SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 1 Hour
Narrated by actor John Lithgow, TOPICS Entertainment released this documentary to DVD in 2011. Providing a historical overview, Lithgow and a select group of historians describe the beginning, the bleak middle, and lasting impact of California’s sudden prominence (including imminent statehood) come 1849.
Included are side profiles of would-be agricultural tycoon John Sutter, whose vast properties were utterly trampled by prospectors, and ultra-rich merchant Samuel Brannan, who represents the flipside of the phenomenon: selling shovels and other mining supplies to desperate clientele.
Also represented are the inclusion of the nation’s most diverse population up to that time; drastic changes in California’s economy; the tragic encroachment/genocide upon the region’s Native Americans; and the environmental fallout from hydraulic mining.
Steven Boettcher and Michael Trinklein tag-team writing, directing, and producing the film, as well as handling its cinematography. The participating historians are: J.S. Holiday; JoAnn Levy; Merrill Mattes; Sylvia Sun Minnick; Charles Martin, Sr.; and Denis O. Watcher. Providing voice-overs are Jim Pickering, Michael LaGue, & Michael W. Nash.
REVIEW:
John Lithgow’s articulate, down-to-earth presence spells out the tragedies and occasional triumphs amidst a worldwide descent upon a pristine California of 1849 and ensuing years. Anchored by a scenic blend of contemporary video footage mixed with vintage photographs, the even-handed insights from various historians offer a welcome balance.
Taking a classy approach examining the greatest get-rich-quick mentality in world history, this all-ages documentary is an ideal viewing experience for armchair historians.
BONUS FEATURES:
On the main menu screen, besides scene selection, there are options to view the documentary’s trailer and an epilogue detailing the ironically bleak fates of John Sutter and Samuel Brannan.
PACKAGING:
The DVD is held in a sturdy casing. The documentary’s contents are accurately advertised.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6 Stars
