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Ken Burns: Prohibition DVD & Blu-ray

$39.99
Item #: WA7772
PROHIBITION, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The film starts with the early history of alcohol in America and examines the 19th-century temperance and progressive movements through the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933. This 6-hour, three part documentary also includes ... More
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PROHIBITION, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, tells the story of the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The film starts with the early history of alcohol in America and examines the 19th-century temperance and progressive movements through the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933. This 6-hour, three part documentary also includes over 2 hours of bonus content.

PROHIBITION, a three-part documentary series, directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, explores the extraordinary story of what happens when a freedom-loving nation outlaws the sale of intoxicating liquor - and the disastrous unintended consequences that follow.

This utterly relevant cautionary tale raises profound questions about the proper role of government and the limits of legislating morality.

When the country goes dry in 1920, after a century of debate, millions of law-abiding Americans become lawbreakers overnight. Here are the stories of the petty whiskey-jobbers, big-time bootleggers, and brutal gangsters; the flappers who danced the Charleston in New York speakeasies; and the families who stomped grapes in basements and made moonshine in backyards. But beyond the cocktails, this is a darker story about what happens when lobbyists divide the country with wedge issues; the contempt unleashed by smear campaigns; and the perils of unfunded mandates.

By the 1930s, the ""Noble Experiment"" has bitterly divided the nation into wets, drys, and hypocrites. In 1933, with the country in the throes of the Great Depression, Americans have finally had enough - and rally to repeal 18th Amendment and put an end to Prohibition.

Episodes include
A Nation of Drunkards
A Nation of Scofflaws
A Nation of Hypocrites

This DVD also includes
Interviews
- Saloons
- The Notion that Man Is Perfectable
- It's Better to Know the Judge
- That's Just the Way Life Was
- Rebels of New York
- Somebody Got a Pineapple
- Kentucky
- Capone
- Roy Olmstead
- Tabloid Heroes
- You People Were Thirsty
- Gangs
- Bad Booze
- Lessons

Extra Scene Titles
- Owled, Edged, Jingled, Piffed…
- Kentucky Bourbon
- And I Caught Hell
- He Never Did Get Caught
- San Francisco Welcomes Visitors from Italy, 1921
- Hoover's Medicine Ball Cabinet
- An Object of Ridicule
- Ten Nights in a Bar Room

And…
- Original music by Wynton Marsalis
- A Spanish Audio Track
- Descriptive Video for the Visually Impaired
- Subtitles in English (SDH)"

Producer: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, Sarah Botstein
Executive Producer: Ken Burns
Production Company: Florentine Films
Production Year: 2011
Copyright Year: 2011
Director: Lynn Novick, Ken Burns
Narrator: Peter Coyote
Writers: Geoffrey C. Ward
Number of Discs: 3
Length: 360 minutes
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English (SDH);Spanish
Language Track: Spanish
DVI: Y
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen

56 Reviews
S
Shining R.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
03/20/22
Every American should see this.
Review by Shining R. on 03/20/22 review stating Every American should see this.
The insights from this documentary can be applied to present day challenges such as the abortion issue. It demonstrates that Reversing Roe is not the way to go, etc. In this documentary well meaning people were going about solving a problem in the wrong way making the situation worse.
N
Niccola
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
03/07/22
Prohibition
Review by Niccola on 03/07/22 review stating Prohibition
Anything from Ken Burns is worth viewing. Fantastic research and presentation, always.
S
Susan
Verified Buyer
5.0 star rating
12/22/21
Im using this excellent production
Review by Susan on 12/22/21 review stating Im using this excellent production
Im using this excellent production to help my nephew get a feeling for the Prohibition era. Were doing a report on the 18th amendment for History month and this living history is a fantastic way to excite him about a pretty dry subject.
S
Shorthand M.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
09/12/21
Excellent
Review by Shorthand M. on 09/12/21 review stating Excellent
This was an intelligent, balanced, informative, and entertaining look at a marvelous period of American history, packed with information I did not know. If only our current politicians would watch, they could really learn something about legislating morality. Well worth the price.
A
Act
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
08/14/21
Prohibition is extremely well done!
Review by Act on 08/14/21 review stating Prohibition is extremely well done!
There is so much more here than just the single issue. Cultural attitudes, immigrants, class warfare, organized crime, corruption and coverups. It could not be more exciting and informative!
C
Carol
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
06/28/21
Very interesting
Review by Carol on 06/28/21 review stating Very interesting
This was a very interesting and informative series...I never realized exactly how Prohibition really affected our society...Once again, Ken Burns has turned out a stellar documentary...making people aware and knowledgable of interesting and controvertial topics...
N
No F.
Anonymous User
3.0 star rating
01/19/21
Nothing about Joe Kennedys Rum Running
Review by No F. on 01/19/21 review stating Nothing about Joe Kennedys Rum Running
There was a glaring omission in this series: While naming the major rum runners in New England, there was NO mention of one of the biggest: Joe Kennedy, father of John Kennedy, who, to this day, gets money from the Canadian liquor interests. What happened, Ken Burns, did the kennedys pay you off??????
T
Test U.
Anonymous User
3.0 star rating
11/29/20
Test Review Pros/Cons
Review by Test U. on 11/29/20 review stating Test Review Pros/Cons
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus volutpat feugiat nisi, sit amet lobortis augue iaculis sit amet. Vivamus mollis tellus vel dolor dictum blandit. Nullam non diam sem. Nunc sed leo orci. Mauris rhoncus laoreet pulvinar. Integer blandit urna et leo pellentesque faucibus.
J
Jack
Anonymous User
4.0 star rating
07/17/20
Well Worth It
Review by Jack on 07/17/20 review stating Well Worth It
Great Documentary. Contains a lot of information I didnt know.
R
Richard
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Good prohibition history
Review by Richard on 07/17/20 review stating Good prohibition history
Simply the best
M
Ms. I.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
important piece of information
Review by Ms. I. on 07/17/20 review stating important piece of information
Morals, liquor, and taxes. All necessary evils
R
Ron D.
Anonymous User
4.0 star rating
07/17/20
Ill drink to that!
Review by Ron D. on 07/17/20 review stating Ill drink to that!
Once again, Ken Burns has turned it out! This is a very good documentary about a time which few of us really understand or know a lot about. The period music adds just enough pop to make this a very enjoyable History lesson.
W
Whitney B.
Anonymous User
4.0 star rating
07/17/20
Wonderful Job!
Review by Whitney B. on 07/17/20 review stating Wonderful Job!
It was wonderful and insightful, I recal the first time i saw it....At the time i was studing the roaring twenties in th 11th grade and we soon after started reading the great gatsby and later focused in on prohibition....i was scrolling through the channels( I did not have cable at the time) and i came aross this...it was just about to come on and I guess I watched about five or six minutes and i was sorta sucked in.It goes alot further than my text book and the basics I learned about in school. I knew i was a nerd and i embraced it, I always asked questions like why and how... this time period is one i will forever love to talk about but seeing as im southern,a female and a african american one attending a public school my curiosity was not always liked or respected....This really aswerd alot of the burning questions my book and teacher didnt.It really helped put the peices together.Im 18 now and in college and I have seen this about five or so times.Prohibition was beautifuly flowing and Im no critic but I think Mr Burns and Mr Novick did a wonderful job.
L
Libertarian H.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Reinforced what I had always believed.
Review by Libertarian H. on 07/17/20 review stating Reinforced what I had always believed.
The 18th and 21st Amendments are the two blackest marks on our Constitution. It just goes to show what can happen when short-sighted legislators fail to consider the adverse downstream consequences of their legislation. This program makes one question the efficacy of todays War on Drugs. This program shows that Prohibition clearly didnt work as intended--in fact, alcohol consumption actually rose during Prohibition. Also, Prohibition gave rise to the greatest organized crime spree America had faced up to that point. With the current War on Drugs (which has resulted in the growing home and car security industries), isnt history just repeating itself? This excellent program gets one thinking.
H
Hoytsupreme
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
Ken Burns Prohibition DVD
Review by Hoytsupreme on 07/17/20 review stating Ken Burns Prohibition DVD
This is an excellent DVD for all to see. The history of the American during this time in the 20s and early 30s shows what is going on in the present day when organizations who want the best for the country ends up like the drug laws we have from the 80s to present. So far I have seen it twice and will see it again since each time more comes out in to see the history of society in America.
B
Bushman
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
excellent
Review by Bushman on 07/17/20 review stating excellent
cover all behind the scenes action leading to enactment and repeal of prohibition
C
Carmine
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
you want more
Review by Carmine on 07/17/20 review stating you want more
great book
J
Jimbos P.
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
A History lesson that is interesting
Review by Jimbos P. on 07/17/20 review stating A History lesson that is interesting
The Ken Burns DVD PROHIBITION gives a extensive and comprehensive study of a subject in American History that when I was in school was explained with only one paragraph. Better yet, I learned more about the reasons that the prohbition of alchohol came into effect and the reasons why our government failed in trying to legislate morality. I originally saw PROHIBITION on NGS cable TV channel and gave the DVD as a gift to a family member of mine.
C
Carmine
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
you want more
Review by Carmine on 07/17/20 review stating you want more
i would like to see more on this topic
J
Joannerider
Anonymous User
5.0 star rating
07/17/20
A facincating historical lookback
Review by Joannerider on 07/17/20 review stating A facincating historical lookback
This is a must see for every American to discover how change can happen even in this huge democracy.

"A masterpiece..." - Esther Cepeda, Chicago Sun-Times, September 25, 2011

"This constitutional attempt to ban alcohol was a failed experiment, as you know if you've ever seen a gangster movie or if you've made any recent visits to a bar, restaurant or sporting event. But you may not know what prompted Prohibition, how it got passed and repealed, and what its failure tells us about the limits of government control. Few people have ever been able to impart those kind of lessons in more entertaining fashion than Burns." - Robert Bianco, USA TODAY, September 9, 2011

"There's no denying that ""Prohibition," is absolutely terrific and perhaps the best film yet by Burns and his collaborator, Lynn Novick." - David Wiegand, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, August 2, 2011

"If you like 'Boardwalk Empire,' you won't want to miss Ken Burns' intoxicating documentary about this aspect of 1920s America" - Jeanne Jakle, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, September 11, 2011

"One of prolific filmmaker Burns's best, this is highly recommended." - Video Librarian, Nov/Dec 2011

"There is in these 5 1/2 hours, breathtaking in their scope and detail, nothing approaching a dull moment" - Dorothy Rabinowitz, The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2011

"…Absorbing. Mr. Burns and Ms. Novick, commendably, don't beat you over the head with the obvious lessons for those today who would legislate personal behavior; they largely let the story of Prohibition speak for itself." - Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times, September 30, 2011

"The assurance and fluidity of the filmmaking on display in 'Prohibition' are a marvel. Style this good doesn't just serve content, it shapes and interrogates it." - Mark Feeney, Boston Globe, September 30, 2011


Highlighted Customer Reviews


J
Jo reviewed Ken Burns: Prohibition DVD & Blu-ray
5 star rating
Test Best Ever
Review by Jo review stating Test Best Ever
Another home run for Burns
L
Ltb reviewed Ken Burns: Prohibition DVD & Blu-ray
5 star rating
TEST Fantastic!
Review by Ltb review stating TEST Fantastic!
I love this documentary.
K
Kat reviewed Ken Burns: Prohibition DVD & Blu-ray
5 star rating
Test Ken Burns Rocks
Review by Kat review stating Test Ken Burns Rocks
Ken Burns Rocks

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