Product Details

• Actors: David McCullough
• Directors: Ken Burns, Amy Stechler
• Writers: Amy Stechler
• Producers: Ken Burns, Amy Stechler
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Pbs Home Video
• VHS Release Date: March 14, 2000
• Run Time: 57 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304048734
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,870 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From America's documentarian Ken Burns (The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz) comes this intimate portrait of a "serene creed" whose members considered themselves America's "chosen people." They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, they are more popularly known as the Shakers. Its members put their "hands to work and their hearts to God," creating a legacy of fine and priceless furniture and magnificent architecture. A model for the world's utopians, the Shakers believed in social, economic, and spiritual equality, and in pacifism, feminism, and joyful personal worship. They also believed in celibacy, which is why, when Burns filmed this in 1989, there were but a dozen Shakers left in America. On-location footage, contemporary interviews with historians and present and former members, and dramatic voice-overs culled from diaries create a moving portrait of the Shakers and "[keep] the light shining bright." --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A history of the Shakers, a, February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ken Burns' America - The Shakers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After viewing this beautifully mastered film by Burns et al at Florentine Films, you will never think of another task or job as a waste of time. The Shakers did not strive for producing the most things, but that each action was done to perfection. They worked as though "Today is the last day of your life" and they worked as though "they had the rest of time" to perform each and every task". Slow your life down; watch this film!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skimpy overview of the Shakers, July 17, 2006

By 

Jmark2001 (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ken Burns' America: The Shakers (DVD)

The Shakers were an American religious sect that nurtured an explosion of creativity in theology, social experimentation, architecture, music, design, and invention. Never larger than a few thousand men and women, this group accomplished an amazing amount and their legacy is out of all proportion to their numbers. Ken Burns does a very superficial job here. Next to nothing is said about their radical theology: Mother Ann was seen as the second coming of Christ in female form. Ken Burns, who did such a good job with the Civil War, never mentions that the Shakers' numbers grew radically after the upheavals of the Civil War left many people seeking extreme religious lifestyles. While there are examples of Shaker music, no one discusses the unique style of their hymns. The vast Shaker thological literature that survives seems to have little interest to him. It is as if Burns spent a weekend doing research and figured that he had learned enough. He didn't.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and simple history of a misunderstood religion., May 21, 2000

By 

Joseph T. Reeves - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ken Burns' America - The Shakers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God" Ken Burns truly hit his stride as a documentarian. By combining personal journals of shakers, historic and social commentary of scholars and contemporaries, and wonderfully insightful interviews with present day Shakers, Burns tells a simple story, but tells it beautifully. By illustrating the Shaker life and ideology, Burns presents a group of dedicated people who strove to put God into every aspect of their lives.

If you know the Shakers for only their furniture and ritual dancing, then this film will illuminate your understanding of early America's most powerful Utopian movement.