Customer Reviews

Biography - Thomas Edison [VHS]

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Another "Biography" that gives a limited and inaccurate account about Edison... There is a book that is available that will afford a generous helping of "eye opening" information... The Merchant of Power: Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis is worth every cent paid and every minute of reading. A&E should be involved in research that would establish credibility, not destroy it. I have a copy of this DVD and I won't show the content to anyone. Don't buy this thing.

This documentary lacked cheesy reenactments because there are recordings of Edison and he left numerous sketches of his inventions. Like most "Biography" episodes, this included biographers and one descendant. A bit undiverse: there was one white woman interviewed, but everyone else was a white male.
The documentary goes through great lengths to show that Edison played a major role in his inventions. Still, they show photographs of his staff and the number of men is huge. Any ideas that I had of him being a solitary scientist are now gone.
This is not a gushy work. This film not only describes his successes, but mentions his failures as well. He made inventions that didn't work or for which people had no use. They also slightly question whether he had anti-Jewish tendencies as his peer Henry Ford did.
You would think someone like Edison would be a CalTech or MIT alum, but he only had a few months of formal education. He received many honorary degrees during his old age.
Edison was hearing-impaired. This may be an important work for those interested in disability rights and disabled people. Like FDR, Beethoven, or Stephen Hawkins, Edison was a famous man that dealt with an impairment. The documentary shows people having to yell in his ear in order for him to communicate with them.
Edison lived and worked in New Jersey. The documentary notes that many children were named after him, but they do not say whether Edison, New Jersey was as well.
If you are interested in great minds, you may really want to see this.