American Masters (TV Series) Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women' (2008) User Reviews

A true hero, very enlightening story

[rannynm · 9/10 · 7 October 2015]

As a young girl, I was a big fan of the children' books by Louisa May Alcott. I knew that the Little Women series of books were based on her real life but I found from watching this DVD that her real life story is much more interesting and exciting than she was portrayed in her books. She was a true hero and I found this DVD very enlightening and entertaining. It is a must-see for those who are fans of Luisa May Alcott. The special features were also interesting. They included an extended interview with Author Geraldine Brooks, Alcott Scholar Daniel Shealy and others. There is also a Q&A with Nancy Porter, Harriet Reisen and Elizabeth Marvel. My favorite special feature was LOVE, a poem by Louisa May Alcott, read by Elizabeth Marvel. I felt that this DVD really showed that Louisa May Alcott was much more than a story book character, she was a true inspiration to women. Reviewed by Denise B., KIDS FIRST! Reviewer

Outstanding portrait & window into life in the 1800s

[jcravens42 · 10/10 · 31 October 2011]

It doesn't matter if you are a fan of "Little Woman" or not - this portrait of Louisa May Alcott is a detailed, unromantic, fascinating account of life in the USA in the 1880s, and shatters a lot of myths about life and wealth for American women in that time - even as it confirms others. Finding out that Louisa May Alcott was such a prolific writer, that she wrote fiery, even sensational novels stories under the nom de plume A. M. Barnard, was mind-blowing, as was her experience the first time she went to Europe and her time in the Civil War. She was a feminist and an abolitionist at a time when neither were popular things to be. So much of this story is in her own words, or in the words of her family and friends all around her, done in re-enactments, woven among commentary by historians and researchers. Yet, by the time it's over, you feel like you have watched a movie, not a documentary. I recorded this show on a whim, and it took weeks before I turned it on to half watch it while working - and I ended up getting no work done.