Product Details

• Actors: Liev Schreiber
• Directors: History
• Format: Color, Surround Sound, Widescreen, Anamorphic, DTS Surround Sound
• Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: September 14, 2010
• Run Time: 720 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003C27X4Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,817 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #29 in Movies & TV > Blu-ray > Documentary

Editorial Reviews

Synopsis:
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 09/14/10
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

186 of 200 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, Entertaining and Informative Overview of American History, May 23, 2010

By 

Bridge (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America: The Story of Us (DVD)

I think all of the people complaining about the lack of academic level detail and scholarship in this series are missing the point. This 12 episode series is a really fantastic overview of American History. Oftentimes when we study history in school, through long, detailed books, over the course of several months, we tend to lose the forest for the trees. This medium of learning has it's place, watching this series you get a feel through a quick succession of stories, as to how America began and developed over the last two and a half centuries. What it lacks in "legitimate" scholarship it more than makes up for by it's production quality, compelling story-telling and entertainment. Another thing to note is the populist perspective of the series. Most history textbooks and academics focus too heavily on the actions of political leaders, but this series is truly about the "story of us" as indicated by its title. I was surprised to find that there was almost no discussion about the writing of the constitution, not much talk about the Presidents and the legislation they pushed through or the policies they enacted. Instead, the series incorporates a lot of anecdotes and stories of people and movements that shaped the course of this country, from the Chinese immigrants who built the railroads to the construction workers who built New York City, to historic figures like Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman and Andrew Carnegie. If I were a school teacher I would show my students this entire series at the beginning of each year, if for nothing else but to pique their interest in history and what they're about to learn in greater detail over the course of the term.

87 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly enjoyable, May 25, 2010

By 

M "CultOfStrawberry" (I wait behind the wall, gnawing away at your reality) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: America: The Story of Us (DVD)

First off, I am well aware that this documentary is not perfect. Having studied history, I feel that this documentary was lacking in some parts. Still, this series is solid and tight.

I learned a lot of neat trivia from this that I had not known before. This documentary feels to be geared more towards beginners, rather than scholars. If you're a history expert, you will find some parts lacking. (I am not a expert, but I do love history) but you will also most likely also learn some new things here. This would be a fun documentary for middle or high school students, as well as people who would like a basic (NOT a complete) overview of American history. I mean, it's impossible to give a complete overview of 400 years of history in twelve episodes, (less than twelve hours when you take out the commercials)

I can't say that I enjoyed all of the guest speakers, but some of them were rather relevant. Donald Trump talked about the Great Depression. Al Sharpton talked about the role of black people. And so on and so forth. Some of the guest speakers were better suited for their roles than others - I can't imagine why they would have Sheryl Crowe on this, but Rudy Guilliani was good. My biggest gripe was that they had P Diddy on there. COME ON. Why him? They also had the guy from Pawn Stars in the final episode, and I was excited to see him, but he didn't really contribute anything worthwhile, what he said didn't add anything to the documentary.

This is different from other History Channel documentaries in the past. It concentrates more on PEOPLE, not things/artifacts (this is why it's called The Story of *Us*) and the struggles, trials, and tribulations of a growing country. Yeah, this series did not say much about World War 1 or the War of 1812, but remember, the History Channel has separate documentary series on all different wars and other things, so if you wish for a more complete overview on a particular war or event, you can search the History Channel site or YouTube for documentaries that are more specific on one subject. This is not a documentary about war or politics, but how we have changed through our history, what innovations effected these changes (the Transcontinental Railroad, the Model-T and assembly line production, etc)

The writing's solid and fairly well-written. If you're looking for a documentary that is fun and interesting to watch, this is the one for you. Kids will also enjoy this. My roomate (who's not a geek like me) found herself enjoying this and learning a lot from it even though history isn't what she is interested in. I will say that some things became more clear for me in this documentary - some 'aha! I get it now!' moments. A few parts were repetitive, but overall the series moved at a smooth pace.

If I had to grade this, I'd give it a solid B. It might not be History Channel's best series, but for those of you wishing to learn something new or want a different perspective on American history, it's worth watching.

It would be cool to see a 'Story Of Us' for other countries, though since most countries are older than America (China's history is over 5000 years old) that would be a difficult task that needs to be carried out carefully (meaning no celebrity speakers who have nothing to add to the documentary!)

95 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but still enjoyable and informative, July 4, 2010

By 

Smith (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America: The Story of Us (DVD)

This six-night miniseries is a quick tour of American history from the first English colonies in the New World to the present. To properly hit every important event, person and place throughout American history is far beyond the scope of a series of this length. Nevertheless, it is a good view of all the most important developments that explain how the United States became what it is, without glossing over the darker spots such as Indian removal and slavery.

Some omissions (such as skimming over almost all of World War I) and some factual "Yeah, but..." moments in an otherwise good series would have earned a 4-star rating, but the 3-star comes from some of the people that they had commenting in the series. While some, such as Michael Bloomberg, make sense in the context of the material (for instance, New York City during the Revolution), there is no good reason to have celebrities along the lines of Sheryl Crow, Margaret Cho or Michael Douglas appearing in what's supposed to be a serious look at history. If there had been more historians offering their views instead of celebrities, then I would have gladly given this series 4 stars. As it is, it is enjoyable yet flawed, and receives three.