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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Look for the 2005 re-release, January 9, 2006
This review is from: Our Daily Bread & Other Films of the Great Depression (DVD)
If you're interested in getting this excellent compilation of films about the Great Depression, then please note that Image Entertainment re-released this DVD in late 2005. The cover is slightly different, featuring a still photo of two children from "The River." For some reason, Image hasn't been on the ball lately, and many e-tailers (including Amazon) continue to list this title -- as well as the silent documentaries "Grass" and "Chang" -- as out of print. It isn't. You can still find it here occasionally and with e-tailers who specialize in rare and hard-to-find DVDs (like Facets). There's no reason to pay more than $30 for this title unless you want the OOP 1st issue.
The movies themselves: As John Marr points out in his review below, "Our Daily Bread" is a little dated and corny in its story and acting, but it's still a fine movie made by a superb American director, King Vidor. Vidor made this movie independently -- hence some of the non-professional actors. But it's well-crafted and features an astonishing and now-classic irrigation sequence at the climax. The other films vary in quality, but all of them are historically important. "The New Frontier" is a short piece of fluff news about the kind of cooperative community that inspired "Our Daily Bread." The two California newsreels are infamous for having used professional actors and not "average joes"; historians think that these propoganda pieces helped defeat the left-wing Upton Sinclair during his gubernatorial bid in 1934. (The first newsreel is actually quite subtle, but the second is pretty transparent.) More artistically interesting are the three documentaries: Pare Lorentz's "Plow that Broke the Plains" and "The River" and Joris Ivens' "Power and the Land." These docus used to be part of the standard curriculum in film classes, and they're excellent examples of montage (juxtaposing different images to create a sense of connection between two seemingly distinct events/ideas). "The Plow that Broke the Plains" famously connects the Dust Bowl of the 1930s to WWI, when farmers were encouraged to cultivate all their land for the war effort rather than leave any portions fallow. Personally, I prefer Ivens' "Power and the Land" -- he humanizes/personalizes his story by focusing on one (very photogenic) Ohio family.
As for the DVD: Quality varies quite a bit here, too. The centerpiece, "Our Daily Bread," is superb. Film preservationist David Shepard bought Vidor's private copy of this film -- even though the movie had fallen into public domain -- just to conduct a high-quality restoration. In my opinion, Shepard's work on "Our Daily Bread" ranks as one of his finest achievements. It's clearly superior to all other (and cheaper) editions of this movie. The shorter pieces are OK. Fortunately, all but "The New Frontier" were transferred progressively, so even though they aren't in the best of shape, they look quite good on high resolution monitors.
Overall, this DVD is a real gem for movie buffs and especially for fans of King Vidor or historic documentaries. Although it may be hard to find the 2005 re-release, it's well worth your while. (And shame on Image Entertainment for not marketing this title more aggressively.)
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding documnetary overview of the Depression, February 26, 2002
This review is from: Our Daily Bread & Other Films of the Great Depression (DVD)
There are very few movies I chose to see again and again, and fewer still when it comes to documentaries. However this film is filled with wonderful period pieces -- mostly carefully chosen newsreel and movie clips -- that weave a woeful tale of the Depression. Strangely enough,the film is almost exhilarating, showing the courage and perseverance of individual Americans as well as the country as they faced the 1929 Crash and struggled through the grim thirties. There are dozens of carefully chosen movie clips using characters portrayed by Cagney,Bogart,etc., as well as many other lesser known actors and films dealing with very real issues of survival. I bought this DVD three years ago. When I went to purchase it for a friend I was surprised to see that no one had reviewed it! It deserves five stars and a much wider audience. (There is a short film, "The River", about the 1937 Mississippi flood, which by itself is worth the price of the DVD.)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A historically significant American film. Attention: Criterion, please..., July 17, 2009
After reading the reviews of the Alpha print, I purchased the Synergy one. It is a little washed out, though not nearly as bad as the Alpha one sounds. The vhs copy I made from TCM is somewhat better. Also, there are no menus. The movie starts with the FBI warning, and proceeds right into the film. At the end, it cycles right back to the warning and starts over again. Furthermore, although you can navigate forward and backward between chapters, they are not well placed. Sometimes, the chapter puts you into the film in the middle of a word! Nevertheless I am very happy to have this film on dvd. I would rate the Synergy version as approximately acceptible if you love this film. Also, having a dvd makes it easier to use in a history class.
I just did some research on this film for a grad project. King Vidor was unable to obtain funding for "Our Daily Bread." Banks did not want to fund a film that portrayed them in a bad light. Vidor mortgaged everything he had to make it. He made his money back, but not a great deal more. Studios did not want to help with distribution. Vidor finally got help from Charlie Chaplin to get it released through United Artists. Vidor acknowledged his debt to Soviet filmaking for the film's finale, the desperate completion of an irrigation system to save the crops. Put into the context of the rest of the film, it doesn't seem corny at all. "Our Daily Bread" is subtitled "Inspired by Headlines of Today." It certainly was. It makes a good introduction to Depression America. It wrestles with the problems people faced and the changes in attitudes some went through. It does it in a reasonably entertaining manner.
By the way, I agree with the reviewer who noted that it is worthwhile to view Vidor's 1928 silent classic "The Crowd." The two films complement each other well.
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