The Silver Screen Oasis

I watched the first two episodes of this brilliant TV documentary yesterday on Arte TV. Thanks to the new digital service, I could even watch it in English rather than dubbed in French. I had seen some Ken Burns documentaries before such as The War, and I wasn't disappointed by this excellent documentary which combines all the right elements: excellent background research, spot-on experts and elegant and well-written narration. The first episode 'A Nation of Drunkards' explores the relationship of the American nation with alcohol early on. It's part of American culture. There are various attempt by societies to promote temperance, but it doesn't work. Also the state earns revenue from tax on alcohol. But after the creation of the income tax, it becomes possible to ban alcohol. At that point various pressure group such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League manage to push the idea of an amendment to the constitution. The law came into effect in January 1920. In the second episode 'A Nation of Scofflaws', I discovered that parliament dedicated a tiny amount of money to enforce that law banning all alcohol. As a result, it wasn't really enforced at all. In NY, alcohol still flooded speakeasies and bars. In some cities, such as Seattle, a man became a bootlegger on a grand scale. He was a former policeman! His friends ranged from the mayor, the local judge, etc. That episode stops in 1924. We can already see that people are still drinking and even President Harding is having his whiskey when playing cards...
I can't wait for the rest nest Saturday! If you've never seen the series, try to catch it on TV. I noticed it's a PBS production: no wonder.

I've watched Burns documentaries before, they're always detailed and well presented, I'd love to watch this one and hopefully the BBC will buy the rights to show it soon.

I watched one episode and was enthralled. Ken Burns does exceptional work. Everybody notes THE CIVIL WAR, but the WW2 series was just as good.

Thank You Ann Harding to bring it to my Attention. I have PBS and I will check it out. I love BURNS documentary work immensely.

I saw the last three episodes yesterday evening. It was a big chunk to swallow in one go, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The rise of the criminal organisations thanks to prohibition was very well highlighted. One particular example was really illuminating. A crooked lawyer discovered a loophole in the law banning alcohol. Alcohol could still be sold as a remedy with a prescription. So he decided to buy the (giant) stocks of beer, alcohol, wine, etc. still owned by breweries and distilleries. At the same time, he acquired pharmaceutical companies. Then, he just had to shift the stock from one to the other and organize transfer to sell his huge stock to bootleggers. He made millions in less than a year while bribing the attorney general. It was interesting to see the call to repeal the law was organised by a woman. She was originally a republican, but she became more and more embittered by the hypocrisy of people who were fervent supporters of the law while always expecting alcohol at her table. The rise of the flappers was also an element. In speakeasies, women could drink unlike in the old saloons. So the call to repeal the law was using the same arguments as the people who supported it: protect our youth!
Some speakers said that Prohibition was a law that tried to tell people what they should do. It was a huge error. If 10% of the population is alcoholic, you have to help them and not ban something that it is not a problem for 90%. It just helped a lot of small-time criminals to become rich and violence increased.
That's a documentary that makes you think. That's the best compliment I can bestow.

The rise of the criminal organisations thanks to prohibition

Now we have the same thing with the drug trade. Do we ever learn?

You're right, Red River. I was thinking the same thing when the programme was over. I wonder if we ever learn from past errors. I guess the drug problem is vast and complex. But there has been several attempts in various European countries to control the trade of marijuana. It's certainly a way to go rather than just banning and giving way to dealers, mafias, etc.

The subject of prohibition has crossed my path again. Last night I watched THE LITTLE GIANT, an Edward G. Robinson comedy about a "beer baron" after the amendment is repealed. Not a great movie, by any means. But more than watchable. Robinson is outstanding as always. So is Mary Astor. I've seen MALTESE FALCON so many times, I'm surprised when she shows compassion. She achieves real sensitivity, in DODSWORTH as well as this, and plays "nice girl" quite well.

Robinson's gangster comedies are hit and miss. This one is OK. A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER is not bad. The topper is LARCENY, INC. Witty, quirky, lightning paced romp, precisely played by all. A plot so clever Woody Allen committed his own case of larceny when he stole it fifty years later!

After your thirst for Ken Burns has been "quenched" with Prohibition (2011), you might want to look for the upcoming two-part, four-hour documentary on The Dust Bowl (2012), which is being aired on PBS on November 18 and 19, 2012 later this week. You can see more here:

http://video.pbs.org/program/dust-bowl/

I hope that this will be available in France soon too. In our house Burns documentaries on Baseball (1994) and Jazz (2001) are tops too. The documentarian is currently working on a look at Vietnam, which is expected to be premiered in 2016. This still painful chapter in history will undoubtedly touch many since this war is still in living memory for so many people.

moirafinnie wrote:
The documentarian is currently working on a look at Vietnam, which is expected to be premiered in 2016. This still painful chapter in history will undoubtedly touch many since this war is still in living memory for so many people.

And sadly, many are still living it in their minds..

I've managed to watch the first 2 episodes of Prohibition, it's surprisng how far we've come, possibly because of prohibition in our approach to addiction and how to manage the problem, why did they think it would work. Yet I had heaps of admiration for Carry Nation and some of the sisterhood who carried the fight on the ground against the saloonkeepers, only the legislature and some of the politicans voted not with their heart but for there own sakes, nothing changed there then. I've watched a few of his documentaries now, I like the subjects he chooses, I like the photographs and nostalgia that the documentaries provoke and would always choose to watch them for the knowledge they impart but I do find them a bit dry (no pun intended!). I also saw pictures of William Jennings Bryan and realise just how closely Fredric March resembled him in Inherit the Wind.

I hadn't watched thw first 2 episodes when I wrote the above, there are just the longest episodes I've ever known. I do think the first episode was a bit dry but the second two made up for it. There's nothing I like more than to be really carried back to a time gone by with picture upon picture taken from the time, transporting us back in time and a wealth of detail. Once prohibition was a reality there were more strands to follow in the episodes, the guys who were the bootleggers, the law enforcers, the reality for people, the economy and the waste, the bending of the law, the kind of people who broke the law.

Another thing that Ken Brns must be given credit for (Britain's documentary makers take note) is the fact that the talking heads are just that, they appear on screen briefly and then we are back to pictures of the time described. I can't count the amount of times I have switched on documentaries for a trip of nostalgia to be greeted more than half the time with some half famous now past celebrity telling us what it meant to them or what they felt about it instead of letting us look at the footage of what we switched on for. I shall descend from my soap box now

the first episode was a bit dry

Ha! Ha!

I know, I apologised for the bad joke in the previous post.

Long may Ken Burns continue making documentaries, the first one I watched was the Jazz one, it set the tone.