THOMSON, V.: Plow that Broke the Plains (The) / The River
Composer: Thomson, Virgil
The Plow that Broke the Plains
Television Director: Lorentz, Pare
Conductor: Gil-Ordonez, Angel
Post-Classical Ensemble
DVD Producer: Horowitz, Joseph
Composer: Thomson, Virgil
The River
Television Director: Lorentz, Pare
Conductor: Gil-Ordonez, Angel
Post-Classical Ensemble
DVD Producer: Horowitz, Joseph
Year of Production: 12-06-2005
Playing Time: 01:50:40
Catalogue Number: 2.110521
UPC: 0747313552153
Pare Lorentz's The Plow that Broke the Plains (1936) and The River (1937) are landmark American documentary films. Aesthetically, they break new ground in seamlessly marrying pictorial imagery, symphonic music, and poetic free verse, all realized with supreme artistry. Ideologically, they indelibly encapsulate the strivings of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "New Deal." Virgil Thomson's scores for both films are among the most famous ever composed for the movies. Aaron Copland praised the music for The Plow for its "frankness and openness of feeling," calling it "fresher, more simple, and more personal" than the Hollywood norm. He called the music for The River "a lesson in how to treat Americana."
Bonus Features:
- George Stoney on The Plow and The River
- The New Deal, The River, and Race
- Charles Fussell on Virgil Thomson
- Virgil Thomson on Virgil Thomson (audio only)
- The original ending of The Plow that Broke the Plains
- The original beginning of The Plow that Broke the Plains
