"The American Experience" Panama Canal (2011)

Director:

Stephen Ives

Writers:

Michelle Ferrari
Paul Taylor

TV Series:

"The American Experience" (1987)

Original Air Date:

24 January 2011 (Season 23, Episode 4)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

USA | Anthology | Public Media | Reenactment

Cast

Josh Hamilton	...	(voice)
Stephen Ives	...	Himself - Director
Walter LaFeber	...	Himself - Historian
Carolyn McCormick	...	(voice)
Michael Murphy	...	Himself - Narrator
Theodore Roosevelt	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Stephen Ives

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michelle Ferrari
Paul Taylor

Produced by
Susan Bellows	....	series producer
Sharon Grimberg	....	executive producer
Lindsey Megrue	....	coordinating producer
Susan Mottau	....	coordinating producer
Amanda Pollak	....	producer
Mark Samels	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Peter Rundquist

Cinematography by
Andrew Young

Film Editing by
George O'Donnell

Production Management
Vanessa Ezersky	....	post-production manager
Glenn Fukushima	....	post-production manager
Greg Shea	....	post-production manager
Nancy Sherman	....	production manager

Art Department
Alison Kennedy	....	designer

Sound Department
Dan Fulton	....	assistant sound editor
Marlena Grzaslewicz	....	dialogue editor
Matt Gundy	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Jenkins	....	sound mixer
Ira Spiegel	....	sound designer
J.T. Takagi	....	sound recordist
John Zecca	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Daniel Choy Boyar	....	electrician
Daniel Choy Boyar	....	grip
Rafael de la Uz	....	additional cinematographer
Peter Nelson	....	additional cinematographer
Buddy Squires	....	additional cinematographer

Animation Department
Paul Docherty	....	stills animator
Gina Tolentino	....	stills animator

Editorial Department
Lauren DeFilippo	....	associate editor
David Gauff	....	conforming editor
Spencer Gentry	....	on-line editor
Paul Taylor	....	senior editor
Gina Tolentino	....	assistant editor
Jane Tolmachyov	....	colorist

Music Department
Joel Goodman	....	composer: theme music
Joel Goodman	....	musician

Other crew
Daniel Amigone	....	production associate
Samantha Chan	....	office production assistant
Emily Chapman	....	office production assistant
Victor Chen	....	production assistant
Joy Conley	....	researcher
Julie Cresswell	....	researcher
Julia DeWahl	....	office production assistant
James E. Dunford	....	series manager
Susana Fernandes	....	project administration
Jay Fialkov	....	legal
Janice Flood	....	legal
Pamela Gaudiano	....	project administration
Andrew Hall	....	production controller
Merrell Hambleton	....	office production assistant
Morgan Hartley	....	office production assistant
Molly Jacobs	....	production assistant
Maureen Jordan	....	legal
Scott Kardel	....	legal
James Kendrick	....	legal service
Samantha M. Knowles	....	office production assistant
Stephanie Morales	....	office production assistant
Anel E. Moreno	....	fixer (as Anel Moreno)
Anel E. Moreno	....	location scout (as Anel Moreno)
Marlene Q. Moura	....	office production assistant
Matthew Parker	....	consultant
Lauren Prestileo	....	publicist
Sarah Rentz	....	researcher
Tory Starr	....	production assistant
John T. Sughrue	....	director: Insignia Films
Ed Weisel	....	production accountant
Tim Werenko	....	project manager
Robert A. Wilson	....	director: Insignia Films
Patricia Yusah	....	project administration

Thanks
Teresa Arosemena	....	special thanks
Maria Beatriz Barletta	....	special thanks
Helen R. DuBois	....	special thanks
Van Hardeveld	....	special thanks
Bill McLaughlin	....	special thanks
Elizabeth Neily	....	special thanks
Ginny Porrata	....	special thanks

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Rocky Collins		multiple episodes
Henry Hampton		creator

Produced by
Rocky Collins	....	producer (multiple episodes)

Sound Department
Doug Madick	....	foley artist (multiple episodes)

Distributors

• PBS International (2011) (Non-USA) (all media)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (2011) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

USA:84 min (original version)

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

As Great As You Could Hope For

The American Experience: Panama Canal (2011)

**** (out of 4)

Another wonderful episode in the long-running series takes a look at the disastrous and eventual remarkable attempt at connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The 90-minute film goes through every aspect of the ten year journey that took thousands of lives, many debates and many different people simply leaving the project thinking it was impossible. For anyone interested in the subject I think it's safe to say that this is pretty much everything you'll want or need to know. Sure, if you want to know every little detail then a book would be better but there's no question that this documentary goes into every detail about the building of the canal. There are several historians on hand to take us from the early stages including the French trying and failing all the way up to the very end once the canal finally opened to its first ship. We get all the details about the many people who were put in charge but eventually resigned and we also hear about the racial issues and differences in the money people were making. The most fascinating stuff is just dealing with the various issues that came up during the building and when you see the land, the jungle and the water it's simply amazing that they were able to accomplish what they did.