The River

I first saw this as a 16 mm film projection in 1961, and have been looking for a copy off and on since then. Finally found one on eBay as a DVD labeled The History of the Mississippi River. While ultimately plugging the achievements of the TVA and FDR's New Deal, the film movingly portrays both the muscle of American industry and agriculture, and its folly and wastefulness and the effects on both the land and its people.

Probably the best part of the film, and certainly crucial to its message, is the music of Virgil Thomson, who interwove melodies from popular and gospel hymns with his own original creation to enhance and define the mood of this documentary. The music, along with his music for the companion film The Plow that Broke the Plains, is available on CD.

With a running time of 30 minutes, this is a gem of a documentary, and one that has had a life-long effect on me personally, in terms of my career, politics, and environmental sensibility.

The River is a very wonderful documentary, covering the importance of the Mississippi River to the United States. It's Depression-era propaganda, yes, but it's so beautifully filmed, edited, and written, as well as read. The narration is absolutely poetic. This is a must-see if for all documentary enthusiasts. 9/10.

This is less interesting than the same film-maker's THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS (1936); indeed, I doubt even modern-day locals (that is to say, people inhabiting the various American cities through which the Mississippi river runs) would be hard-pressed to find at least the initial stages of the half-hour documentary engaging! However, it eventually takes the same cautionary stance at the heart of the earlier work – since the systematic eradication of forests has left the surrounding valleys and towns unprotected from periodic floods (resulting in mass migration and, by extension, impoverished living) – and the Government's quick thinking to resolve the issue by erecting electrically-powered dams throughout this vast area.

I first saw this film 20 years ago in forestry school. This film vividly shows the effect of poor agricultural practices and poor timber harvesting in the water cycle. It has footage of the devastating flood on 1927 along the Mississippi River. I learned that the film had been used for years by foresters from the Yazoo-Little Tallahatchie Flood Prevention Project and other U.S. Forest Service foresters to educate the public on the value of planting trees to prevent soil erosion and help heal the land from years of crop production on marginal lands. I think every student of environmental history and management should view this film at some time in their career. It is available from a couple of places, but I found a video from Kino which has not only The River, but the companion piece, The Plow that broke the plains, and two other short documentaries. The River and The Plow that broke the plains were part of FDR's New Deal propaganda (in a positive sense) which promoted conservation using outstanding photography, outstanding scripts, and emotionally compelling scoring.

It's the Mississippi river system. This New Deal doc is directed by film critic Pare Lorentz. It shows overuse and mismanagement over the years causing floods and erosion. Then government agencies replant trees and build dams to repair the damage and improve the lives of the people.

This poetic documentary is rather simple and effective. It's a great piece of salesmanship for the New Deal and the river projects. It does set into motion some less appealing aspects of the big projects. Of course, they don't see it at the time. In the end, the program is sold very well.