VHS Movie Reviews for Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

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VHS Movie Reviews of Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

Movie Review: Travel with the Corps of Discovery
Summary: 5 Stars

I absolutely love this movie. Something about the Lewis & Clark expedition appeals to the adventurer in each of us. The United States as a country is less than 30 years old on May 14, 1804, as Lewis & Clark leave with Jefferson's "the Corps of Discovery" on their famous expedition to explore the west. The photography of this DVD is stunningly beautiful, the music hauntingly reminiscent of the early 1800's. The story is told through reading excerpts from the Corps' diaries and journals, beautiful photography, and interviews with Dayton Duncan (writer), John Logan Allen (geographer), Stephen E. Ambrose (historian), William Least Heat-Moon (writer), James P. Ronda (historian), Mylie Lawyer (Twisted Hair Descendant), and others. This movie leaves the sense of having travelled with the Lewis & Clark expedition and having seen the beautiful country with their eyes, as you hear their words and see the land they saw.

As stated of the Corps of Discovery in the movie's Introduction, "They were beginning the most important expedition in American History, the United States' first official exploration into unknown spaces, and a glimpse into the future of their young nation. They would become the first United States citizens to experience the Great Plains, the immensity of its skies, the rich splendor of its wildlife, the harsh rigor of its winters. They would be the first United States citizens to see the daunting peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the first to struggle over them, the first to cross the Continental Divide -- to where the rivers flow west. And after encountering cold, hunger, danger, and wonders beyond belief, they would become the first of their nation to reach the Pacific Ocean by land. It would be the greatest adventure of their lives. . . It's a great story. It's a human story. It's a story of those who went first. THEY were first. They led the way. They opened the trail." "It's America's story . . . They turned the nation and faced it west. And that's where the future has always been, that's where hope and possibility have been. And I think that is what draws us to Lewis and Clark, it's about possibilities, it is about what could be. . . it's about potential, the future, and hope."

I first borrowed this DVD from our local library, but then had to buy it for my own. Sometimes I watch it just for the beauty of the scenery and the hopeful young optimism of a new country, looking west all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Disc One has these chapters:
Introduction (the start of the Corps)
The Grandfather Spirit (the Mississippi River)
The Garden of Eden (the Great Plains)
Our Friends (the Mandan Indians and Fort Mandan)
The Real Unknown (Montana)
The Portage (around the Great Falls of the Missouri River)
The Northwest Passage (the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide)
Special Features:
Interview with Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan
Interview with Stephen Ambrose

Disc Two
Introduction (summer of 1805 and summary of accomplishments)
The Most Terrible Mountains (Rocky Mountains)
Watkuweis (the elderly woman of Nez Perce "Returned From Being Lost")
O! The Joy (the Pacific Ocean)
Rainy and Wet (Fort Clatsop)
Done for Posterity (the end of the expedition)
Special Features
The Making of Lewis and Clark
Ken Burns: Making History
A Conversation with Ken Burns

You can read more on PBS' Lewis & Clark website:
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/

Movie Review: A Good Documentary: A Bit of History, A Bit of Storytelling
Summary: 4 Stars

When I was growing up in Oregon, the Lewis & Clark Expedition was raised up as one of the most important events in American History and we got to learn about it every year. Of course, the entire focus of the journey was on reaching the Oregon Country and the winter they spent at Fort Clatsop. I was always captivated by the journey and loved visiting some of the sites along the trail.

When I came across this Ken Burns documentary, I was excited by the prospect of its four hour run time. I've seen many films about the expedition that try to squeeze the trip into a 45 minute adventure. And let me tell you: this film delivers. It lived up to all of my expectations.

Given its running time, LEWIS & CLARK: THE JOURNEY OF THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY has time to dwell on the entire journey. I was amazed by how much I learned about the expedition BEFORE they reached the Columbia (something largely left out of my childhood lectures). The film, in many parts, is beautifully shot and Burns manages to capture many parts of the country without capturing modern civilization.

Of course, I agree with those reviewers who argue that the film does gloss over some of the impact the expedition had on the course of American history. While the narrators mention the destruction that would befall the Native American tribes and the fact that Lewis & Clark were brining a message of American empire, this documentary could have used a little more historical realism. But the film wouldn't have been as cheery or sentimental that way.

Stephen Ambrose, despite the claims of accuracy that many have touted on this site, gets a little too involved for my tastes. Of course, he is a fabulous storyteller. He'd be a great grandfather to have around. But one has to wonder while listening to him exactly where he is embellishing and "filling in" the history and how much he is reporting.

On the whole, I thoroughly enjoyed LEWIS & CLARK: THE JOURNEY OF THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY. It is a great historical work and a piece of art as well. I have watched it twice already and have not been bored. If you're interested in Lewis & Clark, this is a great way to bring history into the television room. I highly recommend it.

Movie Review: Beautifully Filmed
Summary: 4 Stars

If you are a Ken Burns Junkee, I don't have any idea why you would read a review, just buy it. However, if you find Ken Burns boring, sentimental, revisionist, and overbearing like me, you may be inclined to pass this one by. Unlike the soap box barrage that is Baseball, and the myopic epic that is the Civil War, this documentary is worth every penny for the score (which is superb) and the filming...yes, I can hear it now, another sunset studded Burns bloated documentary, but in this documentary the filmography is breath-taking. The story is well told albiet somewhat biased, but still worth it just to watch and take in. Read books for history, watch Burns for the light show...and this is a good one.

Movie Review: Beginners Only
Summary: 3 Stars

This would have been great if I was doing a report in school and had no previous knowledge of the expedition. After reading Steven Ambrose's, "Undaunted Courage", the movie did not provide any new knowledge. The book is obviously way more detailed. It's the details that make the journey...not the highpoints.