THE CITY is a landmark documentary, co-directed by Willard Van Dyke and Ralph Steiner, with commentary written by Lewis Mumford (read by Morris Carnovsky). It features music by Aaron Copland. Notable for its montages, its narrative vignettes and its humor, it is also a powerful social portrait and historical document of New York City (1939, 44 minutes).
Directed by Joris Ivens in 1940, THE POWER AND THE LAND is an emotionally powerful documentary about rural electrification, presented by looking at the life of a single farming family (1940, 39 minutes).