Product Details

• Actors: Hedrick Smith
• Directors: Rick Young
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS (Direct)
• DVD Release Date: October 4, 2005
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000B0WO4O
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,594 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

• This item is part of The Frontline (PBS) Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended!, November 16, 2005

By	djvampira - See all my reviews

I saw this when it originally aired on PBS and it made me both angry and sad. Angry that a huge BILLION dollar company cannot afford to give their employees affordable healthcare,put some AMERICAN companies out of business(Rubbermaid)because of their greedy buying tactics and overall have shady business practices. Sad because they have been getting away with this irresponsible behaviour for far to long. People are beginning to wake up and realise how much harm this company is really causing America. If you need to find out information for yourself please buy this film. You will walk away from it never wanting to shop at Walmart ever again.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb documentary from award winning PBS show Frontline, January 24, 2006

By	buru buru piggu (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is another superbly done documentary from the award winning PBS investigative journalism series Frontline (Peabody Award, Emmy and many more!). Disregard what one reviewer said about this being pro-Walmart propaganda paid for by the corporation. He's obviously smoking something, because this is made and hosted by Hedrick Smith, a PULITZER prize winning journalist who used to write for the NY Times. He is one of America's most respected journalists. I started watching the show since I was in high school (I'm now late 20's) and their shows are exceptionally high quality. Now, if Frontline is interviewing people who lost jobs and showing Rubbermaid factory equipment being auctioned off because they got put out of business by Walmart, how is this pro-Walmart?

The story starts in America and its impact on the US economy. He interviews some professors, economists, managers, suppliers, and executives. Then the story moves to China and HK, and then back to the US. There are some very clear insights from nmost of the people interviewed especially from one professor who talks about the shift in American culture and business history.

Is Walmart good for America? I can't answer that and neither can Frontline. This documentary does an excellent job presenting facts without judgement and presents both sides and the complex shades in the middle. It asks some thought provoking questions. The US trade deficit is getting worse every day. Quality is going up (some "Made in China" stuff is now very good and getting exponentially better every year), and that's really scary for us in America. Who's the blame? Well, all of us. We're not competing well in the global economy, and we want the cheapest goods. We're not willing to put our money where our mouth is.

If you're interested in economics, history, social issues, this is a must see. If you care about the American economy, and global events, you should watch this documentary. It's loads better than the "Walmart, the High Cost of Low Prices" film (which is very one sided and not nearly as well done). oh,.. and start learning Chinese!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Not!!!, April 3, 2006

By	smoothjazzandmore (Clay, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This documentary was first shown as a expose` on the PBS series, Frontline. It started a trend. It asks the hard questions about how Wal-Mart became the world's largest retailer, and at what cost? It is not preachy as with Robert Greenwald's version and it's not biased like Michael Moore. It gets both sides of the arguement to explain themselves and it gives the viewer the chance to decide. Very powerful journalism!