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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Misses the boat, August 14, 2000
This review is from: The American Experience - Harry S. Truman [VHS] (VHS Tape)
American Experience biographies are usually exceptionally well-produced and narrated. Generally they are the definitive examination of their subjects, but they dropped the ball in this look at the life of Harry Truman. Truman led a fascinating and multi-faceted existence, but the entire documentary falls flat. The only riveting segment was the coverage of the '48 Truman-Dewwy campaign, but the coverage of Truman's early life and later years was disappointing. There is scant illumination of the life of Bess, Harry's beloved wife and an integral part of his story. Truman lived for another 20 years after he left the White House, but you'd never know it from this treatment. They blandly narrate Harry's remaining years in a few minutes and then hastily conclude the biography. It's a shame because Truman is an American icon and deserves a fresh, vibrant treatment. This is perhaps the most disappointing American Experience biography I have yet seen.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great video biography of an even greater man, March 3, 2002
This review is from: The American Experience - Harry S. Truman [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Apparently an ordinary man who made it to the Senate by following the instructions of a big city political boss, Harry Truman proved to be an extraordinary president. Even his choice as the vice-presidential nominee with Franklin Roosevelt was largely an afterthought. Roosevelt himself said he did not care who was chosen as his running mate and spent very little time with Truman, even after they won the election. Truman himself expressed grave doubts about his ability to handle the office. But when Roosevelt died, Truman took over and in my opinion, was the greatest President of this century, surpassing even Roosevelt. Severely ill after so many years of stress in the presidency, Roosevelt gave away too much to Stalin at Yalta, despite the pleadings of Churchill to be more forceful in protecting Eastern Europe from falling under the influence of the Soviets. No such weakness from Truman and it was his decisive action that saved Europe. Even more impressive are his actions against the arrogant General Douglas MacArthur, whose insubordination grew so severe that it was necessary to remove him. How it must have galled Truman when the General returned to a hero's welcome complete with a parade and an address of a special joint session of Congress. This tape surely captures history in the making, as Truman did more than any other person to win the cold war. As the collapse of the Soviet Union makes quite clear, communism is a political system that either succeeds everywhere or nowhere. He was the one who stood up and said it will move no further, backing it up with actions that were right, but not obviously so. In this tape, you see the president, but you also see the man and how he suffered through his triumphs. Despite his accomplishments, he always remained a humble man from Independence, Missouri and nothing would ever change that. I was spellbound as I heard his speeches and the descriptions of his moods and how the public viewed him. His victory over Dewey in 1948 is still the greatest political upset in the history of the United States, proving that even while his approval ratings plummeted, the public still respected his ability as a leader. No one knows where his strength came from, but it is clear, and you can see it in this tape, that he possessed an interior of tempered titanium. You cannot consider yourself educated about the beginnings of the cold war without having seen this tape. My admiration for Truman has always been great, but it is time that we all realize how significant his accomplishments were. Let us hope that there is another who will be there when the next major crisis arises.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Does Not Get to the Essence Of One of the Great Presidents, December 12, 2004
This review is from: The American Experience - Harry S. Truman [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I was frankly disappointed by the treatment this very interesting
man got in the usually excellent American Experience series on the Presidents. This man faced more difficult decisions upon entering office than almost any other President besides Abraham Lincoln and it took a man of unusual character to be able to face up to the challenges that were thrust upon him. The film does point up the problems he faced upon entering office such as the decision to use the Atomic Bomb on Japan and the need for the United States economy to go off a war-footing without causing massive unemployment, but after this it goes down hill.
I am also unhappy with the way the decision to use the A-bomb was presented. Although it makes clear that, from Truman's and the other national leaders' point of view, there was no choice, they claim that he felt defensive about the decision in following years, although he denied it. I don't think that was the case at all. They claim that instead of dropping the bomb, he could have blockaded Japan instead, but an objective look at this option shows that far, far more Japanese would have died from famine, disease and civil disorder that would have resulted from blockade than from use of the two bombs that were dropped, so I don't see how that would have been a more "humane" decision.
Truman's handling of the nationwide rail strike is shown and the 1948 election upset is explained, pointing out that even the people who voted from Truman thought he would lose to Dewey.
The biggest failure of the film is that almost nothing is described about what happened in his second term, except for the Korean War and his firing of General MacArthur along with his threatening letter sent to music critic Paul Hume who panned his daughter's singing performance. While it is pointed out that when Truman left office, his approval rating was lower than that of President Nixon's when he resigned as a result of the Watergate scandal, it is not mentioned that, in addition to the unpopular Korean War stalemate that he was not able to end, there were several corruption scandals within his Administration that played a major role in eroding his reputation. In addition,
the assassination attempt by Puerto Rican nationalist extremists on Truman is not even mentioned.
Another criticism I have is that it is claimed that Truman exaggerated the Communist threat to Western Europe in order to get Congressional support for the Truman Doctrine including aid to Turkey and Greece as well as the Marshall Plan. The Communist
threat to the West in the post-War period has been proven in recent years to be more serious than was believed by many at the time.
We are shown many love letters Truman sent to his wife Bess, but I don't understand why, if they were so close, Bess decided to spend most of the time he was President at home in Independence, Missouri leaving him alone in the White House. Saying she "hated to be First Lady" doesn't answer this because he had been in politics for many years so she must have adjusted to it. Almost every picture shown of her shows her with a scowl in the frumpy clothes she liked wearing.
In spite of these criticisms, this film is still worth watching to see how a President who had to fill the immense shoes of the legendary Franklin D Roosevelt managed to leave a
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