All "American Experience" Documentaries
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- StarsF. Murray AbrahamAn account of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the subsequent effort to rebuild.
- DirectorRobert StoneStarsKilon BaunoJohn SmithermanWarren AustinIt starts with a live radio broadcast from the Bikini Atoll a few days before it is annihilated by a nuclear test. Shows great footage from these times and tells the story of the US Navy Sailors who were exposed to radioactive fallout. One interviewed sailor suffered grotesquely swollen limbs and he is shown being interviewed with enormous left arm and hand.
- DirectorMartha SandlinStarsNancy AllenRhonda CoulletAngie DeboA profile of historian Angie Debo and her exposure of the governmental conspiracy to steal mineral-rich lands from their tribal owners.
- DirectorFrank J. De MeoAnthony PotterStarsEric SevareidJournalist Eric Sevareid recounts his experiences growing up during the Great Depression and World War II.
- 1987–7.1 (19)TV Episode
- 1987– 1h6.4 (22)TV EpisodeDirectorJon BlairStarsGlenn CloseDavid McCulloughA look at modern-day cowboys in the Wyoming Rockies.
- 1987– 52m7.0 (15)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert DrewStarsClarke BittnerNicholas KatzenbachJohn F. KennedyFilmmaker Robert Drew updates his 1963 documentary Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963) which followed the confrontation between President Kennedy and Alabama governor George Wallace.
- DirectorNeil GoodwinThe life of Geronimo, as told by the Chiricahua Apaches.
- 1987–6.3 (14)TV EpisodeStarsJames AgeeWalker EvansWriter James Agee and photographer Walker Evans revisit the Alabama tenant system depicted in their 1936 book "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men".
- DirectorGeorge T. NierenbergStarsRalph BassPat BooneCharles BrownA documentary covering the R&B (rhythm and blues) field from the 1940s to the early 1950s. Included is footage of performances by major R&B singers of the time, and interviews with singers, producers and others involved in the field.
- DirectorIrv DrasninStarsIrv DrasninThe story of Father Charles Coughlin who, during the Depression, used the radio to protest against what he saw as society's ills.
- DirectorPat FerreroThe historical events of nineteenth-century America as depicted in the quilts of the country's women.
- DirectorCraig B. FisherStarsGeorge P. Horse CaptureWerner KlempererSam WaterstonAn exploration of the Native Americans of 1830s western America, as seen through the eyes of European travelers Prince Maximilian of Bavaria and Swiss artist Karl Bodmer.
- DirectorPatchy WheatleyStarsCharles KuraltEudora WeltyA profile on American writer Eudora Welty.
- StarsRobert MosesMark ObenhausDocumentary about architect Robert Moses who is responsible for public works projects like the Lincoln Center and the United Nations in New York.
- 1987–7.5 (29)TV EpisodeDirectorRocky CollinsStarsVelma BrownAimee EppingBillie GammonThe story of Emeline Bachelder, an early 19th-century New Englander who married a younger man - only to discover that he was the son she had give up when she was fourteen.
- DirectorDavid GrubinStarsDavid McCullochFollows the 1924 attempt by four U.S. Army Air Corps biplanes to circumnavigate the globe.
- DirectorThomas LennonStarsPeter ThomasThe spread of Prohibition from Henry Ford's Detroit factories nationwide
- DirectorAnn TegnellLise YasuiLise Yasui explores three generations of her Japanese-American family - from their immigration to Oregon in the early 1900s through their imprisonment in internment camps during World War Two.
- DirectorTom WeidlingerAmerica's experiences in France during World War I.
- DirectorIrv DrasninStarsIrv DrasninA nostalgic treatment of the national pastime and its meaning in history.
- DirectorEdward GrayKenneth LevisStarsMark ObenhausThe story behind the mail order tome that brought merchandise (or dreams of it) within reach of Americans far and wide.
- StarsRobert RedfordThe story of Yosemite told through the diary of one of the first white Americans to visit the California valley.
- Documentary on the life of civil rights advocate Powell, including his career as a Harlem minister and a US Congressman.
- A tribute to the over 12 million immigrants entering the United States between 1890-1920.
- 1987–5.7 (11)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid HoffmanStarsAlan BlevissMerton BrownRichard DillinghamStory of a folklore historian who sought to preserve the traditional music of the Appalachians for posterity.
- DirectorWilliam GreavesStarsTroy DusterAl Freeman Jr.Paula GiddingsThe work of a notable civil rights crusader in the late 19th and early 20th century.
- Thousands of children were evacuated overseas from Britain during World War II to escape the bombing of London and possible invasion by the Germans. This is the story of the children sent to live with foster families in America.
- DirectorArthur DongThe Americanization of Chinese people in the 1920s and 30s, including public roles that ran counter to their cultural history.
- 1987– 1h6.9 (24)TV EpisodeDirectorOrlando BagwellStarsRuby DeeA chronicle of the organized efforts to help slaves find freedom in the north.
- DirectorStephen IvesStarsArnold ForsterBrendan GillStacy KeachAfter his famous flight, Charles Lindbergh becomes known to all the world but struggles with life in the limelight.
- DirectorDavid EsparStarsHelen GahaganWill LymanRichard NixonRichard M. Nixon was one of American history's most powerful figures. Recalling events etched in U.S. memory, this three-hour program explores a fateful mix of strength and weakness that made him president, and then brought him down. Events revealing Nixon's distinctive signature in American politics, from a meteoric rise to Congress to the presidency and the morass of Watergate, unfold in three parts: The Quest, Triumph, and The Fall. This is the first of three parts.
- DirectorElizabeth DeaneDavid EsparMarilyn MellowesStarsWill LymanRichard M. Nixon was one of American history's most powerful figures. Recalling events etched in U.S. memory, this three-hour program explores a fateful mix of strength and weakness that made him president, and then brought him down. Events revealing Nixon's distinctive signature in American politics, from a meteoric rise to Congress to the presidency and the morass of Watergate, unfold in three parts: The Quest, Triumph, and The Fall. This is the second of three parts.
- DirectorElizabeth DeaneDavid EsparMarilyn MellowesStarsWill LymanRichard M. Nixon was one of American history's most powerful figures. Recalling events etched in U.S. memory, this three-hour program explores a fateful mix of strength and weakness that made him president, and then brought him down. Events revealing Nixon's distinctive signature in American politics, from a meteoric rise to Congress to the presidency and the morass of Watergate, unfold in three parts: The Quest, Triumph, and The Fall. This is the third of three parts.
- Polish immigration in the 1910s and the contributions of Poles to the United States.
- DirectorRocky CollinsStarsKyle MacLachlanRon VawterBart WhitemanThe assassination of President James Garfield in 1880 by Charles Guiteau, who believed his actions were ordained by God, resulted in a trial where the plea "innocent by reason of insanity" was used for the first time.
- DirectorRobert Stone
- StarsPhilip BoscoReuben L. CainCalvin CoolidgeExamines the stock market crash of 1929 with interviews from descendants of several Wall Street insiders.
- DirectorNeil GoodwinThe building of the railroad between Sacramento, California and Omaha, Nebraska.
- The distinctive music of Louisiana including Cajun and Zydeco performances.
- DirectorRobert TranchinStarsMat BatronLigget CrimBertha DelzOil exploration and the fortunes and failures of the independent opportunists who searched for it.
- StarsJason Robards
- DirectorRic BurnsStarsPhilip BoscoAndrei CodrescuFrederick P. FriedThe film explores the beginnings of America's first amusement park and takes us through its good times all the way up to its end. The show was originally produced for PBS's American Experience.
- 1987– 1h 52mTV-PG8.1 (118)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid GrubinStarsDavid McCulloughJoe CervettoJohn ConnallyAward winning filmmaker David Grubin profiles one of the most controversial U.S. presidents, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who rose from obscurity to the pinnacle of power, only to suffer disillusionment and defeat. Witness the events that brought LBJ from Texas to Washington, the White House, and a landslide election in 1964. Follow his triumphs in passing a wave of social legislation then his downward spiral which ends in withdrawal from politics. This is the first of two parts.
- 1987– 1h 51mTV-PG8.0 (110)TV EpisodeStarsLyndon B. JohnsonDavid McCulloughGeorge BallAward winning filmmaker David Grubin profiles one of the most controversial U.S. presidents, Lyndon Baines Johnson, who rose from obscurity to the pinnacle of power, only to suffer disillusionment and defeat. Witness the events that brought LBJ from Texas to Washington, the White House, and a landslide election in 1964. Follow his triumphs in passing a wave of social legislation then his downward spiral which ends in withdrawal from politics. This is the second of two parts.
- 1987–7.0 (32)TV EpisodeDirectorJacqueline ShearerStarsRocky CarrollLaurence FishburneMorgan FreemanA story of the formation and service of the first all-Black military unit in the United States during the Civil War.
- StarsDavid McCulloughThe story of the corrupt political dominance of Mayor James Curley and its effect on the city of Boston in the early 20th century.
- DirectorMark BusslerStarsRichard DreyfussPatrick JordanJennifer Lee DakeExploding dam kills thousands in massive flood catastrophe in Pennsylvania in 1889.
- 1987–6.8 (16)TV EpisodeDirectorLance BirdJohn CrowleyTom JohnsonStarsJason RobardsRecounting the historic attack of 1941, including the planning and military outlook of both the United States and Japan at the time.
- DirectorIrv DrasninStarsDavid McCulloughIrv DrasninTo understand J. Edgar Hoover's rise to power is to understand the America of the 1920s and 1930s and the building of both the power and the mythology of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- DirectorRobert LeviStarsJulian BondDuke EllingtonMercer Ellington
- DirectorMichael R. LawrenceStarsWill LymanHerb StempelAmerica's love affair with the quiz show is dealt a blow when it's revealed that the games are fixed.
- The story of Eugene Dennis and his wife Peggy, communist activists in the post-World War II era.
- DirectorRocky CollinsStarsDavid McCulloughRobert LansingStory of P.T. Barnum and his role in developing the American Circus into a large business and a cultural force.
- DirectorChristine LesiakStarsPete BoughnBen BradleeWiley HarkerIn 1875, Captain Richard Pratt ordered 72 Indian warriors suspected who had fought white colonists to Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. Once there, Pratt began an experiment which involved teaching Indians to read and write, making them learn English and forcing them to be Christians, barring Native languages and religions, and putting even children as young as five in uniforms and drilling them like soldiers. "Kill the Indian and the save the man," was Pratt's brutal motto. A film about cultural genocide that Richard Pratt began to forcibly assimilate Native Americans into white culture with the creation of the Carlilse School for Indians in 1879. Pratt's school, and others like it, claimed noble intentions. The death toll was high from physical abuse and disease. Similar efforts in Australis and Canada are considered genocide, leading to investigations and official government apologies. These forced assimilation efforts lasted well into the 1930s, when they were abandoned as destructive and worsening poverty, unemployment, and suicide rates.
- 1987– 2h7.8 (52)TV Episode
- 1987–7.8 (47)TV EpisodeDirectorJames A. DeVinneyStarsDavid McCulloughStacy Keach
- DirectorRic BurnsStarsDavid McCulloughJ.D. CannonTimothy HuttonDocumentary exploring the struggles of The Donner Party, a group of American pioneers and their two Indigenous guides who became stranded in the Sierras during a horrible winter.
- 1987–6.5 (11)TV Episode
- 1987– 1h 30mApproved6.7 (51)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid SutherlandStarsDavid McCulloughRobert DawidoffThad TateThe personal development of George Washington is the focus as Producer David Sutherland brings to life a uniquely human Washington who transformed himself from social climber into a patriot willing to give up everything for a higher cause.
- The historic battle discussed from the perspective of both sides that participated in the conflict.
- DirectorTom SpainStarsDavid McCulloughHelen Sousa AlbertPauline BierleyThe story of "march king" John Philip Sousa and the connections between his music and the mood of the nation during his time.
- DirectorHelaine HeadStarsMichael BurgessPeter Francis JamesDonald ChambersThe NAACP and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall build a Supreme Court case against the policy of segregation.
- DirectorLawrence R. HottStarsJoe MantegnaThe short but notable career of the coach and his team with stories from some of those who remember him.
- DirectorCharlotte ZwerinStarsTresa HughesVictor ReutherThe story of Walter Reuther and the struggle to unionize the automobile workers of the US in the 1930s.
- StarsAlex Chadwick
- StarsOssie DavisA profile of the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma - once a flourishing but segregated community.
- 1987– 55m7.0 (58)TV EpisodeDirectorNancy PorterStarsKathy BatesSally ChapmanAmelia EarhartProfiling the pioneering aviator whose plane disappeared during her 1937 attempt to circumnavigate the Earth.
- DirectorHector GalanStarsLinda Hunt
- DirectorAdriana BoschStarsDavid McCullough
- DirectorAdriana Bosch
- StarsDavid McCulloughSurvivors recall the hurricane that devastated Rhode Island and New York's Long Island.
- StarsLinda HuntThe last member of a diminished Native American tribe from California makes himself known at the beginning of the 20th century.
- DirectorOrlando BagwellStarsAlfre WoodardSharon 10XBenjamin 2X
- 1987–7.5 (71)TV EpisodeDirectorMarty OstrowStarsHal LindenAs the campaign to force Jews out of Germany ramps up, the American government blocks efforts to help rescue many of these displaced persons, and Americans' antisemitism only seems to get worse.
- DirectorCharles GuggenheimStarsDavid McCulloughEdward A. AskewJohn C. AuslandAn award-winning documentary of the invasion of Normandy in World War II, using rare archival films and pictures from British, American, and German archives. The narrator provides the overall continuity, but the voices of over 50 participants who were involved in the staging of the invasion in Britain or were on the beaches of France bring the images to life.
- DirectorDavid GrubinStarsWinston ChurchillDavid McCulloughEleanor RooseveltPolio at age 39, president at age 50. Explore the public and private life of a determined man who steered this country through two monumental crises: the Depression and World War II. FDR served as president longer than any other, and his legacy still shapes our understanding of the role of government and the presidency. A film by award winning filmmaker David Grubin. This is the first of two parts.
- DirectorDavid GrubinStarsDavid McCulloughWinston ChurchillAdolf HitlerPolio at age 39, president at age 50. Explore the public and private life of a determined man who steered this country through two monumental crises: the Depression and World War II. FDR served as president longer than any other, and his legacy still shapes our understanding of the role of government and the presidency. A film by award winning filmmaker David Grubin. This is the second of two parts.
- DirectorRocky CollinsStarsEllen BurstynAnn BraudeJon ButlerNineteenth-century Spiritualism. Life after death proved by "science."
- DirectorPearl BowserBestor CramStarsToni Cade BambaraRobert HallElton FaxA documentary about the history of African American race films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
- 1987– 1h 30m8.1 (103)TV EpisodeDirectorThomas LennonStarsDavid McCulloughGuy Franz ArendOmar N. BradleyDocumentary chronicling the history of World War II's "Battle of the Bulge", when the German army launched a major surprise counteroffensive against the American forces that caught them almost completely off-guard, sweeping away major portions of the front line, pushing deep into the rear areas and causing tens of thousands of casualties before it was finally halted.
- StarsSusan Sarandon
- StarsDavid Ogden StiersBrendan GillDavid LoweA documentary chronicling the events surrounding the murder of famed architect Stanford White by millionaire Harry Thaw over the affections of showgirl Evelyn Nesbitt in New York in 1906.
- DirectorJohn W. WalterStarsPeter CoyoteThomas A. EdisonThe story of Thomas Edison's creation of a safe electric light system.
- StarsDavid McCulloughWilliam Stanley MerwinTom WickerAmerican Experience looks at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Vice President Hubert Humphrey won his party's nomination for president amid massive civil unrest and violence perpetrated by Chicago Police and anti-Vietnam War protesters.
- DirectorJanet GrahamEdward GrayStarsStacy KeachCharles Loring Brace IVMatt CarlsonIn the 1850s, thousands of homeless children roamed New York City streets in search of food and shelter. The Children's Aid Society sent the children on trains to rural areas, where families would take in the orphans.
- DirectorBarak GoodmanStarsRichard J. DaleyRichard BarnettGeorge BellDocumentary about Chicago's mayor, Richard J. Daley.
- DirectorMichael EpsteinThomas LennonStarsRichard Ben CramerWilliam AllandThomas AndersonDocumentary about the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). Features interviews with Welles' and Hearst's co-workers also as a relative complete bio of Hearst.
- DirectorNancy PorterStarsGarrison KeillorDavid McCullough
- DirectorLinda GarmonStarsDavid McCulloughRoy ScheiderThe story of America's high-altitude U-2 spy plane.
- 1987– 1h 50m8.5 (117)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid GrubinStarsDavid McCulloughJohn Morton BlumJohn Milton CooperAn assassin's bullet ended the life of William McKinley in 1901, making his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, an "accidental" president at the age of 42.
- 1987–8.3 (63)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid GrubinStarsJason RobardsThe film of the ships in New York harbor at the time of T.R.'s return is run backwards, as the smoke is seen going back into the smoke stacks.
- 1987–6.8 (17)TV EpisodeDirectorAustin HoytStarsDavid McCulloughDavid Ogden Stiers