The Mormons
by Helen Whitney
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Helen WhitneyBrand: Paramount
Editor: Ted Winterburn
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 240 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-17
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Pbs (Direct)
Movie Reviews of The Mormons
Movie Review: Four Hours on the Latter Day Saints
Summary: 5 Stars
The Mormons is a four-hour PBS documentary on the history and culture of the LDS Church. The first two hours focus on the history of the church from its founding by Joseph Smith to the time that the church renounced polygamy so that Utah could gain statehood. The last two hours examine contemporary Mormon culture. My wife and I watched all four hours and we both recommend this film.
The Amazon.com reviews of this film seem to run the gamut. I do not think that The Mormons is a "hatchet job" on the LDS Church. I do think, however, that devout Mormons will be disappointed in the film, as the filmmakers heavily focus on the human failings of Mormon leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. The film also details how the Mormons harshly deal with apostates and those who do not fit in the traditional Mormon mold (such as gays and lesbians).
I knew some of the basic outlines of the Mormon story prior to watching this film. I did learn some interesting things, however. I was surprised at how many of the Mormon converts later renounce the faith. I was also surprised to learn that, for Mormons, social life completely revolves around their church; in effect, a Mormon works a second full-time job as an LDS member. Finally, I was surprised to learn that the rate of conversion of non-Mormons has been falling in recent years.
For those who want to learn about the past and present of the LDS Church, The Mormons is a very good place to start.
Summary of The Mormons
Mormons have always had a strange hold on the American imagination as licentious polygamists and pioneer heroes subversives and super patriots hard workers and possessors of dark secrets. Yet though Mormons have been persecuted more than any other religious group in the nation s history and though Mormonism is one of the fastest growing faiths most Americans know little about the religion. In this revealing provocative AMERICAN EXPERIENCE/FRONTLINE co-production producer Helen Whitney (Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero) digs deep into the Mormon past to understand the church today. As she reveals though the Mormons early story is gaudy extravagant and scandalous it is also inspiring and the basis of their theology. At a crossroads the Mormon Church is now finally confronting its history-what is fact and what is myth?-and reconciling scientific and historical truth with religious doctrine. With unprecedented access to church archives and with the cooperation of church leadership Whitney paints a more complex portrait of Mormonism than ever before a portrait that neither vilifies the church nor extols it and in doing so she reveals that the Mormon story is an American story and that Mormonism is perhaps the most American of religions.System Requirements:Running Time: 240 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 841887052092 Manufacturer No: 705209Documentary DVD Video
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