Product Details

• Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Patrick Jordan, Jennifer Lee Dake, Charles King (VIII), Matt Hutchinson (III)
• Directors: Mark Bussler
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Inecom Entertainment Company
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009PSE2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,605 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Johnstown Flood narrated by Richard Dreyfuss" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Johnstown Flood plays this 1889 disaster for all the drama and suspense of a horror movie. As he describes the factors leading up to the collapse of a dam on a Pennsylvania river, narrator Richard Dreyfuss has an almost ghoulish relish. The flood itself--in which a wall of water 50 feet tall destroyed the town of Johnstown and everything in the vicinity--is chock-full of shocking and engrossing details: personal testimonies describe an entire roundhouse of locomotives being swept away; a mother tells about setting her children afloat on driftwood from the top of her rapidly submerging house. When the debris carried by rushing water reaches a heavy stone bridge, the cataclysm only worsens, leading to a devastating fire. If most documentaries aspire to the cool objectivity of The New York Times, Johnstown Flood dives into the sensationalism of tabloid journalism, and the results are enticing, unsettling, and thoroughly entertaining. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, "Johnstown Flood" tells a true story of heartbreak, heroism and the courage to survive. On a stormy day in May of 1889, the South Fork Dam explodes, unleashing a 40-foot wall of water. Fiercely thrashing at frightening speeds, the flood devastates the 14-mile valley between the Conemaugh Lake and Johnstown, Pennsylvania under the force of a 20-million-ton tidal wave. "Johnstown Flood" depicts this tragic event which claims more than 2,200 lives and wipes out 99 entire families and is still considered to be one of the worst disasters in American history. Horrified survivors watch as the bustling industrial city of Johnstown is instantly reduced into a wasteland. The deadly torrent overcomes terror-stricken townspeople who are tragically lost in the flood. As the waters recede, people from all over the world rally around the survivors to help victims regain all that is lost. Special Features include a 20-minute documentary with Richard Burkert, Executive Director of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, a feature-length historical commentary track with Richard Burkert and "The Johnstown Flood," an 1889 piano illustration by Alberto Rivieri, performed by Patricia Prattis Jennings exclusively for the DVD.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow by comparison, April 5, 2004

By	John Vavrek "jvavrek" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I grew up in Johnstown. I have seen the films at both of the Flood Museums. The film at the downtown museum (the former Carnegie Free Library) is the Guggenheim film that won the academy award. It is an excellent film that far outstrips the one here reviewed. However, the film presented at the damsite is even superior to the Guggenheim film. Unfortunately, it can only be seen at the museum. I found the film narrated by Richard Dreyfuss to be a very "watery" story with some awful cinematography and effects. The dramatizations were terrible: actors with modern accents and mannerisms in Victorian costumes...! I thought this was a very shallow representation of a terrible disaster.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Johnstown Flood, June 17, 2004

By	Ellorysgirl "Nance" (Iowa City, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This rendition of the tragedy of the Johnstown Flood in 1889 cannot be favorably compared with the first offering from The American Experience on PBS. The 2003 Dreyfuss-narrated version does not use the quantity of archival material available; it barely hints at the social and political pressures, especially by members of the social club situated at the top of the dam, which contributed to the breaking of the dam and the tragedy that followed. Richard Dreyfuss is overly dramatic, seeming to revel in the details of the tragedy in his delivery, and is not at all equal to the terrific David McCullough as a narrator. The use of real actors to repeat quotes from survivors and act out portions of the aftermath is just ludicrous, and none of them show any talent for this portrayal at all. It was very distracting to have these people plopped into the narrative willy-nilly. I was extremely disappointed in the 2003 DVD, and cannot recommend it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTENSE!, July 15, 2003

By	COLEEN LUND (LARAMIE, WYOMING) - See all my reviews

I wanted to let everyone know that I am from around the Johnstown, PA area and I went and actually saw this at the J-town Flood Museum. It is intense! Especially when you see it in a movie theater setting. I have relatives who experienced the other J-town floods after this one, but nothing could compare to going to the museum overlooking the dam and seeing the lifelike things there!!! I can't wait to have this for my "home" collection!!