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American Masters: Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (2015) DVD

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Louisa May Alcott was no little woman, and her life was no children's book. Louisa May Alcott's story is as full of incident, surprise, and heroism as any plot she invented. This first film biography of the beloved author of Little Women stars Elizabeth Marvel (House of Cards) in a detailed portrait that replaces the image of a New England spinster with a li... ... More

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American Masters: Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women

Louisa May Alcott was no little woman, and her life was no children's book; her story is as full of incident, surprise, and heroism as any plot she invented. The daughter of improvident educator Bronson Alcott, Louisa was homeschooled by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, served as a nurse in the Civil War, fought for women's suffrage, and lived a secret life as the author of lurid pulp fiction until Little Women lifted her and her family from rags to riches and literary celebrity.

Starring Elizabeth Marvel (House of Cards, Lincoln), directed by Nancy Porter (NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE), written by Harriet Reisen, (Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women, a Wall Street Journal Top Ten Standout Book), featuring actors Daniel Gerroll and Jane Alexander, and with commentary by Pulitzer Prize-winners Geraldine Brooks and John Matteson, this first film biography of Louisa May Alcott replaces the image of a New England spinster with a portrait of a living, breathing, modern woman.

Special Features include…
- Extended interviews with author Geraldine Brooks, Alcott scholars Joel Myerson, Sarah Elbert, and many more
- Q&A with filmmakers Nancy Porter and Harriet Reisen, and with actor Elizabeth Marvel (Louisa May Alcott)
- LOVE, a poem by Louisa May Alcott, read by Elizabeth Marvel

Producer: Nancy Porter, Harriet Reisen, Jennifer Pearce, Julie Sacks, Prudence Glass
Executive Producer: Susan Lacy
Production Company: WNET; Thirteen; Nancy Porter Productions
Production Year: 2008
Copyright Year: 2009
Rating: TV-PG
Actors: Elizabeth Marvel, Jane Alexander, Daniel Gerroll
Writers: Harriet Reisen
Number of Discs: 1
Length: 83 minutes
Subtitled: Y
Subtitle Languages: English
Audio Format: 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Widescreen

Customer Reviews

Media Reviews

"engrossing" - USA TODAY

"splendid…a revelation" - LA Tiimes

"Best Video of the year" - Booklist

"Notable Video" - American Library Association

Highlighted Customer Reviews

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Rev F. reviewed American Masters: Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (2015) DVD

The Life and Times of Louisa May Alcott Revisited

Much has been learned about the family and literary life of one of the best-loved and most-read of Americas authors of childrens literature since the mid-1950s when I first read Little Women. Louisa May Alcotts total literary output may well continue to augmented by new discoveries; writing under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard among others she published stories and novels on adult themes not congruent with contemporary ideas of material suitable to all readers. Additionally, scholarly attention has been paid to the lives and ideas of Alcotts parents as well as to the educational theories developed by her father, Bronson Alcott, which deeply influenced her writing for children -- in most of which a school and/or a theory of human development is explored. This DVD gives a lively and judicious account of the life and times of Louisa May Alcott, incorporating new biographical material as well as incorporating the rarefied literary climate and context of her most productive years in Concird and Boston.

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Peggy reviewed American Masters: Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (2015) DVD

Not a little woman!

Woman and girls all over the world have read and loved Alcotts story about sisters growing from girlhood to womanhood. We have suspected that the character of Jo might be Louisa herself, and that is true - but only to an extent. Her creator had many of the same traits - the curiosity, sense of humor, creativity, impatience, and unladylike tendencies, as well as devotion to her parents and sisters. But her life led her away from marriage and into other adventures, including service as a nurse during the Civil War. This program shows Louisa May Alcott as an inspiration woman, not in any sense little.

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Claudia reviewed American Masters: Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (2015) DVD

Louisa May Alcott on American Masters

I send this program as a gift and I love everything that PBS does on American Masters programs. Great videos and great television series! Thank you PBS. C. Cockerill