Product Details

• Actors: Narrated By Mandy Patinkin
• Format: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: March 18, 1997
• Run Time: 150 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304441673
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,890 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Even the most hard-hearted will get misty eyes when the elderly Irish immigrant tells of his first view of Ellis Island and the "golden lady" in New York Harbor. People were weeping with joy, he recalls, still tearing up, and he couldn't help but fall down in prayer. To newcomers in the early 1900s, the United States was a land of hopes and dreams, and Ellis Island was the gateway, offering new soil for their first step. This film--produced for and first broadcast on the History Channel--documents in full detail the life of the way station. What started out as a modest outpost became a monumental processing center where, during its 62-year history, nearly 12 million people were poked, prodded, tested, and graded to see if they were fit for citizenship. Those with mental or physical illnesses were marked with chalk X's and sometimes shipped home. Rich with personal accounts and rare footage and photos, Ellis Island is a fitting tribute to the island and the era. It takes special care to document the shameful anti-immigrant sentiment that led to quotas and, eventually, the island's ruin and closure in 1954. Never again would new Americans be fed donuts and milk in the waiting room. --Jennifer Vogel

Product Description

" For some it was the Isle of Hope. For others, it was the Isle of Tears. For half a century, Ellis Island was America's ""Golden Door."" Entrance meant a new life, freedom and opportunity. Rejection meant a heartbreaking return to hopelessness. In ELLIS ISLAND, immigrants of every ethnic background recall their extraordinary adventures, from the treacherous passage across the sea to the daunting challenge of starting life over in a new land. Historians explore the island's sometimes insensitive policies, including the casual Americanization of names. Firsthand accounts along with interviews from the Ellis Island Oral History Project reveal what the immigration experience was actually like. And rare photographs and films tell the stories of the famous people who passed through its doors many of whom would change America forever. Join host Mandy Patinkin for an unforgettable first-hand testimony from the men, women and children who risked everything for a chance at the American dream. "

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch it and weep..., October 5, 2001

By 

Rosemary Thornton "Niece of Addie Hoyt Fargo ... (Norfolk, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ellis Island [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"My father hugged my mother and told her, 'you don't need to be afraid ever again. We're in America now.'"

That was one of the MANY personal narratives included in this FANTASTIC documentary that brought tears to my eyes. The stories of how immigrants reacted when they first came to this country and saw "Lady Liberty" is very well told and will leave you with a new appreciation of the great blessing of being born in this free and prosperous land.

I've watched this four-volume documentary two times and will probably watch it a third time. The stories are all so inspiring and so amazing and so emotional! Prior to viewing this, I did not have an understanding of what price our grandparents and great grandparents paid to get to this country.

I can't recommend this video highly enough. My daughter watched it in school and she loved it, too.

Of all the documentaries I've watched, I'd give this a 5 stars PLUS. I'd say it's one of the best I've ever seen. It will leave you changed. I can't even look at a flag now, without thinking about those precious, faith-filled immigrants and getting a tear in my eye. "Ellis Island" is *that* kind of video.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adapted from a TV series, professional, October 26, 2009

By 

Barbara Santoro (West Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ellis Island (DVD)

So far I have only seen the first hour. Used this to show to my genealogy class to give some idea of what it was like for their ancestors. This is worth viewing and keeping in your home.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars how true this is--from someone who worked there, June 17, 2011

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ellis Island (DVD)

As someone who worked on Ellis Island in New York's harbor, I can readily attest to the fact that this is an outstanding documentary about "The Island of Hope, The Island of Tears." Mandy Patinkin hosts this three part film that showcases not just the history of Ellis Island and how America processed immigrants before it was built but also tells the very human story of how people from all over the world came to Ellis Island hoping desperately for a better life as American citizens.

There is the story of Castle Garden which was built to process immigrants before Ellis Island; and we see how the first buildings on Ellis Island were ruined by fire only a few short years after they opened. There is the story of how a half a million dollars was spent on a new set of buildings constructed of fireproof materials; and the footage of joyous newcomers sailing into the harbor as they first laid eyes on America with its Statue of Liberty is impressive and moving at once.

There are many, many stories of how people were processed over the years until the facility was closed in late 1954; some of the tales are thrilling but others quite heartbreaking. For example, families could be separated if one or two members were rejected because it was thought they might be too ill to enter--thus, some members of the family could enter and others were forced to return home, perhaps never to see their loved ones again. Still others committed suicide by jumping into the water rather than return to a life of misery in their native countries.

Yet for all the incredibly sad tales, we see just how hard the staff worked on Ellis Island to process and accept as many immigrants as possible. Kitchen employees cooked ethnic meals; and social workers and interpreters worked with immigrants to help them. Actually, there is so much more as to exactly how they processed immigrants over the decades--but I'll leave the rest for you to discover as you watch the film!

I highly recommend this documentary for anyone studying immigration and its history. True, there were other ports through which people entered America; but New York's Ellis Island was by far the largest port for people entering a new country. This is educational and poignant indeed!