Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
by Philippe Mora

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DVD details

Actor: Fred Astaire, Laverne Andrews, Maxene Andrews, Patty Andrews, Warner Baxter
Director: Philippe Mora
Editor: Jeremy Thomas
Producer: David Puttnam
Producer: Sanford Lieberson
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-10-12
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Image Entertainment

DVD Reviews of Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

DVD Review: Not for elementary level
Summary: 2 Stars

I am a 6th grade teacher. After reading "Bud, Not Buddy", and learning a lot of background of the Great Depression, I thought this movie would be good to wrap up the unit. For 6th graders (and below) they really couldn't follow along with the format of the film. Some events were familiar, but all in all, they were a bit bored due to being lost. The film itself is great. But not for elementary aged students.

DVD Review: Brother can you spare a dime"?
Summary: 5 Stars

I had seen this video many years ago and always wanted a copy. It sports a cast of famous and not so famous characters. It is a statement on the human condition and mans resilience in the face of hardships that would make Jobe surrender.

DVD Review: A Compelling Documentary
Summary: 5 Stars

This documentary should not be down-graded due to its lack of narration. The lack of commentary is exactly what makes this such a unique piece of work and all the more memorable and fascinating.

I think the film is compelling enough to motivate those who may not fully understand the history of the Great Depression to learn more, which will only enhance their next viewing.

DVD Review: A Visual Journey
Summary: 4 Stars

My father introduced me to this doc. when I was fairly young, and I loved it at even a young age. It combines news and movie clips that flow together wonderfully with period music (alot of great Woody Guthrie) The end is lacking as it jumps raggedly into the next 20 years and then ends, but on a whole it is a great film! (I introduced it to many of my history teachers as an alternative to poorly acted educational films.)

DVD Review: great footage, but lacks commentary
Summary: 3 Stars

There is great documentary, movie, and news footage in this film, however, the lack of commentary is frustrating. I was expecting something that would give more of the history of the period, rather than just showing footage. The lack of narration left me questioning the history and context of the footage being shown. Narration, or even captions, would have been effective. The footage that is shown, however, is excellent and would probably be much appreciated by someone who is familiar with this time period.

Description of Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

The chronicle of an unforgettable piece of American history--12 crazy, painful see-saw years, from the Wall Street crash to Pearl Harbor. By juxtaposing contemporary news and documentary footage with extracts from Hollywood classics such as Golddiggers, Lady Killer and Wild Boys of the Road, director Philippe Mora offers an immediate, intricate and evocative scrapbook of the 1930s. 111 minutes.

As those who are old enough to have lived through the Great Depression disappear, the era seems more and more remote; it's nearly impossible for later generations to understand just how desperate things were in the United States in the 1930s. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? captures not only the history but also the culture of the time in a rather unusual documentary format. Totally without the benefit of narration, the movie mixes newsreel footage with clips from Hollywood films to tell the story, from the stock market crash through Pearl Harbor. Movie-minded viewers will easily recognize footage from They Made Me a Criminal, Public Enemy, Golddiggers of 1933, Employee's Entrance, Little Caesar, Lady Killer, I Was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, and countless other Hollywood films from the time--some classics, some more obscure. The scope of the film covers not only historical landmarks such as the Dust Bowl, FDR's election, and the New Deal, but dance marathons and the Louis-Schmeling heavyweight fight for a comprehensive look at the country's social climate. The formula works well, for the most part; especially before the imposition of the Hays Code chilled Hollywood's tone, the '30s saw the birth of the "social consciousness" picture that dealt with topical issues in straightforward ways. Brother only falls down when it attempts to wrap up the film by bringing it up to the present time (1975, anyway); its ending seems superfluous, tacked-on. Still, for history buffs and movie fans alike, this is an interesting account of a pivotal decade in American history. --Jerry Renshaw

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