Ronald Blumer

Features clips from 21 documentary and animation film classics, interviews with NFB filmmakers past and present, and incisive commentary from film critics and historians on the role and influence of the NFB during its first half century of existence.

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Dolley Madison lived through the two wars that established the U.S., was friends with the first 12 Presidents, and watched America evolve from a struggling young republic to the first modern democracy in the world.

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One of the most controversial men of his age, Alexander Hamilton was a gifted statesman brought down by the fatal flaws of stubbornness, extreme candor and arrogance. His life and career were marked by a stunning rise to power, scandal and tragedy. But his contributions survive. As Secretary of the Treasury during the tumultuous early years of the republic, Hamilton led the transformation of the young country into industrial powerhouse.

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Set against the backdrop of the magical White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, SACRED STAGE explores what the Mariinsky Theater has meant to Russian and Soviet culture and how it has somehow maintained its artistic excellence through tumultuous times.

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An epic yarn spanning most of the 18th century, the series follows Franklin's career from humble beginnings in Boston to international superstardom: first as a scientist and revolutionary, and then as a founding father and America's first diplomat to France.

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Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

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Based on eight years of continued prosperity, presidents and economists alike confidently predicted that America would soon enter a time when there would be no more poverty, no more depressions -- a "New Era" when everyone could be rich. But when reality finally struck, the consequences of such unbound optimism shocked the world.

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TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

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Docudrama about the debate surrounding New York State's ratification of the United States Constitution. Historical figures wear modern dress and use familiar language to help today's audience understand firsthand the forces that shaped this country two hundred years ago. The argument, characters, passions and debating points are historically accurate, but the language and the medium of the debate is modern in form. Present day newscasters and commentators play themselves, reporting on the events of the 1780s as though they were occurring now.

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An interview with playwright and screenwriter Samson Raphaelson. First aired on PBS's "Creativity with Bill Moyers".

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Bureaucracy shapes our lives and guides us from the cradle to the grave. This documentary lays bare the idiosyncrasies of bureaucracy, whether in Canada, Austria, Hungary, the Vatican or the Virgin Islands. It also attempts to make the functioning of the public service more comprehensible. The absurdities of bureaucratic behaviour are exposed with humour and irreverence.

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