Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Product Description
Brother, can you spare a dime? is the chronicle of an unforgettable period in American history twelve painful years from the Wall Street crash to Pearl Harbour. By juxtaposing contemporary news and documentary footage with Hollywood film classics, Philippe Mora, Sandy Lieberson and David Puttnam create an evocative film scrapbook of America during the Depression. Songs and images stick in the mind: whilst Bessie Smith sings Nobody loves you when you re down and out, a ragged child huddles against the bleak landscape. Fortunes dwindle, the small man s savings disappear, men lose their jobs and the banks go bust. Two American heroes emerge: James Cagney, Hollywood s little man who won t be beaten, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, stepping into the breach as America s new President. Only Hollywood offers an escape from the Depression s reality, for these are the Golden Years of Bogart, Gable, Leigh, Cooper and Dietrich. Whilst families starve, Busby Berkeley fills the screen with his lavish musical extravaganzas... as Ginger Rogers says: It s the depression, dearie!
Review
This movie is a must to all who want to evoke the feel of the Depression and not just have the kids read it out of dry books. It's very hard to get someone in to speak first-hand about the era, this movie speaks for them --www.imdb.com
I recently bought this documentary on DVD and watched it several times in succession. It is the best archival source of Depression-era material I have ever run across. I particulary enjoyed the segment with Huey Long. What a terrific speaker he was! And to see him on stage with Ina Ray Hutton, the woman band leader, was a real treat. I highly recommend this for historians of America in the 20th century. --www.imdb.com
this is an extraordinary use of both documentary and archive newsreel to tell a story of the depression era in the USA. No naration, the film speaks for itself. The use of Jimmy Cagney as a running character is great. Fascinating and amusing. --www.imdb.com
I recently bought this documentary on DVD and watched it several times in succession. It is the best archival source of Depression-era material I have ever run across. I particulary enjoyed the segment with Huey Long. What a terrific speaker he was! And to see him on stage with Ina Ray Hutton, the woman band leader, was a real treat. I highly recommend this for historians of America in the 20th century. --www.imdb.com
this is an extraordinary use of both documentary and archive newsreel to tell a story of the depression era in the USA. No naration, the film speaks for itself. The use of Jimmy Cagney as a running character is great. Fascinating and amusing. --www.imdb.com
I recently bought this documentary on DVD and watched it several times in succession. It is the best archival source of Depression-era material I have ever run across. I particulary enjoyed the segment with Huey Long. What a terrific speaker he was! And to see him on stage with Ina Ray Hutton, the woman band leader, was a real treat. I highly recommend this for historians of America in the 20th century. --www.imdb.com
this is an extraordinary use of both documentary and archive newsreel to tell a story of the depression era in the USA. No naration, the film speaks for itself. The use of Jimmy Cagney as a running character is great. Fascinating and amusing. --www.imdb.com
I recently bought this documentary on DVD and watched it several times in succession. It is the best archival source of Depression-era material I have ever run across. I particulary enjoyed the segment with Huey Long. What a terrific speaker he was! And to see him on stage with Ina Ray Hutton, the woman band leader, was a real treat. I highly recommend this for historians of America in the 20th century. --www.imdb.com
this is an extraordinary use of both documentary and archive newsreel to tell a story of the depression era in the USA. No naration, the film speaks for itself. The use of Jimmy Cagney as a running character is great. Fascinating and amusing. --www.imdb.com
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is brilliant and insightful impression of the USA in the 30s.
full of rare newsreel footage, photographs, interviews and film clips. This is the most interesting evocation of the period ever seen.
Not to be missed!!
full of rare newsreel footage, photographs, interviews and film clips. This is the most interesting evocation of the period ever seen.
Not to be missed!!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
An interesting but bitty look at the Depression in America - newsreel of events is intercut with scenes from Hollywood movies featuring James Cagney. The lack of a commentary detracts from the production.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime is a Great movie
23 Mar 2004
My name is Amanda and I'm in a 10th grade world history class. We are currently studying the Great Depression and WWII and we have just finished watching Brother, Can You Spare a Dime. This movie helped me to understand not only the culture and life of this era but also helped me to understand the things that led up to the Depression and Stock market crash as well as Pearl Harbor and WWII. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who wants an entertaining way to learn a bit about history.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Something Everyone Should Watch!
1 Aug 2002
Shows the real down in the trenches struggle of America during the depression. In our times of prosperity and wealth, we sometimes forget it wasn't so long ago that money was almost impossible to come by, soup lines were many peoples only source of survival and life without all the gadgets and other pleasures we take for granted is very tough.
Saletag.
Saletag.
14 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Hindered by lack of commentary
20 May 2003
Format:DVD
Although this documentary brings together a lot of interesting footage, lack of a commentary means that a viewer without a close knowledge of the period in question will find themselves wondering, "Who were those people, and why was what they were doing of historical significance?" On the other hand, if you are very familiar with the politics and culture of the US in the 1930s, this may provide some useful illustrative imagery. I suspect that, these days, more people will fall into the first category.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
