American Experience: Woodrow Wilson
by Mitch Wilson, Carl Byker
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Blair Brown, John Morton Blum, Louis Auchincloss, Rene Auberjonois, Victoria Bissell BrownDirector: Carl Byker, Mitch Wilson
Cinematographer: Mitch Wilson
Producer: Carl Byker
Editor: Isaac Mizrahi
Producer: Isaac Mizrahi
Producer: David Mrazek
Producer: Richard Kassebaum
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 180 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-08-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS (Direct)
Movie Reviews of American Experience: Woodrow Wilson
Movie Review: Too much focus on "passion," not enough on ideas
Summary: 3 Stars
This 2-disk history of the life and times of Woodrow Wilson is well-intended but flawed. The producers and writers spend way too much time on Wilson's pre-presidential career and provide a swift account of his presidential terms that leave more questions unanswered than not. There's too much emphasis on Wilson as a "passionate man"--so much that sometimes the biofilm feels uncomfortably like a gossipy video celebrity column. A lot of time is spent on Wilson's health, certainly an important issue but not deserving as much attention as it gets.
What's the opportunity cost of all this? Three come immediately to mind. First, although we're told that Wilson was a "progressive" candidate for the governorship of new Jersey and, afterwards, the White House, we're not given any good idea of what it meant to be a "progressive." All that we're told is that progressives felt that there was an oligarchy oppressing the working class, Second--and this, I think, is the single biggest failing of the film--the film in no way tries to account for the gross discrepancy between Wilson's "progressivism" and his endorsement of what was arguably the worst assault on civil liberties in this country's history. How could a president who preached the almost transcendental value of democracy agree to the Espionage and Sedition Acts which imprisoned or exiled thousands of people? Third, the film mentions Wilson's 14 Points, but says nothing about what they were--except for the last one, calling for the establishment of a League of Nations. What a bizarre oversight!
The upshot is that we learn a lot from the film about Wilson's private life but next to nothing about his intellectual life or his public policy positions. Disappointing.
Summary of American Experience: Woodrow Wilson
A gifted orator, Woodrow Wilson was supremely confident before crowds, yet uneasy in small groups. An intellectual with inflexible moral principles, he led America into World War I, threatening all that he cherished. This miniseries recalls the transformation of a history professor into one of America's greatest presidents, brought down by his stubborn search for peace and an incapacitating stroke. Narrated by Linda Hunt. Over 90 minutes of additional materials including featurettes on Civil Rights, Suffrage, and Third Party PoliticsDVD Video
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