Customer Reviews

The Middle Passage [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used this video in my sophomore World History class when we were studying the beginnings of sea trade in the 1500s. This film was a major eye opener for my kids, as well as a vehicle allowing me to learn a few new things. Most of my students knew little or nothing about where and how the slave trade began, let alone the "contribution" made to this hideous practice by those who would become our nations forbears. They do now.

This film gave us a lot to talk about and was truly both an eye opener and a paradigm shifter. An excellent film in content, both historically and cinematically. I highly recommend this to any audience with a maturity level to handle the extreme emotion evoked by the suffering and heartache laid bare on the screen. Parents and teachers - be ready to discuss some hard truths with your kids. Excellently done!

Everyone is to blame for the holocaust of millions of innocent people in the slave trade;such is the sad and sorry conclusion eloquently reached in this poetic rumination by one African manslave who endured the betrayal of HIS OWN PEOPLE into the hands of greedy Europeans who carried him and fellow Africans to The Americas.The slave route was known as The Middle Passge.What this particular man notes that what is worse?-the treatment he received by the slaveship seamen, or the abduction and genocide that he experienced at the hands of his fellow Africans? On a 120+ days voyage in deplorable conditions aboard a French Vessel, this one man speaks for the 600+ souls with him and the untold millions before and after him.MOVING,POIGNENT and MAGNIFICENTLY done by HBO and narrated by Djimon Hounsou,who was the Golden Globe nominated actor for his role as Cinque in AMISTAD.This narrative film was written by Walter Mosely of "The Devil in the Blue Dress" fame.Excellent companion films would be the current AMAZING GRACE,A RESPECTABLE TRADE,AMISTAD,ROOTS and AMISTAD:The Documentary.

Even though this is presented as the story of a slave, it's not really set up with a plot, characters etc. My students found it hard to follow because it is lacking typical narrative elements - and it is presented more like a philosophical & reflective journey. The excessive voice-over narration and advanced vocabulary were also confusing for the students. It did not keep the student's attention. I think this is film is better suited for older students.

I teach 8th grade American History, and I am preparing to teach my students about the slave trade. I searched around on Amazon a few nights ago for some documentaries or films about the slave trade, which is how I learned about this film. I ordered it and decided to give it a try, but I don't think that I can use much of it. For one, the perspective given here is completely biased. While I certainly don't think one need make apologies for the slave trade, I do believe that it's important for students to understand why Europeans resorted to slavery. I was hoping for something more analytical. The other flaw I found with this piece is the way it is shot. Nearly a third of the film is shot at a different speed, so there's a lot of herky-jerky imagery. I suppose the filmmakers wanted that dissonance to reflect what the Africans must have been thinking and feeling, but ultimately it is annoying. It makes it difficult to see what is happening, and it's unpleasant to try to sit through.

I cannot comment on what films would be a better alternative, but if someone has a suggestion please feel free to comment.

this documentary is very painful
to watch it shows the most unpleasent
part of man cruelty savagery and
and disreaguard for human life
i have ever seen a historical
piece nothing written in history
about it
jamesjoe48@comcast.net

Received in a timely manner and in good condition. Great movie to understand the horrors of slavery.

Excellent video for everyone to see. A big part of history has been omitted from the books and lessons. This video will help to fill in some of the gaps and give us some perspective on the world as it exists today.

This movie is excellent! I am an Equal Opportunity Adviser, and this movie is a great visual aide in the classes that I am required to give. Not just that, it is a fantastic history lesson. I would strongly recommend viewing this movie if you have not already done so.

Desiree Evans

This excellent film shows the true horror of slavery vivdly to life in excruciating detail. The subject of slavery is still rarely looked at in any detail by mainstream TV or Hollywood media and with a very good reason. The world wants to just forget the fact that literally millions died for the simple reason to make money for lazy white people who professed to be "Christian". The United States was built upon slave labor, but nobody wants to talk about it too much. Unlike the Jewish holocaust of the Second World War, slavery has been put aside and largely forgotten about. Yet the fact remains that as many, and possibly more people died during the middle passage as in the concentration camps like Auschwitz. The genocide inflicted had no concern or common decency for fellow humans, because the enslavers did not consider AFRICANS TO BE HUMAN!

This film is fairly short, just over an hour, but more than gets it's point across in that timespan. The lovely cinematography adds to the dark and brooding subject. Slaves are shown in the hold of the ship, sweating in the miserable dank darkness, infested with rats, near starving and treated with contempt and brutality. All of them are longing for home and terrified of their futures.
There is no dialogue at all between the actors, but the eloquent and powerful first-person narrative of a slave's emotional turmoil and descriptions of his experiences is read over the soundtrack throughout the movie.

It's a powerful and heartbreaking insight into just what slavery was and how it must have felt to be kidnapped and sold into slavery, and the degradation and horror of what awaited them. This is a very depressing movie but a realistic one. It was depressing, ugly and inhuman. Slavery was one of the low points in the entire history of mankind and the depths of man's inhumanity to fellow man should nver be forgotten...ever.

The rather flat narration and slow cinematography made this a difficult film to keep your attention. It is true that the slave-trading era is a dark book in human history that dates back 1000's of years and continues to this day in some cultures. The height of African slave trade to the New World was between the 17th and 18th century. I had hope this film effort would be an educational and informative film, but came across more as a grasp for pity more so than opportunity to enlighten and educate. While very loosely based in hard cold facts, much license has been taken with the facts. Many events appear to have come from numerous ships logs are compiled into one ships journey giving the impression of great suffering on a single voyage. Not to minimize the suffering that did take place on these voyages one must note that little tidbit of information for relevance. Slave ships were horrid places and the average slave had less than 2 square feet of space, less on some vessels. The treatment and mortality rate was appalling, was cramped beyond comprehension and little to no food and water during their crossing. There are many excellent writing of the period on the conditions and events on these ships and are far more informative and true to fact than this production. Primarily from the writing of inspectors that patrolled the seas after the band on slave trading in 1807 (Britain) and 1808 (US). These inspectors account the conditions, treatment and savagery on these vessels\. I would recommend those as opposed to this. Since nearly all victims of the slave trade where illiterate and had no written language little is known of their suffering from their eyes and words, so much poetic license and projection is being made as to the true events. The important point I'm making is that this is a movies is very loosely based on many real events, but it is not to be taken as literal history that would be a grave error. The opportunity to make a truly impacting informative educational film here that reflected the mistreatment and suffering of these people was missed. I would very highly recommend that if you are an educator and plan to show this film as part of a history class, please arm yourself with knowledge first as little is to be found within this work.