The Dust Bowl (2012) |
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The Dust Bowl (2012) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Documentary | None | |
| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2012 | ||
| Running Time | 207:59 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Ken Burns |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring | None Given |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | None Given |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0  (224Kb/s)
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Ken Burns is a skilful documentary filmmaker who avoids flashy graphics or reconstructions in favour of archival materials including photographs, contemporary newspapers and the diaries and correspondence of people who were there. He has some compelling work on his CV including The Civil War (1990), The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (2009) and Prohibition (2011). Now, in a series shown locally on SBS, Burns brings us The Dust Bowl, a harrowing four part series about the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history.
His technique in The Dust Bowl is similar to that of his other documentaries, and as this disaster occurred during the 1930s there are still people alive who can recount what it was like to survive those times. Through the words of a dozen or so survivors and their family photographs, contemporary newspapers, dramatic mostly black and white photographs and film footage, in four episodes we follow the fates of particular families within the wider context of this ecological catastrophe. The series is narrated by Peter Coyote.
The four episodes are:
The Great Plains of the central west of America was treeless prairie, with rainfall of less than 20 inches a year. These were open, flat grasslands with an ecosystem build up over millions of years including the tough buffalo grass that, with its roots, held the soil in place. From the beginning of the twentieth century thousands of families, often immigrants, converge upon the plains lured by cheap land. Sustained by years of good rain and high prices due to the demand created by World War I, over 30 million of acres of virgin land was ploughed and put under wheat. The Stock Market crash and the start of the Great Depression of 1929 led to falling wheat prices, although there were bumper wheat crops in 1929 and 1931. Then, in 1931, a decade long drought commenced and from January 1932 massive dust storms became a regular feature of the plains, stripping off the exposed topsoil, blackening the sky and killing crops and livestock.
In 1933 and 1934 the drought and the dust storms on the Great Plains continue; dirt and sand builds up over houses and farms and gets into everything, and a plague of starving rabbits attacks any greenery left. In May 1934 a massive storm lifted dust all the way across the continent, reducing visibility in Boston, Washington, New York and out into the Atlantic. Property values fell 90%, leading to farm and business foreclosures, repossessions, despair, divorces and suicides. By 1935 the dust that had killed animals and crops started to kill something even more precious; children died due to a phenomenon called “dust pneumonia”. And just as some people felt that things could not be worse, on 14 April 1935, “Black Sunday”, the most ferocious and catastrophic dust storm in history struck; it felt to those who were there like the end of the world.
“Black Sunday” destroyed the hope within many families. With continued drought, recurring dust storms, high temperatures and no crops, families were destitute. The administration of President Roosevelt provided food assistance and work and income through New Deal programs, including planting trees and building roads, to try to help effected families remain on their land. Scientists experimented with new farming techniques to try to control erosion and save the plains. While the majority of families did try to stay, a lot, their hope gone, left and migrated to other states, especially California.
In the late 1930s the population of California grew 20% as people from all over the U.S. arrived seeking a better life. Only a small percentage of the influx came from the dust bowl, but all immigrants were branded “Okies” and faced bigotry, discrimination and squalid living conditions. Their plight was highlighted by the songs of Woody Guthrie, himself a refugee from Pampa Texas, and the best-selling novel by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath. On the Great Plains, President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs and government intervention start to have an effect; the government, for example, initiated a buyback program, returning farms to grasslands, and paid subsidies to farmers not to grow crops. In addition new farming techniques, such as contour ploughing, help to reduce erosion. In 1938 it started, gradually, to rain in the dust bowl; but in a cruel twist the area suffered a plague of grasshoppers that ate whatever green was growing. Finally in 1939 and 1940 the drought broke, and another world war lifted wheat prices higher. The worst was over.
But have lessons been learned? The rains and increased prices again brought land speculators and profit takers onto the plains and the area under cultivation increased leading to dust storms in the early 1950s, although the effects were mitigated by better farming techniques. More disturbingly, farmers started to tap into the artesian water trapped beneath the plains to irrigate their crops, meaning that they could grow more water hungry varieties, such as corn, as well as wheat. It is estimated that since then irrigation has lowered the water table by 50 feet, and that there may only be 20 years of water left. If another cycle of drought as bad as the 1930s occurs again, the Great Plains may well end up like the Sahara Desert.
It is true that the documentary style of Ken Burns, avoiding well known or knowledgeable hosts who often give a series a lift with their personalities, can be quite dry (if you will excuse the pun), especially where the subject matter is so heart-rending. His style is opposite of sensationalism; he is sober and matter of fact, letting the archive material and interviews speak for themselves. The result is that The Dust Bowl is a sad and compelling look at a man-made ecological disaster, created by greed and short-sightedness. It is a tale of human suffering and human perseverance, as well as a morality tale about our relationship with the Earth. But have we learnt anything? The documentary suggests that while some people are prepared to acknowledge the errors of the past, greed and short term gain may once again overwhelm their voices.
The Dust Bowl is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the original ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.
Modern interviews and current film of the plains is fine, with good detail and colours. However, the majority of the documentary consists of archival footage, including pictures, newspapers and film footage and this, not unreasonably, is a mixed bag with marks, scratches, grain and a whole range of such artefacts. Nothing is unwatchable and the archives do give a sobering picture of what it was like to live in that decade amid dust storms and drought.
English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available.
The layer change, at 9:37 Episode 3, resulted in a slight pause.
This is a print that reflects the archive material; and as such is perfectly acceptable.
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Audio is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround encoded at 224 Kbps.
The audio is mainly narration by Peter Coyote, interviews and readings from diaries and letters. All are clear and easy to understand, except for some of the interviewees where accents are occasional a problem. There is some music, mostly from the period including Woody Guthrie songs, but the most obvious use of the surrounds is for the sounds of the massive storms. The sub-woofer is not used.
Lip synchronisation is not a problem; this is direct to camera interviews.
The audio is fine for this type of TV series.
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Nothing.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
In the US the The Dust Bowl was shown on PBS in two episodes each of 114 minutes. The DVD and Blu-ray US releases of The Dust Bowl reflect this. Both are two disc editions, with the episode entitled The Great Plow Up on disc 1 and Reaping the Whirlwind on disc 2. There are also some extras:
There is some input from Burns in the extras, but most are more like deleted scenes.
The Region 2 DVD release is identical to the US version, two disc and with extras, but is in PAL.
Spread over two DVDs and including extras, either of these overseas releases would seem preferable.
Shown locally on SBS, The Dust Bowl is documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ compelling four part series about the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, told by many people who lived through it. The Dust Bowl should be required viewing at any UN climate change conference or for anyone who does not believe that humans have the capacity, through greed and short-sightedness, to destroy our Earth.
The DVD comes with acceptable video and audio. There are no extras.
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| Extras | |
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |