Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Lorentz, Pare
2. Thomson, Virgil, 1896-1989
3. Stoney, George C.
4. Fussell, Charles.
5. King, Floyd
6. Gil-Ordóñez, Angel.
7. Horowitz, Joseph, 1948-
8. Post-Classical Ensemble.
9. Naxos Digital Services.

Description

1. 1 videodisc (113 min.) : sound, black and white with color sequences; 4 3/4 in. +

Summary

1. The plow that broke the plains depicts the social and economic history of the Great Plains from the settlement of the prairies by cattlemen and farmers through the World War I boom to drought and depression. The river traces life in the Mississippi River Valley during the previous 150 years, showing the consequences of sharecropping, soil exhaustion, unchecked erosion and floods, and concludes with scenes of regional planning, TVA development and federal efforts.

Alternative title

1. Plow that broke the plains ; The river
2. The river.

Subject

1. Historical films
2. Documentary films
3. Great Plains > Social conditions
4. Land use > Mississippi River Valley
5. Water resources development > Mississippi River Valley
6. Mississippi River > History
7. Great Plains > Economic conditions

Genre/Form

1. Documentary films.
2. Historical films.

Contents

1. The Plow that Broke the Plains (27 min.) -- The River (32 min.) -- George Stoney on The Plow and The River (15 min.) -- Stoney on the New Deal, The River, and race (6 min.) -- Charles Fussell on Virgil Thomson (18 min.) -- Virgil Thomson on Virgil Thomson (audio only) (8 min.) --The original ending of The Plow that Broke the Plains (4 min.) --The original beginning of The Plow that Broke the Plains (3 min.)

Owning institution

1. Columbia University Libraries

Note

1. Soundtracks recreated by Post-Classical Ensemble, Angel Gil-Ordóñez, music director, Joseph Horowitz, artistic director.

Credits (note)

1. Writer/director, Pare Lorentz ; music, Virgil Thompson.

System details (note)

1. DVD.