Videos on Politics

At home in utopia c2008

Focuses on the United Workers Cooperative Colony, aka the Coops, the most grass-roots and member-driven of the Jewish labor housing cooperatives, where many of the residents were Communists or sympathetic to the communist movement. Beginning as a stalwartly secular East European Jewish working class enclave, they were part of an international movement. This film bears witness to lives lived with courage across the barriers of race, nation, language, convention, and sometimes even common sense.  1 videodisc (57 min.)

MEDIA 10-4288

 

The Atomic cafe 1993 and 2002 Anniversary edition

Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, and Pierce Rafferty

Artfully culled from newsreel footage and government archives of the 1940s and 50s, this film serves up the dark side of Cold War America in all its fear and paranoia about the atomic bomb, and manages to blend this with a deep black humor. 1 videocassette (85 min.)

DANA   MEDIA      MEDIA 1513          2-117         10-280

 

The great communist bank robbery c2006

Alexandru Solomon, Stéphan Levine, Marius Stanescu, Films d'ici (Firm), Libra Films, and Cinema Guild

"In 1959, an armored car carrying 1.6 million Romanian lei (approximately $250,000 in 1959 US dollars) was held up in front of the Romanian National Bank in Bucharest. Within weeks, the police announced the arrest of six individuals, five men and one woman. All six were prominent members of the Romanian Communist Party.". 1 videodisc (76 min.)

MEDIA 10-1128

 

Happiness Le bonheur 2007

Alexander Medvedkin,  Gleb Troyanski, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Georges Bernand, Chris Marker, Andrei Pachkevitch, Alfred Schnittke, Marina Evseevna Goldovskaia , Pascal Aubier, Christian Hirou, Peter Zinoviev, Elena Georgievna Egorova, Nikolai Izvolov, K. K Paramonova, Viktor Dyomin, Moskino Kombinat, Films de l'Astrophore, Michael Kustow Productions, Epidem Films, Sept/Arte (Firm), Société de lancement des oeuvres nouvelles, Iskra Films, Icarus Films, and Arte Video (Firm)

"This two-disc set includes Chris Marker's tribute to Russian film director Alexander Medvedkin, Medvedkin's silent classic 'Happiness' (1934), and loads of extras." ;  "Based on the life and work of the Russian film director Alexander Medvedkin (1900-1989), 'The last bolshevik' is a tribute from one filmmaker to another. An archeological expedition into film history that reveals new cinematic treasures, the film prompts a reflection on the relation between art and politics in the former Soviet Union. The film captures the commitment, energy, struggles, illusions and disillusions of a believing but never naďve bolshevik. From Medvedkin's classic 1934 satire 'Happiness', and the 'film train' which he directed in the 1930s, to his sardonic comedies and bitter war newsreels, Chris Marker draws a panorama of the artistic, political, and moral universe of a life and a country, bringing it right up to date with his own vision of Russia today. An intricate work with many levels and layers, 'The last bolshevik' is also a distillation of the art and beliefs of one of the greatest documentarians of our time, Chris Marker, who has revolutionized documentary as his near-contemporary Jean-Luc Godard transformed film fiction, crossing boundaries and mixing genres."--Icarus Films website, viewed 20 May 2009. 1 videodisc (DVD) (64 min.) 1 videodisc (DVD) (120 min.)

MEDIA 10-2236  10-1203

 

Legacy of the Hollywood blacklist 1987

Looks at the personal tragedies and triumphs which resulted from the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings, 1947-1951, as seen through the eyes of the wives and children of the Hollywood writers, producers, and directors who were the victims of these hearings. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 10-3558

 

My perestroika  2011

Robin Hessman, Rachel Wexler, Jenny Westergård, Ljova, Red Square Productions, Bungalow Town Productions Ltd, Independent Television Service, Yleisradio Oy, American Documentary, Inc, and P.O.V. (Firm)

Follows five ordinary Russians living in extraordinary times, from their sheltered Soviet childhood, to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teenage years, to the constantly shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. Together, these childhood classmates paint a complex picture of the dreams and disillusionments of those raised behind the Iron Curtain. 1 videodisc (87 min.) :

MEDIA 10-3142

 

Point of order 1998

Emile De Antonio and  Daniel Talbot

"For five incredible weeks, millions of Americans tuned in to watch as U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy's crusade to expose Communist subversion in the U.S. Army, backfired against the pressure of televised media. With Roy Cohn at his side, McCarthy's innuendos and unsubstantiated claims against the Army were no match for Army Special Counsel, Joe Welch. The meek and mild spoken Welch unmasked McCarthyism and further pushed Joe McCarthy into political oblivion"--Container. 1 videocassette (97 min.)

MEDIA  DANA    MEDIA 10-1878   1488         D-8

 

Poland, the morning after 1990?

As Communism crumbles in Poland, "Frontline" considers the hope and promise of the new Solidarity government and examines the deep economic troubles that threaten Poland's young democracy. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 10-3553

 

The revolutionary c2012

In this documentary film, "Sidney Rittenberg reflects on his remarkable life as an American member of the Chinese Communist Party. From the mid-1940s through the end of the Mao era, Rittenberg had remarkable access to the highest reaches of political power in Beijing. Ranging from his conversations with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to his two long imprisonments under suspicion of espionage, Rittenberg provides a fascinating window onto China's continuing revolution under Mao."--Film website. 1 videodisc (92 min.)

MEDIA 10-4826

Die allseitig reduzierte Persönlichkeit, redupers The allround reduced personality 1998

Helke Sander, Joachim Baumann, and Frank Burckner

A free-lance photojournalist struggles to realize herself as an artist and as a woman straddling multiple worlds- work, womanhood, motherhood, East, West, capitalism and socialism. 1 videocassette (ca. 98 min.)

MEDIA 2-5216

 

Arthur Miller and 'The Crucible' naming names 1997

Arthur Miller, C. W. E Bigsby, Andree Molyneux, Leonard Kingston, T. R McKenna, Ron Berglas, and Lyndon Brook

Interweaves excerpts from the BBC production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible with dramatizations of the congressional hearings on "un-American" activities involving Arthur Miller to show the fundamental themes in common with both. 1 videocassette (29 min.)

DANA 1679

 

At the brink 1989, 1988

The events that led to the Cuban missile crisis and the tense cat-and-mouse confrontation between Kennedy and Khrushchev are explored. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 2-791

 

The Atomic cafe 1993 and 2002 Anniversary edition

Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, and Pierce Rafferty

Artfully culled from newsreel footage and government archives of the 1940s and 50s, this film serves up the dark side of Cold War America in all its fear and paranoia about the atomic bomb, and manages to blend this with a deep black humor. 1 videocassette (85 min.)

DANA   MEDIA      MEDIA 1513          2-117         10-280

 

Believing 1991

Mischa Scorer, Patrick Lui, Anthony Quayle , and Mike Chinoy

Considers the Cultural Revolution's impact on China and the reaction to it which elevates production and profit to a new importance, while continuing the Communist political education of the young. 1 videocassette (29 min.)

MEDIA 2-2316

 

A Bigger bang for the buck 1989, 1988

For the first time in the nuclear age, Americans were forced to accept that their nuclear advantage was not perpetually assured. The successful Soviet launch of Sputnik led to U.S. fears of a "bomber gap" and later a "missile gap.". 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 2-789

 

Born under the red flag 1997

Sue Williams, Kathryn Pierce Dietz, and Will Lyman

Recounts the years between 1976 and 1997, following the death of Mao Zedong.  Under Deng Xiaoping's leadership China witnessed sweeping economic and social changes, but under the firm control of the Communist party. Chronicles the growing student movements and party crackdown at Tiananmen Square as individuals challenge the meaning and value of commmunism in China. 1 videocassette (114 min.)

MEDIA 2-3350

 

Brave new world, 1945 1998

David Espar, Peter Pagnamenta, Zvi Dor-Ner, Angus Macqueen, and Alfre Woodard

Just over fifty years ago, Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe and rejoiced at the defeat of Nazi Germany but their optimism was short lived. This film tracks the building tensions between these two superpowers, from the post-war world of the late 1940s through the early 1960s, as the hope for peace swiftly disintegrated into a "cold" war. Here eyewitnesses recall the meeting on the Elbe, the impact of Stalin, Churchill and Khrushchev, propaganda wars between the two nations, the Berlin blockade, the Hungarian uprising and the installation of the Berlin Wall. 1 videocassette (56 min)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3849 2-4282

 

China after Tiananmen 1992

Irv Drasnin

Three years after the suppression of the student democracy movement in Tiananmen Square, veteran China-watcher/producer Irv Drasnin returns to China to find a country torn by the conflicting realities of liberal economic reform and continuing political repression.  Drasnin finds private enterprise and consumerism booming in China in contrast to the failing state-run companies and discovers a growing generation gap of beliefs, expectations and lifestyles. 1 videocassette (88 min.)

DANA 480

 

China in revolution 1989

Sue Williams and Kathryn Dietz

This documentary recounts the 38 years between 1911 and 1949, during which China was transformed from a centuries-old empire into the world's largest Communist state.  It was a transformation that affected hundreds of millions of people. 2 videocassettes (58 min. ea.)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-839 cassette 1 2-840 cassette 2

 

Classics of early Soviet cinema 1996, between 1925 and 1930

Dziga Vertov, Sergei Eisenstein, Esfir Il inichna Shub, Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin, Natan Zarkhi, and Oleksandr Petrovych Dovzhenko

Man with the movie camera is a documentary without a plot, showing through a succession of street and interior scenes, the tricks which the camera is capable of, creating a boldly detailed portrait of the Moscow of the 1920s. In Strike a 1912 work stopage by Russian factory workers is brutally put down by the authorities. The Fall of the Romanov dynasty is a documentary portrait of the fall of the Russian Czarist regime and the rise of communist rule using clips from many films, including personal footage by the Czar's own cameramen. The End of Saint Petersburg, follows a young worker and his growing dedication to the revolutionary movement in Russia in the years 1914-1917. In Earth trouble arises in a Ukrainian village when a landowner refuses to hand over his land for a collective farm. This film features scenes of rustic beauty and of life and death in the Ukrainian countryside. 4 videodiscs (ca. 398 min.)

MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA 7-137 disc 1 7-138 disc 2 7-139 disc 3 7-140 disc 4

 

Cold War 1998

Jeremy Isaacs, Martin Smith, and Kenneth Branagh

Documentary series which examines the Cold War and its influence on history, culture, technology, economics, and the modern psyche. 12 videocassettes (93 min. each)

DANA     MEDIA 1099 12 cassettes;  2-5945 to 2-5952  8 cassettes

 

Committed 1991

Sheila McLaughlin, Lynne Tillman, Victoria Boothby, Lee Breuer, and John Erdman

Powerful story of film star/leftist iconoclast Frances Farmer.  Unlike Hollywood's Frances, goes beyond the personal story to explore the political and social attitudes of the 1930's. 1 videocassette (75 min.)

MEDIA 2-2717

 

Cuba va the challenge of the next generation 1993

Gail Dolgin, Judith Montell, and Vicente Franco

A controversial look at Cuba's future from the dynamic perspective of Cuban youth.  Committed socialists and disillusioned dissidents debate the merits of socialism vs capitalism, the need for changes, internal difficulties and international politics.  Interviews and debates interweave with views of Cuban youth culture. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 2-2266

 

D'Est 1993

Chantal Akerman, Radio télévision portugaise, Paradise Films, Lieurac Productions, Sept/Arte (Firm), and First Run/Icarus Films

This experimental documentary is a compendium of striking images of Eastern Europe and its citizens in transition, following the collapse of the so-called Cold War. 1 videocassette (110 min.)

MEDIA 2-7722

 

David Halberstam's the fifties. Volume 1, The fear and the dream [videorecording] /  1997

David Halberstam, Tracy Dahlby, Alex Gibney, Nancy Button, and Barbara Sears

In the postwar U.S., new affluence mingled with the fear of the new menace of communism. Discusses the nuclear arms race, anti-Communist hysteria and McCarthyism, and events leading to the Korean War. 1 videocassette (90 min)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3632    2-6175

 

David Halberstam's the fifties. Volume 2, Selling the American way [videorecording] /This episode of The Fifties shows how the invention of television and the perfection of the art of advertising were used in both commerce and politics. 1997

David Halberstam, Tracy Dahlby, Alex Gibney, Nancy Button, and Barbara Sears

his episode of The Fifties shows how the invention of television and the perfection of the art of advertising were used in both commerce and politics. 1 videocassette (90 min)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3632    2-6175

 

Democracy in Poland learning to be free 1992

Jeanne Waligroski

Documentary about Poland's transition from communism to democracy.  Discusses changes in political structure and economic policy, as well as religious and journalistic institutions. 1 videocassette (ca. 30 min.)

MEDIA 2-3193

 

Diamonds in the dark 1999

Olivia Carrescia

Romanian women tell the story of their lives under the Communist regime and the changes that came after the fall of Ceausescu. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 2-5239

 

East side story 1998, 1997

Dana Ranga, Andrew Horn, and Guido Krajewski

A documentary of Soviet and eastern bloc communist musicals films. 1 videocassette (79 min.)

MEDIA 2-3440

 

Estonia, a story of survival 1990

Steven Kostant, John F Ross, Penelope Lane Czarra, and Robert Siegel

Estonia's experiences during WWII are included in segments on "Hitler and Stalin 1939", archival footage impounded by the Soviets for over 40 years.  Also includes "Cogito Ergo Sum", the reflections of an Estonian intellectual who refused to be co-opted by communism. 1 videocassette (53 min.)

MEDIA 2-2795

 

Facing the future 1991

George A Colburn and  Darrel Schwandt

In this final program, the events at Tiananmen Square are analyzed, with commentary offered on the probable future that awaits China in the wake of the bloody clash between reformers and hard-line Communists. 1 videocassette (29 min.)

MEDIA 2-2335

 

Fallout, 1945 1999

Alfre Woodard and Charles Furneaux

"The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the end of World War II--and heralded the beginning of the atomic age. As both superpowers prepared for Armageddon, the world lived in a heightened state of nuclear terror and governments scrambled to make preparations for doomsday"--Container. 1 videocassette (60 min)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-4178a 2-5626

 

A Generation of artists 1990

Steven Kostant, John F Ross, Penelope Lane Czarra, and Robert Siegel

Beginning with a personal chronicle of the immigration experience of two young Czech artists in Washington, D.C., an American filmmaker travels to Prague to see the 1989 Revolution through the eyes of his friends' parents.  Portrays how creative life was stifled under communism.  Includes footage of the 1989 student demonstrations. 1 videocassette (51 min.)

MEDIA 2-2803

 

The great communist bank robbery c2006

Alexandru Solomon, Stéphan Levine, Marius Stanescu, Films d'ici (Firm), Libra Films, and Cinema Guild

"In 1959, an armored car carrying 1.6 million Romanian lei (approximately $250,000 in 1959 US dollars) was held up in front of the Romanian National Bank in Bucharest. Within weeks, the police announced the arrest of six individuals, five men and one woman. All six were prominent members of the Romanian Communist Party.". 1 videodisc (76 min.)

MEDIA 10-1128

 

Great leap, 1965 1999

Alfre Woodard and Jennifer Clayton

In China, Communism gets another chance. Remembering Mao, the 1949 takeover, the "Great Leap Forward", the Cultural Revolution, and Tiananmen Square. 1 videocassette (60 min)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-4199a 2-5633

 

Hao nan hao nü 1999?

Hsiao-hsien Hou, Nenjing Yi, Qiang Lin, Gao Jie, and Biyu Jiang

This film consists of three intermingling stories: a film within a film as well as the past and present as linked by an actress in present-day Taipei.  The film in which she plays is about a couple who return to mainland China to participate in the anti-Japanese movement in the 1940s and are arrested as Communists when they return to Taiwan. Images of the film-in-progress contrast with images from the actress' own past, when she was a party girl involved with a gangster. 1 videocassette (108 min.)

MEDIA 2-5437

 

Hollywood on trial  1989

Gordon Kahn, John Huston, David Halpern, Ronald Reagan, Zero Mostel, and Otto Preminger

A courageous and true recording of the story of "The Hollywood Ten" who, in 1947, would not cooperate when accused by the United States government of possible Communist loyalties. 1 videocassette (90 min.)

MEDIA 2-1246

 

IA-Kuba I am Cuba 1995

Mikhaila Kalatozov, Marin Scorese, Francis Ford Coppola, Sergio Corrieri, Salvador Vud, José Gallardo, Raúl Garcia, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko, and Enrique Pineda Barnet

A series of vignettes illustrates the extremes of wealth and poverty, the exploitation, and the passions that led to the Cuban Revolution. 1 videocassette (141 min.)

MEDIA 2-2837

 

Legacy of the Hollywood blacklist 1987

Judy Chaikin and Eve Goldberg

Looks at the personal tragedies and triumphs which resulted from the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings, 1947-1951, as seen through the eyes of the wives and children of the Hollywood writers, producers, and directors who were the victims of these hearings. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA D-289

 

The Light that failed 1992

This program features world renowned experts who analyze how and why communism failed in the Soviet Union.  George Kennan, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Tatyana Tolstoya are among the distinguished guests. 1 videocassette (85 min.)

MEDIA 2-1796

 

Living 1991

Misha Scorer, Patrick Lui, Anthony Quayle, and Mike Chinoy

Under Communism, many economic and social changes have occurred. The government has been highly involved in fostering changes in the countryside such as public education, electrification and medical care. This program shows the results of these changes on the peasantry. 1 videocassette (29 min.)

MEDIA 2-2326

 

The Mao years, 1949-1976 1994

Sue Williams and Will Lyman

A documentary exploring the political and social history of Communist China under Mao Tse-tung. Part one traces the country's early successes under Mao to its subsequent impoverishment and famine of 1959 to 1961. Part two chronicles Cina's recovery under the policies of Mao's chosen successor Liu Shao-ch`i, Mao's reassertion of power with the Cultural Revolution, China's stabilization and opening to the world in the 1970's, and Mao's death in 1976. 1 videocassette (120 min.)

MEDIA 2-2510

 

The McCarthy years  1991

Walter Cronkite, Edward R Morrow, Bernard Birnbaum, Russ Bensley, and S Roberts

Uses original footage from the CBS Television Network's See it now series with Edward R. Morrow to explore the roots and results of Senator Joseph McCarthy's search for Communist influences in the federal government.  Cronkite highlights Morrow's groundbreaking work in television investigative reporting. 1 videocassette (114 min.)

MEDIA 2-2481

 

My Prague spring 1993

David Mrazek and Jan Kolár

"In its 'velvet revolution' of 1989, the people of Czechoslovakia toppled its communist dictatorship and embraced democracy and capitalism.  During that first spring of remarkable change, what was life like for an average Czech family?  A young Czech-American filmmaker travels to Prague to discover how his cousins are coping with a world turned upside-down."--Container. 1 videocassette (57 min.)

DANA 910

 

Nightmare in Red 1989, 1958

Henry Salomon, Richard Hanser, and Alexander Scourby

Traces the history of communism inside Russia, describing the old Czarist order, the revolutions of 1905 and 1917, the provisional government, the early days of the communist era, the purge trials, World War II, the aftermath of the war, and today's uncertainty.  1 videocassette (54 min.)

MEDIA 2-3683

 

People power, 1991  1999

Alfre Woodard and Angus Macqueen

In 1991, the Communist Party lost control of the Soviet Union, the culmination of a process that started in 1980 in the Polish shipyards.  Eyewitnesses tell the story of how the communist system that dominated post-war Eastern Europe collapsed as they remember the extraordinary weeks that preceded and followed the fall of the Berlin Wall, Poland's fight for solidarity, the struggle for power in the Soviet Union, and more. 1 videocassette (60 min)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-4204a 2-5638

 

Point of order 1998

Emile De Antonio and  Daniel Talbot

"For five incredible weeks, millions of Americans tuned in to watch as U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy's crusade to expose Communist subversion in the U.S. Army, backfired against the pressure of televised media. With Roy Cohn at his side, McCarthy's innuendos and unsubstantiated claims against the Army were no match for Army Special Counsel, Joe Welch. The meek and mild spoken Welch unmasked McCarthyism and further pushed Joe McCarthy into political oblivion"--Container. 1 videocassette (97 min.)

DANA    MEDIA 1488         D-8

 

Point of order c2005

Emile De Antonio, Daniel Talbot, Roy M Cohn, Joseph McCarthy, Joseph N Welch, Point Films, and New Yorker Video (Firm)

A compilation of TV coverage of the 1954 McCarthy-Army hearings, where the Army accuses Senator McCarthy of improperly pressuring the Army for special treatment of one of the senator's aides. 1 videodisc (ca. 97 min.)

MEDIA 10-1878

 

Poland democracy and change 1991

Vic Lockwood and Alison Tucker

Examines how three Polish families have been affecte by the move away from communist rule and economic order. Through interviews with members of each family, three aspects of this transition are explored: how rapidly chage has been experienced, how individual autonomy has been enhanced, and what democracy means to each of the families. 1 videocassette (25 min.)

MEDIA 2-2487

 

Poland, the morning after 1990?

Ofra Bikel

As Communism crumbles in Poland, "Frontline" considers the hope and promise of the new Solidarity government and examines the deep economic troubles that threaten Poland's young democracy. 1 videocassette (60 min.)

MEDIA 2-1559

 

Professor Edward Said in lecture the myth of the "Clash of civilizations" c1998

Edward W Said, Sut Jhally, and Media Education Foundation

In this lecture delivered at the University of Massachusetts, Edward Said in a critique of the groundbreaking book by Samuel Huntington takes aim at one of the central tenents of recent foreign policy thinking - that conflicts between different and clashing "civilizations" (Western, Islamic, Confucian) characterize the contemporary world. Said argues that collapsing complex, diverse and contradictory groups of people into vast, simplistic abstractions has disastrous consequences. Presenting instead a vision of the "coexistence" of difference, Said concludes with the fundamental challenge that faces humanity at the turn of the millennium. 1 videocassette (55 min.)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3626 2-7258

 

Pyongyang diaries a film 1998, 1997

Solrun Hoaas

A personal record of the director's encounter with the closed society of North Korea. Beginning with the death of leader Kim Il Sung, she visits national memorials and monuments and interviews artists and intellectuals about the role of their work. 1 videocassette (52 min.)

MEDIA 2-3703

 

The Quality of reporting to Tet 1984?

The program examines the quality of reporting events of the Vietnamese  War.  During this time, many war correspondents lived with accusations that their reporting was helping the enemy.  The media was also accused of helping to bring about Communist victory.  A panel of former war correspondents discuss their role in reporting during the Vietnamese War.  The panel consists of Philip Knightly (moderator), Morley Safer, Robert Scheer, Garrick Utley, and Barry Zorthian. 1 videocassette (120 min.)

MEDIA 2-76

 

Race for the superbomb 1999

Thomas Ott, David Ogden Stiers, and Richard Rhodes

Featuring newly discovered archival sources from Russia, civil defense films, and recently declassified military footage, "Race for the Superbomb" tells the story of a world at the brink of destruction. 2 videocassettes (113 min.)

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-4297 cassette 1 2-4298 cassette 2

 

Red flag, 1917 1998

David Espar, Peter Pagnamenta, Zvi Dor-Ner , John Forsythe, and Bill Treharne Jones

When Lenin's Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace in 1917, they did so in the name of a new ideology.