Aside from the fascinating archival footage presented in the opening volume of this projected 26-part series, the first hour offered something else unusual: most of the interviewees appearing in the program were born in the 1890s! One man saw Edison's "electric lamp" display at the 1900 Paris exhibition. A woman recalls sailing for the promised land of America as a young girl at the turn of the century--waving goodbye to her family, who could not afford to go. Another woman remembers the burgeoning woman's suffrage movement in Britain ("we used to get in Hambly Market Square and spout a bit"). A Russian talks about life under the Czar, an African looks back at the founding of the African National Congress, and the wonderfully named Maurice Bourgeois, reflects on life at the beach in fin de siècle France. These are the strengths of the ambitious People's Century project; they are also its weaknesses. In its attempt to be all-inclusive, the program continent-hops from one culture to the next and back again, offering--for the most part--historical insights that are both fragmented and rather simplistic. Yes, people emigrated; yes, Russian serf life was hard; yes, the British had an empire. Without a strong central narrative and working with such a huge canvas, Age of Hope comes across more as an assemblage of bits and pieces than a coherent socio-political investigation. Still, the images--especially the non-Anglo stuff--and the incredible testimonies of the centenarian eyewitnesses make this recommended, overall. Other titles in the initial 13 parts now available include: 1914-Killing Fields, 1917-Red Flag, 1919-Lost Peace, 1924-On the Line, 1927-Great Escape, 1929-Breadline, 1933-Master Race, 1939-Total War and 1945-Brave New World. Individual episodes are $29.95 ($39.95 indexed), with the first 13 parts available as a series for $350 ($450 indexed) with public performance rights. Also, two thematic sets drawing from the entire 26-part series (The People's Century: Communism, 6 episodes, $79.95 and The People's Century: The Saga of WWII, 8 episodes, $99.95) are available with home video rights. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
People's Century, 1900-1999: 1900--Age of Hope
(1997) 60 min. $29.95. PBS Video. PPR. Color cover. Closed captioned. Vol. 14, Issue 3
People's Century, 1900-1999: 1900--Age of Hope
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