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starring: Kevin Costner, Gregory Harrison, Eric Schweig, Gordon Tootoosis, Wes Studidirected by: Jack Leustig
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303418766
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 6303418767
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 8
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release Date: April 26, 1995
Running Time: 376 minutes
Sales Rank: 24986
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: April 20, 1995
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Editorial Review:
Description:
This eight part documentary on the indigenous people of the Americas starts from Pre-Columbian history and covers the arrival of and colonization by the Europeans through modern times. The series shows the full and rich civilizations that proliferated in ancient times, as well as the current efforts of Native Americans to preserve their cultures and traditions. 500 Nations presents information from a variety of sources via documents, photographs, eyewitness accounts and computer graphics. Educational and entertaining.
Amazon.com:
With six episodes spread out over four discs and a running time of well over six hours (in addition to an interactive CD-ROM filled with extra features), director-producer Jack Leustig's sprawling 500 Nations, a history of Indians in North America, is likely the most comprehensive effort of its kind ever undertaken.
Mention the word 'Indian,' and most will conjure up images inspired by myths and movies: teepees, headdresses, and war paint; Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and their battles (like Little Big Horn) with the U.S. Cavalry. Those stories of the so-called 'horse nations' of the Great Plains are all here, but so is a great deal more. Using impressive computer imaging, photos, location film footage and breathtaking cinematography, interviews with present-day Indians, books and manuscripts, museum artifacts, and more, Leustig and his crew go back more than a millennium to present an fascinating account of Indians, including those (like the Maya and Aztecs in Mexico and the Anasazi in the Southwest) who were here long before white men ever reached these shores.
It was the arrival of Europeans like Columbus, Cortez, and DeSoto that marked the beginning of the end for the Indians. Considering the participation of host Kevin Costner, whose film Dances with Wolves was highly sympathetic to the Indians, it's no bulletin that 500 Nations also takes a compassionate view of the multitude of calamities--from alcohol and disease to the corruption of their culture and the depletion of their vast natural resources--visited on them by the white man in his quest for land and money, eventually leading to such horrific events as the Trail of Tears 'forced march,' the massacre at Wounded Knee, and other consequences of the effort to 'relocate' Indians to the reservations where many of them still live. Along the way, we learn about the Indians' participation in such events as the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as well as popular legends like the first Thanksgiving (it really happened) and the rescue of Captain John Smith by Pocahontas (it probably didn't).
With its sometimes New Age-y music and many beauty shots of the great outdoors, 500 Nations has a rather different vibe than the average Ken Burns documentary. That may lessen its value for sober historians, but for the rest of us, this is an illuminating and important work. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - not happy
I can't review this product because it is a month since I ordered it and I still don't have it..
I have written I have phoned..
Could someone out there tell me where my "product" is..the money sure came out of my account fast enough...!!!!
Not a happy customer.
Heather Thompson
Rating: - 500 Nations gives a good overview
I use this collection in my middle school classroom to help teach about what the Americas were like before Europeans. With current educational pressures, many students do not receive the basics in American history/geography/social studies; 500 Nations helps correct this error. Discussions by people from these nations give the non-European perspective of our shared histories. The CGI are well-done and gives the viewer a glimpse of what these socitieis were like. Factual, entertaning, and engaging; ... Read More
Rating: - Every American should view these!
These DVD's are some of the best I have seen from the Native American point of view. It follows the history of North American Natives as they saw it. If all you get out of these is that there was a bunch of killing and enslavement than you missed the point.
What a tragedy the Natives endured. What an injustice that took place to such a peace loving and nature loving people. This wrong can never be made right. The saddest part of it all is the life the Natives are left with today.
Read More
Rating: - Native American History Reborn
This is an awesome Movie. I watched the entire movie (4 dics) in one sitting. It is a great way to dispel myths about how the West was settled and how the Native Americans responded to being driven from thier lands. It provides an overall picture from both the Indians and the Invaders. Great Addition to any Library.
Rating: - excellent documentary
This is an excellent documentary. Kevin Cosner is great and the history of the Native American people is well presented. I loved the CG images of what they think the villages and ruins looked like when they were in use. A must see documentary if you love Native Americans.
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