed party. I love the aerial views of the terrain they fought thru to get to California. I had to watch this as a AP History student in high school. You learn a whole ton about manifest destiny as well. To think, these people literally walked across the United States.

An excellent account of a terrible event.......2004-12-09

This was an excellent documentary, period. Even if you are not "into" history, you will be hooked on this story. It is a tragic tale of the perils of westward expansion. Sure it is just an ink drop on the pages of history, but the story will live on.

A chilling depiction of a real-life horror story!.......2004-11-10

I first saw this incredible documentary as a child & for several nights afterwords I had terrible nightmares! This is one of the finest PBS documentaries I've ever seen, & it's also one of the most grusome tales in American history. While dozens of books have been written about the Donner Party, I believe this is the only documentary that's been made about it so far. The story is told through eyewitness accounts that make you feel like a member of the doomed wagon train. What's even more interesting is how the weary survivors rebuilt their lives after returning to "civilization". If you want compelling, horrifying, & unforgettable entertainment, this is the documentary to get!

American Dream's Worst Case Scenario.......2004-08-17

The American Dream's worst case scenario; Manifest Destiny's darkest heart-people with everything they need moving West because the next best thing, the finally fulfilling thing, the Big Rock Candy Mountain, is over the horizon. But along the way, snow and hunger and the darkness of the human heart pouring out and spreading with the blizzards. Perhaps the most telling line in this documentary is written by one of the 12 year old girls who survives the six month ordeal and by summer time is writing to her cousin. "Come West," she writes, "and come quickly. Just don't take no short cuts." The power of the Manifest Destiny, and the pull of California, the ending point not only of America's Manifest Destiny, but an itchy-footed journey taken over centuries by west bound peoples leaving Greece, leaving Italy, bound always for something better, for something more.

Average customer rating:

The Donner Party-Ric Burns
One of the best documentaries I have ever seen
An excellent account of a terrible event
A chilling depiction of a real-life horror story!
American Dream's Worst Case Scenario

The Donner Party
Starring: David McCullough (II) , Timothy Hutton , J.D. Cannon , Eli Wallach , and Amy Madigan
Director: Ric Burns
Manufacturer: Pbs Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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