The American President (Boxed Set)
List Price:
Our Price: $29.99
You Save: $50.00 (63%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $23.50 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Andrew Young, Dale Bumpers, Morley Safer, Robert MacNeil, Walter CronkiteBrand: PBS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 600 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
Movie Reviews of The American President (Boxed Set)
Movie Review: Favorite thing on my DVD shelf
Summary: 5 Stars
We'll always have documentaries (the superb PBS American Experience docs) on Kennedy, Nixon, FDR, Truman, Lincoln, T.R., Reagan etc etc... but where else can you spend any time on Franklin Pierce, Chester Alan Arthur, Rutherford B Hayes, or Benjamin Harrison? Each President gets at least around 15 minutes. Want some William Henry Harrison... a guy that was only President for a month? Well you got him. And that is the best thing about this set. Sure it's better to watch the 4-hour LBJ on The American Experience than to watch him on this... but where are you gonna find some quality time dedicated to Grover Cleveland or James Buchanan? Only here.
Next best thing? The Kurnhardts have the most amazing photo collections at their disposal... second to none... and they also spared no travel expense to gather film on location.
Least best thing? Like so many other reviewers here, I have to say the fact that they are chronilogically out of order is frustrating. It would be more fun to watch through time as each administration has to deal with so much of the previous administrations issues.
Summary of The American President (Boxed Set)
Who were the U.S. presidents? What did they accomplish? What qualities defined them, both as public figures and private men? In this made-for-PBS documentary series, brilliantly adapted from the acclaimed book The American President, these questions and others related to the presidents are answered with rare insight and intimacy. As in the book, the 41 lives of the 42 presidencies (Grover Cleveland served on separate occasions as the 22nd and 24th president) are not presented chronologically but are, rather, episodically linked by common personal traits and circumstances of their terms in office. For example, an episode called "The Heroic Posture" explores the careers of four presidents--Washington, Harrison, Grant, and Eisenhower--who came to their positions as a result of heroism in the service of their country. "Happenstance" looks at five presidents who moved from the vice-presidency to the White House upon the death of the president, and how these ascensions tested their worthiness as politicians. "An Independent Cast of Mind" weighs the pros and cons of presidencies marked by a lack of the messy political maneuvering that is apparently necessary for presidential success (none of the four portrayed--including John Adams and Jimmy Carter--achieved a second term).This focus on the prominent aspects of these exceptional personalities brings an understanding of them that transcends their historical legacies. Broad portraits are painted here, the brushstrokes of which range from public policies and convictions to romantic indulgences (it's true--this kind of scandal is nothing new to the presidency) and even to certain presidents' smoking and drinking habits. Further bringing these stories to life is a seemingly exhaustive album of presidential photographs, voice characterizations by celebrated figures such as Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Walter Cronkite, and revealing interviews with living former presidents (and one sitting president). Thorough, balanced, and fair, this series is destined to become a historical documentary classic and is a must-see for anyone interested in American history and the story of the most powerful office in the modern world. --Ed Noble
Similar DVD Movies
American Experience - Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House DividedPBS; Release date: 2005-02-15; DVD
Best price: $20.48
Price in other shops:
Up From SlaveryDIG; Release date: 2011-09-13; DVD
Best price: $3.69
Price in other shops:
Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the PresidencyPBS; Release date: 2008-01-15; DVD
Best price: $12.98
Price in other shops:
America at War Megaset (History Channel)A&E; Release date: 2008-02-26; DVD
Best price: $42.49
Price in other shops:
New YorkParamount; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $39.49
Price in other shops:
Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of DiscoveryPAR; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $13.20
Price in other shops:
The Supreme CourtPBS; Release date: 2007-01-23; DVD
Best price: $38.74
Price in other shops:
Liberty! The American RevolutionLiberty; Release date: 2004-06-29; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Artist Not Provided - Presidents CollectionParamount; Release date: 2008-08-26; DVD
Best price: $49.29
Price in other shops:
The History Channel Presents The PresidentsA and E Home Video; Release date: 2005-05-31; DVD
Best price: $13.49
Price in other shops: