I was not particularly impressed by opening montage (with, I think, the music of Paul Simon)--it seemed like filler and didn't work for me. The same, I think, could be said of the various folks who waxed lyrical of the concept of liberty. Until the film began talking in earnest about the history of the statue, I think the film was in neutral--momentum-wise. Fortunately, this brief beginning soon ended and the history (with David McCullough narrating) was discussed--and the show became very, very interesting. I was surprised to hear WHY the statue was originally to be built--to try to push France to promote liberty in its repressive society. By 1875, the government had changed and the project was seen as a way to encourage this freedom in France. It was also interesting to HOW the statue was made. And, the less than enthusiastic welcome by many Americans sure came as a surprise! Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the fame Alsatian sculptor, designed this massive structure. And although it arrived in American just after the Centennial (1876), it wasn't assembled atop the platform on Bedlow's Island until a full decade later! Much of this was because the American government was not going to pay for this and fund-raising needed to be done to build the platform and assemble the HUGE statue.
The final portion is much like the first--there was a lot of talking about the statue, its importance on popular culture and its impact on immigrants seeing it for the first time. And lots and lots of famous and ordinary folks were interviewed for this.
I enjoyed this film but felt that the beginning and the end were padded just a bit--with lots and lots and lots of waxing lyrical about the statue. I also was surprised at all the folks Burns chose to interview that had negative things to say about the country--focusing on America's deficits (this is true of ALL nations). This probably won't sit well with some viewers. The history was great--the rest was....okay. But, worth seeing overall.
By the way, the film clip of Chaplin in this documentary is from "The Immigrant"--one of Chaplin's more famous shorts.
The final portion is much like the first--there was a lot of talking about the statue, its importance on popular culture and its impact on immigrants seeing it for the first time. And lots and lots of famous and ordinary folks were interviewed for this.
I enjoyed this film but felt that the beginning and the end were padded just a bit--with lots and lots and lots of waxing lyrical about the statue. I also was surprised at all the folks Burns chose to interview that had negative things to say about the country--focusing on America's deficits (this is true of ALL nations). This probably won't sit well with some viewers. The history was great--the rest was....okay. But, worth seeing overall.
By the way, the film clip of Chaplin in this documentary is from "The Immigrant"--one of Chaplin's more famous shorts.