THE
INHERITANCE
 Now
available on DVD! Harold Mayer’s classic documentary
film (l964) shows what life was really like for immigrants
and working Americans from the turn of the century through
the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. This stirring history
of our country shows their struggle to put down roots, form
labor unions, survive wars, and finally, create a new and
better life for themselves and our nation.
The film is a much honored first prize winner at
festivals around the world. The London Financial Times wrote: "It must become one of
the films of our time. Anyone who failed to be moved by it is spiritually dead." The
NY Times: "Memorable---with shattering pictorial effects."
THE INHERITANCE explores a landscape largely unknown to
the present generation---the dim sweatshops, coal mines and textile mills filled with
children; the anxious years of the depression and labor’s bloody struggle for the
right to organize; the battlefields of WW I and II; the seldom seen newsreel footage of
the Memorial Day massacre at The Republic Steel strike in Chicago; the civil rights
struggle--- as every generation fights again to preserve and extend its freedoms. This is
the film’s theme.
Judy Collins sings this theme song, as well as more
great music sung by Judy, Pete Seeger,Tom Paxton and others. The innovative use of still
photos and rare stock footage broke new ground that influenced filmaking for years to
come. Dialogued stills and footage feature the voices of many great actors. Narrated by
Robert Ryan. Shown in theatres and TV.
L’CHAIM
---TO LIFE!
Now available on DVD!
This remarkable history of the Eastern European Jews
from l870 to l970, shows their marvelous resilience in the
face of overwhelming realities. Always armed with a survivor’s
sense of humor and an ability to start anew and learn anew
and live anew, their story is an inspirational one.
From the time of the shtetl, they struggled to be
allowed to learn a skill, get an education, escape the pogroms. They endured the trauma of
World War I, the horror of the Warsaw Ghetto, the demoralization of the DP camps, the
unending efforts to retain one’s dignity. Finally, many of those who survived escaped
to Israel through blocades and internment in Cyprus, to be part of the founding of that
new nation. Through the marvelous stills of Roman Vishniac and others, as well as old and
rare footage, their story is captured here.
"Should be shown every day forever", the NY
Daily News; "A stab at the heart and the mind", NY Times; "Shocks the
sensibilities and harrows the heart", Christian Science Monitor. The American Film
Festival judges, upon awarding the Blue Ribbon prize, " truly historic. A most
perfect blend of stills, commentary, music, humor, et al. Should be seen over and
over." And it was. By an estimated 40 million people.
Eli Wallach narrates. Dialogued stills and
footage feature the voices of many great actors. Written by Lynne Rhodes Mayer.
Produced and directed by Harold Mayer for WAO.
MOVIN’
ON
 This roaring railroad film (1968)
reveals the incredible history of railroading from the l830s til today. The Hell on Wheels
towns, the Chinese and Irish immigrants building a railroad with their sweat and brawn but
battling each other along the way, the robber barons and their union busting, Mr. Pullman
and his Pullman car, the glitter of the "golden age", Eugene V. Debs, the
glory days of the passenger trains of the l930s and 40s. It’s all here and more.
Using stills and footage of the period and the words of those who lived and worked through
those times, MOVIN’ ON presents history through the eyes of the farmers, the
politicians, the adventurers, the miners, the venture capitalists, the unions, the
immigrants, the crooks and the heroes who built our land, and the railroads.
A special l0 minute section of the film deals with the
building of the transcontinental railroad. Harold Mayer combines artistry and
history using the astounding photos of the period, including prints off A. J. Russell's
original glass plate negatives which were found again and printed for this film.
The Smithsonian Institution has called it "one of
the finest railroading films ever made."
MOVIN’ ON shows the social history of the United
States as it pushed its borders to the frontiers and consolidated its finances on both
coasts. Your ears as well as your eyes will be delighted by the glorious music of the
times, played and sung by the New Lost City Ramblers with Mike Seeger and Bonnie Dobson.
Arthur Kennedy narrates. Get ready for a wild ride.
IS THERE AN AMERICAN STONEHENGE?
Harold Mayer and his crew trekked
high into the windswept Wyoming mountains to film an intriguing experiment. Could the well
known astronomer-historian Prof. John Eddy prove his theory? He believed the ancient
Native American national monument, the Medicine Wheel atop Big Horn Mountain, was not just
a famous religious shrine. He claimned it had also been an early astronomical
laboratory. He was going to prove it.
With no university or organizational backing, Eddy had used his own
money and the willing hands of his young family to do his research. Now, based on his
computer findings and three years of experimentation, he agreed to let a TV documentary
show whether he was right or wrong.
Join the crew as they set up in the bitter cold and wind, as the
snow falls in June on that mountaintop. This is the eve of the summer solstice. The
cameras will record whether or not the rays of the rising sun will indeed strike between
the ancient stones that had been set so many centuries ago. If so this site was
built to measure the arrival of the summer solstice.
The stunning scene climaxes as the sun rises in the heavens, sending
its rays directly over the center post between the stones, as predicted by Prof. Eddy.
It proved the astronomical acumen of the Native American as scientist. The viewer
shares directly in that moment of scientific history. |
