The American Experience: Johnstown Flood (1993)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Richard Dreyfuss narrates this documentary covering the tragic day of May 31, 1889 when the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was crippled by a massive flood when the South Fork Dam burst and the end result had towns completely destroyed and a death toll of 2,200 or more. Considering how tragic this event was it's really a wonder why more people haven't heard of it. I'm not sure if it was just so tragic that time has tried to forget it but considering the damage and the number of deaths it seems like the event would be better remembered today. Considering how horrifying and harrowing the events are, it doesn't really take much for you to get caught up in the story and the sadness and Dreyfuss does a very good job with his part as narrator. The main problem I had with the movie was the way it was shot with some extremely silly actors playing people and telling "their" stories. I found these sequences to be poorly shot and it really took away from the actual story. Nothing we're told from these people really adds up or hits you with too much simply because of how poorly stages the scenes are and some of the performances are rather silly. It's really too bad these scenes take away from the overall story so with that in mind there's no question that you need another documentary. Throughout the horror and shock of the actual event, it was refreshing seeing how the entire country came together to raise money, food and make sure that those who needed help got it. We have seen this several time in America's history.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Richard Dreyfuss narrates this documentary covering the tragic day of May 31, 1889 when the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was crippled by a massive flood when the South Fork Dam burst and the end result had towns completely destroyed and a death toll of 2,200 or more. Considering how tragic this event was it's really a wonder why more people haven't heard of it. I'm not sure if it was just so tragic that time has tried to forget it but considering the damage and the number of deaths it seems like the event would be better remembered today. Considering how horrifying and harrowing the events are, it doesn't really take much for you to get caught up in the story and the sadness and Dreyfuss does a very good job with his part as narrator. The main problem I had with the movie was the way it was shot with some extremely silly actors playing people and telling "their" stories. I found these sequences to be poorly shot and it really took away from the actual story. Nothing we're told from these people really adds up or hits you with too much simply because of how poorly stages the scenes are and some of the performances are rather silly. It's really too bad these scenes take away from the overall story so with that in mind there's no question that you need another documentary. Throughout the horror and shock of the actual event, it was refreshing seeing how the entire country came together to raise money, food and make sure that those who needed help got it. We have seen this several time in America's history.