Customer Reviews

Eyes on The Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965

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Eyes on the Prize is the best and most definitive film ever created about the civil rights movement in America. It goes from the 50s, post WWII all the way through until the end of the technical Civil Rights movement. There is another 7 hours of footage beyond what is included in this set, and I look forward to owning that half of the series as well. I am a teacher, and I am proud to be able to show parts of this film to my students during my study of black literature. I fell in love with this series in college when my history professor showed us the first episode, and I have been a devoted fan ever since. The interviews, taken years after the events, are so perfectly blended with real footage from the protests and speeches, along with beautiful recordings of freedom songs in the background, I really don't think there is any way this documentary could be improved on in any way. The DVD should be in anyone's collection who values learning about the rich, and often disturbing, history of civil rights in America. I still tear up when I watch this, it is truly amazing.

I have owned the VHS edition for thirteen years. My brother ordered the DVD from Amazon. We watched the whole documentary and I noticed that the dvd version only covers history up to 1965. The rest of the documentary is missing, I know because I play this every year for my students for Black History Month. My VHS set covers everything up to the 1980's!!! I rather spend the $100.00+ for the complete series instead of this cut version. Please issue the COMPLETE documentary on dvd. Meanwhile, I will just hold on to my VHS set.

I grew up during the time of this film. But to be honest, as an White American I didn't understand until I watched this series all the issues that were going on. What I saw was heartbreaking and can't wait to own this just so I can help my child understand also. So many kids(and adults) don't understand how bad it was to be black in America. They got a raw deal and many are still trying to catch up to the American dream today. I believe this is the most important program PBS has ever done. I'm just glad that we can now buy this program at an affordable price. I also hope there is a blu ray edition coming out. I may even buy a copy for my child's Junior High so even more can benefit from what is being taught here. PBS, please release Part 2 soon.

Outstanding documentary that had been sold at PBS.ORG for $375.00 for years! Finally, Amazon is selling the 3 disc set for [...]
However, why the COMPLETE documentary (4 discs) Eyes on the Prize - America at the Crossroads 1965-1985 has yet to be sold separately or shown on PBS since the original broadcast is a mystery.

I am one of the lucky ones who taped and transferred to dvd-R, the ENTIRE series many, many years ago.
This program is what should have been shown during Black History Month to all! New American citizens and the young, who missed the first PBS showing, and those from foreign lands would greatly benefit from the rich history and perhaps understand their African-Americans neighbors a little better.

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Funny thing about history. Since it is often difficult to be definitive about things that occurred in the past (mainly due to a shortage of unbiased documentation), there will always be debate and disagreement. The beauty of Eyes on the prize is film. The camera doesn't lie. Sometimes, when people know they are being filmed, they may (or could) "ham things up". I'll give you that, but I don't see any of that in this series. What I do see is real events captured on film. I grew up in Massachusetts, but never went to Boston because we saw on the news where elementary aged children who were being bused to suburbian schools for integration (back in the 70's) were being turned away (or at least met with some degree of reluctance) by the citizens of those communities. I recall, barely a teenager at the time, seeing grown people throwing debris at a bus full of kids younger than me (10 yrs old and younger)because they were not welcomed at their schools. Skin color. Can you imagine a community of black people doing that to a bus full of white kids? Now, if you'd told me about that, I'd always have room in my mind for doubt. Maybe, I could reason, you were exaggerating. When we saw it on the news, we could only watch because there was no debating, no exaggeration. We saw adult white people throwing bricks at school buses filled with young kids. So startling was it that, once we were old enough to drive, and had our own cars, our own money and time to go places and do things (concerts, parties, shopping, exploring, what have you) we never went to Boston. Remember the watergate tapes? Once you hear them, you can easily recognize the president's voice. There's no denying it.

If you ever wanted to know what really went on during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's, don't ask or read a book. Check out Eyes on the Prize, and relive a piece of American history. If only we had civil war era footage, or film from the Egyptian pyramid building committee. We don't, but we do have footage of things that happened during our lifetime (or at least mine). We know what is said of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X today, in retrospect. What was said when they were present tense? See it for yourself. Women and children being hit by the high powered water hoses, barking dogs, riot squads, tear gas, bus boycots, assassinations, martyrs, heroes, and bigger than life villains worse than anything you'll see in the movies. It's all there. It all happened. It's all true. Black people, if you think you've got it hard today, just take a look at what life was like for our grandparents (and parents).

I suggest you watch it, take a deep breath, and get out there and try to make our country a better place. I know you've been conditioned to think that kind of thing is corny, but America is coming to a point where a little corny may be just what we need. This documentary series is highly recommended, and it comes a great price. I've been looking it for years, and was ready to pay much more. I can't wait to get my copy.

I was looking for a copy of Eyes on the Prize a few years back, when I came across a DVD copy on the PBS website for a ridiculous price of $375.00 (Teachers version). Why must such rich history which is apart of us all be so expensive? Although the price was ridiculous I had plans to buy it, so that my daughter could have a chance to witness this important piece of our history. Now that Eyes on the Prize is at an reasonable and accessible price, I hope it finds its way into many American homes. My copy has already been Pre-ordered.

This type of knowledge should be shared with everyone young and old, as well as in the classroom setting. Fast forward to today when I heard Judi Hampton on the radio, the sister of the late Henry Hampton's (Maker of the film) on the Warren Ballentine show speaking about the film being available April 6th 2010. Finally instead just reading about the Civil Rights movement which is a great start, my 7 year old daughter can now see actual footage of what transpired during that time, raw and uncut. Thank you Henry & Judi Hampton for providing this necessary and unique material which can be shared with many generations.

Rattlesnakes don't commit suicide is a very effective line from this documentary. It deals with the knowledge of an enslaved and oppressed people, knowing that their oppressor will never willingly set them free. Thus begin this very thought provoking series that chronicles the 30 year span of the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 through 1984. However, this is not a thoroughly comprehensive piece because far too many figures were either omitted or appear all too briefly, chiefly, Thorogood Marshall, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Malcolm X. Nor would I have you believe that the movement started in 1954, because this struggle dates back to the 16th century and was sucessfully contained and controlled until the mid 20th century. There are fine, in fact, excellent documentaries that deserve to be seen along with this one, most notably are: Africans In America; A Journey Through Slavery, ( 2 ) Reconstruction: The Second Civil War and ( 3 ) Citizen King, worthy of a look. But for the period this film covers, it is unsurpassed in what it reveals. A warning however should be noted that this is a stark, violent document that often show scenes that are very disturbing, but a necessary element to illustrate the brutality inflicted upon a people who were forcibly taken from their homes and enslaved in the new colonies, purportedly built on the principles and concepts of Freedom. This journey begins with the Supreme Court ruling in the Brown-vs-The Board Of Education. From there we are swept along to the mobilization of the Mobile bus boycott and introduces us to the young Dr. Martin Luther King. It is my opinion that the speeches of Dr. King, alone make it a must have in every home. Far too many young people of today think that black history is what was atop the Hip-Hop charts a year ago. This is why this item should be in every home, should be viewed by everyone you know, should be recommended to every American regardless of race, because blacks alone did not overcome the situation in America. This is a truly remarkable piece to own. And in the words of Dr. King "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Failing to view or purchase this DVD set would be a true injustice. Aubrey D. Bowman

I was born in the post civil rights era, so all of what this series informs the viewer is all the nastiness that was going on in the U.S. in those 11 short years. A lot of what is taught in school during the Civil Rights era is very short, and usually focuses on Rosa Parks, MLK, Malcolm X, and a few others. That in itself is wrong, because this era is like a good history book, a lot of info, and a lot of characters (i.e. real people) whose courage in what they faced to help make America live up to its ideas of Equality is deserving of more than a mere footnote.
I eagerly await the conclusion to this series when the next set comes out on DVD.

I know they the producers had trouble getting the copyrights to a lot of the material in the original series. Hence, the series on DVD was only available for 'educational' uses since copyright laws apply differently in academic settings. Has anyone ever compared the VHS version and the DVD versions? Were enough copyrights obtained to create a version with parts cut out that the copyrights could no be obtained for? Or is this complete? If anyone has compared the two and knows, I'd appreciate it if you'd share that information. Thanks.

The people of the civil rights movement were nothing short of heroes. They literally put their lives on the line whenever they picked up a picket sign; sat at a segregated counter or tried to get more Black Americans down south to vote ( though to do so was to invite possible violence on one-self). This documentry as painful as it is to watch should be shown in every classroom across the country. Our youth needs to be shown what the face of hate and ignorance really looks like. A movement started by black Americans who refused to remain second class citizens in their own country, eventually encompassed white America and stood up to a system that many believed could never be changed.

In these contemporary times where we face two wars; vanishing unions; 1 out of 10 Americans unemployed; corporations having the same rights as the individual and colleges slowly becoming accessable for only the wealthy; this documentary serves as a reminder what "We The People" can accomplish if we choose to do so.