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Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp [Two-Disc Special Edition]

Actors: Hugh McGraw, Raymond Hamrick, Richard Delong, Rodney Ivey, Warren Steel
ASIN : B0012IU2FW
Sales Rank : 11455
Director : Matt Hinton & Erica Hinton
Studio : Awake Productions
Region Code : 0
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Surround Sound
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0616892942320
UPC : 616892942320
Release Date : December 01, 2008
Publisher : Awake Productions
Manufacturer : Awake Productions
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Awake Productions
Running Time : 300

Product Description

As seen on Public Television nationwide. 'Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp' is the first feature documentary about Sacred Harp singing, a haunting form of a cappella, shape note hymn singing with deep roots in the American south. Shape note singing has survived over 200 years tucked away from notice in the rural deep south, where in old country churches, singers break open 'The Sacred Harp', a 160 year old shape note hymnal which has preserved these fiercely beautiful songs which are some of the oldest in America. The film offers a glimpse into the lives of this 'Lost Tonal Tribe' whose history is a story of both rebellion and tradition. The filmmakers, Matt and Erica Hinton spent 7 years documenting this yet largely unknown art form. Narrated by country singer Jim Lauderdale. This Special Edition includes an extended version of Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp with over 20 minutes not seen on Television, as well as over 5 hours of bonus features! Including: * Awake, My Soul, a documentary introduction to the history, music and traditions associated with The Sacred Harp, a 19th shapenote hymnal which contains many of the earliest American tunes. * Deleted Scenes * Additional interview footage from the Sacred Harp singers featured in Awake, My Soul commenting on a variety of themes. * Over two hours of Sacred Harp singing (62 songs) from 1998-2006, the years that Awake My Soul was in production. * A feature-length audio commentary by featured singers Hugh McGraw, Raymond Hamrick, John Plunkett, and director, Matt Hinton. * The original 10 minute film that was the university project which led the directors, Matt & Erica Hinton, to produce Awake, My Soul . * Interviews with Narrator/ country singer Jim Lauderdale and with Executive Producers Mac Powell & Tai Anderson of the Grammy award winning band, Third Day. * Subtitles for those who haven't yet grasped the nuances of the Southern dialect of the English language. * and more...

Amazon.com

Seven years of filmic devotion by directors Matt and Erica Hinton poured into Awake My Soul, a thorough examination of the history of Sacred Harp singing. Sacred harp singing, based on four notes, or "shape-notes" sung in different octaves and a cappella rounds to form otherworldly harmonies, has survived since early Colonists rebelled against a musical dearth caused by Puritanism by inventing this lovely congregational singing style. Delving into hymns from "The Sacred Harp," a 160-year old hymnal still presently used, Awake My Soul shows choirs at Shoal Creek Church in Georgia and Henegar Union Convention in Alabama, among others, singing Christian songs that sound as if they were written in the Renaissance. In addition, narration by Jim Lauderdale edited into archival footage and interview snippets with approximately twenty living singers and music teachers navigates the historical, social, and religious terrain of this American tradition that was rediscovered in the 1920s and again during the 1960s folk revival, by Alan Lomax and singer Hugh McGraw. Certain characters, like Raymond Hamrick, a watchmaker from Macon, Georgia who has been singing and songwriting for over fifty years, remind one of how crucial storytelling is to rural Southern culture, where sacred harp singing currently thrives. Awake My Soul is careful to point out that this music has been preserved in small communities rather than in academic settings. To underscore the cultural power each individual has to foster artistic creation, regardless of age, class, race, or other social limitation, is to shed true light on what Sacred Harp singing is all about.--Trinie Dalton

Price: $89.99

WWII: A Filmed History

Actors: James Stewart, James Cagney, Margaret O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd
ASIN : B001DUJNEU
Sales Rank : 39175
Director : John Huston;Garson Kanin;John Ford
Brand : Topics Entertainment
Studio : Topics Entertainment
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0781735603116
UPC : 781735603116
Release Date : December 07, 2008
Publisher : Topics Entertainment
Manufacturer : Topics Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 9 to 12 days
Label : Topics Entertainment
Running Time : 1500

Product Description

24 COMPLETE DVDS Since 1935, the National Archives has been responsible for the acquisition, preservation, and public dissemination of the permanent records of the United States government. Now, for the first time, select materials from this national resource have been assembled to bring you the largest collection of WWII history in one complete box set featuring everything from historical newsreel footage to documentary featurettes lensed and narrated by some of Hollywood's greatest names. From America to Europe, from the air to the sea, experience a war that spanned the globe: Set #1: War in Europe Explores the Nazi ambition for world conquest, featuring historical pre-cursors, artillery and infantry attacks, the invasion Poland, and the horrific concentration camps. Set #2: War on the Homefront Takes you stateside to a time when gas rationing, food conservation, and the wartime efforts of civilian men and women occupied a nation. Features narration by James Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, and Humphrey Bogart, as wells as the acting talents of Susan Hayward, Alan Ladd, James Cagney, Margaret O'Brien and more. Set #3: War in the Pacific Dramatic footage of U.S. Navy, Marine, and Army forces as they combat the Japanese military. Features amphibious landings, Kamikaze air attacks, post-war events, the surrender of Japan, and the Academy Award®-winning documentary from acclaimed Hollywood director John Ford. Set #4: Why We Fight A thought-provoking collection exploring the wartime involvement of Russia, China, Italy, the United States, and Germany. Featuring the Oscar®-nominated documentary narrated by Walter Huston and footage featuring Edward R. Murrow and President Roosevelt. TOTAL RUN TIME: APPROXIMATELY 26 HOURS

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Combat Classics 50 MoviePack

Actors: Randolph Scott, Ronald Reagan, James Cagney, Richard Arlen
ASIN : B0014CCPP6
Sales Rank : 11583
Brand : Combat
Studio : Mill Creek Entertainment
Region Code : 0
Format : Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0826831070407
UPC : 826831070407
Release Date : December 06, 2008
Publisher : Mill Creek Entertainment
Manufacturer : Mill Creek Entertainment
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : Mill Creek Entertainment
Running Time : 4196

Product Description

50 gripping feature films capture the heroism and the horror of war in this collection compiled by Mill Creek Entertainment. You will find classic screen legends such as Richard Arlen, Randolph Scott, Van Johnson, James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Ronald Reagan, and Montgomery Clift. Classic movies include Gung Ho, Go for Broke, Blood on the Sun, The Big Lift, Hell in Normandy, and many more. There's plenty of action for everyone in this value-priced DVD set.

Included

Adventures of Tartu The

Aerial Gunner

Battle of Blood Island

Battle of El Alamein The

Battle of the Eagles

Big Lift The

Black Brigade

Blood on the Sun

Bombs over Burma

British Intelligence

Bushwhackers The

Commandos

Corregidor

Dawn Express The

Desert Commandos

Drums In the Deep South

Eagle in a Cage

Go For Broke!

Gung Ho!

Hearts in Bondage

Hell in Normandy

Hitler's S.S.

Identity Unknown

Immortal Battalion The

Iron Angel

Kansas Pacific

Lady from Chungking The

Last Chance The

Marines are Coming The

Mark of the Hawk The

Minesweeper

Mutiny

Navy Way The

One of our Aircraft is Missing

Outpost in Morocco

Pacific Inferno

Proud and the Damned The

Spitfire

Steel Claw The

Submarine Alert

Submarine Base

Sundown

Then There Were Three

They Raid By Night

This is the Army

Three Came Home

Torch The

War Devils

War Head

Yellowneck

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9/11 Mysteries Part 1: Demolitions

Actor: David Ray Griffin
ASIN : B000QGE8A6
Sales Rank : 10227
Director : Sofia Smallstorm
Studio : CFP DOMESTIC
Region Code : 1
Format : Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 0826262004095
UPC : 826262004095
Release Date : December 14, 2007
Publisher : CFP DOMESTIC
Manufacturer : CFP DOMESTIC
Availability : Usually ships in 1 to 2 days
Label : CFP DOMESTIC
Running Time : 90

Description

This is the official version created (and endorsed) by director Sofia Smallstorm.

"Watch and decide for yourself." - Rosie O'Donnell

"Excellent. The best of the 9/11 movies." - David Ray

Griffin, author of The New Pearl Harbor

"An outstanding contribution to understanding 9/11. Simply superb." - James H. Fetzer, founder, Scholars for 911 Truth

"WOW! is my reaction to this movie. - Steven E. Jones, physics professor, Brigham Young University

"A superb work and asset to the patriot community and America itself." - Aaron Russo, producer/director, America: From Freedom to Fascism

Tall buildings shatter in 10 seconds; steel beams buckle as if crushed by Superman; a volcano of ash darkens the sky. Can jet fuel perform such a feat?

911 Mysteries is a careful deconstruction of the official story set alongside clean, clear science. It is ninety-minutes of pure demolition evidence and analysis, laced with eye opening witness testimonials.

The 9/11 picture is not one of politics or nationalism or loyalty, but one of strict and simple physics: How do you get a 10-second,110-story pancake collapse of a major structure?

This is the film that might actually reach out to mainstream America-no agenda, no finger-pointing-just the facts and "mysteries." It is a story of people. Willie Rodriguez's recollection of strange noises on the 34th floor, and Scott Forbes' similar story. Who was up there bumping around just weeks before the towers fell?

This is also the story of blasting itself; how shaped charges are strategically placed to slice through steel beams, allowing total control of how a building falls. This information helps give a better understanding of how a building can be purposely set to collapse and shed insight into what happened on the fateful day of 9/11.

The Last Days of World War II (History Channel)

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Description

The Last Days of WWII

The Last Days of WWII chronicles the unrelenting Allied advance through Europe that finally crushed Hitler’s Third Reich. First-hand footage and expert commentary follow the decisive ground battles and strategic bombing missions from D-Day through the capture of Berlin. It also examines the after-effects of the war, from the wrenching drama of the Nuremberg Trials to the revelations of the Nazis’ last, desperate acts, including their attempts to hide looted treasures and develop secret weapons. The Last Days of WWII would be useful for classes on European History, American History, Geography, Military History and Ethics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

Death of the Reich

In ten days of bloody fighting in the Ardennes forest, the fate of the war in Europe was sealed. The Battle of the Bulge left the Wehrmacht in tatters and the road to Berlin clear for the advancing British and American forces. For six months, the Germans staved off the inevitable, despite incessant bombing and the surrender of over a quarter of a million soldiers. But, by May of 1945, the Soviet flag flew over Berlin, Hitler was dead, and the war was over.

Vocabulary

• autopsy
• capitulation
• debacle
• decimated
• exploit
• fanatical
• goose step
• guerilla
• incendiary
• Luftwaffe
• paranoid
• Reich
• retrospect
• sabotage
• sniper
• vagabond

Discussion Questions

1. In war, “to the victor belong the spoils.” What are the spoils of war? What does this phrase mean?

2. In December 1944, Hitler moved the bulk of his forces from the eastern front to the western front. Why did Hitler do this? What did he hope to achieve?

3. The Battle of the Bulge was one of the decisive battles of WWII. Why did the Germans lose this battle? How did this loss contribute to the final outcome of WWII?

4. As the Red Army invaded Germany, it went on a rampage of destruction and looting. Why did the Red Army feel justified in the plunder of Germany?

5. Allied forces destroyed the city of Dresden, causing the death of over 100,000 civilians. Why did the Allied forces do this? What did they accomplish by killing civilians? Are there any rules in war about the conduct of armies?

6. When Berlin and Germany were about to fall to the Allied forces, Hitler insisted to the people of Germany that victory was in sight. Why did Hitler say this when it was obviously not true?

7. Every nation uses propaganda during wartime. What is propaganda? How do you recognize propaganda? What is the role of propaganda in wartime?

8. Hitler’s death camps killed over 10 million people. How was it possible that these camps were secret?

9. General Eisenhower insisted that the liberation of the death camps be photographed and witnessed. Why did he think this was so important? How did Eisenhower’s predictions come true?

10. Why did Hitler commit suicide?

Extended Activities

1. Imagine that you are a soldier during WWII. Write a letter home to your family describing the war and your experiences.

2. On a map of Europe, trace the path of the Allied invasion from Normandy to Berlin.

3. Create a timeline that chronicles the major events of WWII.

Justice at Nuremberg

In the months that followed the end of WWII, many horrific revelations came to light, but it was not until the Nuremberg trials that the full breadth of Nazi atrocities was revealed. Through 200 days of gripping testimony, the world watched as the inner workings of the Third Reich were exposed in the final accounting of Hitler's crimes against humanity.

Vocabulary

• apathetic
• ascertain
• atrocities
• communiqué
• concessions
• dais
• degradation
• delegation
• eloquent
• fiasco
• genocide
• gregarious
• incongruous
• indictment
• jurisdiction
• malignant
• precarious
• refute
• succumb

Discussion Questions

1. The Allied forces insisted that Germany surrender unconditionally. What is meant by an unconditional surrender? Why did the Allied forces insist on an unconditional surrender?

2. WWII has been called both a war and a crime. Why was WWII a crime? How was it different than other wars?

3. The war crimes trials were held in Nuremberg. Why were they held there?

4. Twelve Nazi leaders were sentenced to death by hanging at the Nuremberg trials. The Nazi leaders pleaded for death by firing squad. Why did the method of execution matter so much to both the Nazis and their accusers?

5. Hermann Goering defied the Nuremberg judgement by committing suicide. How was he able to do this even though he was imprisoned and under constant surveillance?

6. Why did Goering's suicide embarrass the United States Army?

7. The most obvious reason for the Nuremberg trials was to punish the men responsible for WWII atrocities. But the trials served another purpose. What was it? Why, in the scope of history, was this purpose more important than the fate of the accused men?

8. Was it just to execute the Nazi leaders? If so, why? If not, why not?

Extended Activities

1. Create a poster that celebrates the end of WWII.

2. Imagine that you are a journalist and you witness the liberation of a Nazi death camp. Write an article for your readers that conveys the impact of what you witnessed.

3. There are some people today who are trying to prove that the Holocaust never happened. How would you prove to these people that it did happen?

The Spoils of War

The German Army systematically looted every town it overcame in its sweep across Europe. By the end of the war, countless treasures had been hidden underground as a protection against air raids. The U.S. Army in its massive drive to collect and return stolen items recovered some riches, such as the Austrian crown jewels. But others were spirited away by the Russians as reparation for war damages. The German army also left behind valuable high-tech war machinery. From the V-2 missiles, the precursor to the rocket that would eventually take man to the moon, to the world's first operational jet aircraft, the technology and scientists of the Third Reich would benefit the Allies for years to come.

Vocabulary

• Aerodynamics
• appropriations
• Chateau
• confiscate
• curator
• elation
• expedite
• Icons
• incredulous
• obviate
• Pillage
• portend
• propulsion
• reparations
• sporadic
• totalitarian

Discussion Questions

1. At the end of the war, General Eisenhower issued an order for American soldiers to protect historical monuments and cultural items. Why was this important to the U.S. Army and General Eisenhower?

2. Nazi leaders had a passion for collecting paintings and objects of art. How can this be reconciled with the Nazis' heinous disregard for human life?

3. What was the job of the American Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives team?

4. The site of the recovered German gold reserves and art collections were in Russian occupied territory. Why did the U.S. remove these items under the cloak of secrecy?

5. The Nazi art collection consisted of art treasures from all over Europe. How did the Nazis acquire these treasures?

6. Art is a subjective medium. What makes an object or a painting art? How do you determine its value? Why are some creations deemed as art and others just as paintings, etc.?

7. The U.S. Army confiscated German planes at the end of the war. Why was the U.S. so interested in these planes?

8. How did the end of WWII portend the beginning of the Cold War?

Extended Activities

1. Divide the class in two and monitor a debate on the question of whether or not the U.S. was correct in returning confiscated art to Germany.

Amazon.com

The Last Days of World War II is actually three separate and outstanding History Channel documentaries about the horrifying, surreal violence that marked the decisive months of the war in Europe. The first film begins with Hitler's declaration that the Third Reich would last 1,000 years, yet by 1945 Germany was losing on every major battlefront. Still, tens of thousands of civilian and military lives would be lost before fighting ceased: in the Battle of the Bulge, pitting 600,000 Allied troops against a Nazi surge in Belgium; in Dresden, where Allied bombers spent days fire-bombing women and children; in the subway tunnels of Berlin, where refugees were drowned when a paranoid, sleepless Hitler ordered them flooded to stave off Russian soldiers. Plentiful interviews with former officers on all sides of the war, commentary by historians, and remarkable footage of battles, concentration camps, and the Nuremberg trials make this a compelling narrative rich with enlightening details.

A second disc includes a superb piece about the destruction of a U.S. Navy submarine-chaser off the coast of Maine, and a strategic cover-up that denied, for more than 60 years, that the ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. Finally, the story of the German-Japanese alliance, and the role of a geography professor named Karl Haushofer (who coined the phrase "geopolitics") in a number of key wartime events, make a fascinating subject for the final production. --Tom Keogh

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The Staircase

Actor: n/a
ASIN : B000A1INIK
Sales Rank : 22343
Director : Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Studio : NEW VIDEO GROUP
Region Code : 1
Format : Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780767082310
ISBN : 0767082311
UPC : 767685973332
Release Date : December 30, 2005
Publisher : NEW VIDEO GROUP
Manufacturer : NEW VIDEO GROUP
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours
Label : NEW VIDEO GROUP
Running Time : 384

Description

Directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (Murder on a Sunday Morning), THE STAIRCASE is like the most suspenseful of page-turners, adding "layers of complexity until one is entirely hooked by its ambiguities and twists and turns." (Chicago Tribune) One of the most highly acclaimed documentaries in recent years, this shocking, real-life thriller follows the high-profile murder trial of North Carolina author Michael Peterson, who was arraigned in 2001 for the murder of his wife after her body is discovered lying in a pool of blood on the stairway of the couple's upscale Durham home. Did Kathleen Peterson fall down the stairs, or was it cold-blooded murder? As the mystery unravels, de Lestrade's cameras are granted unusual access to Peterson's lawyers, home, and immediate family, resulting in a gripping, inside look at a case so shocking, it is sure to leave you gasping for breath.

Amazon.com

It's Law & Order come to life as the Sundance Channel's consistently absorbing, often riveting The Staircase chronicles a sensational North Carolina murder case from the crime to the verdict. When Kathleen Peterson was found dead in her Durham, NC mansion in December '01, her husband, novelist Michael Peterson, claimed she had fallen down a narrow staircase. The authorities disagreed, and Peterson was charged with first degree murder. Thereafter, director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and his crew were given almost unrestricted access to the defendant (who remained free on bail) and his legal team, as well as to the district attorney and the prosecution crew, albeit to a lesser extent. There are countless meetings to map out defense strategy, dozens of interviews (including many with Peterson himself; he's not an especially sympathetic character), scenes of pre-trial home life, excerpts from Court TV coverage, and so on. The filmmakers follow the prosecution investigators to Texas, where we see a body exhumed; there's even a trip to Germany to look into a previous death in which Peterson may or may not have been involved.

The result is both exhaustive and exhausting; indeed, it's not until the end of the fourth of the series' eight episodes (each is about 45 minutes long) that the actual trial begins. By then, various revelations about Peterson, ranging from surprising to unsavory to downright sordid, have proved once again that truth really is stranger than fiction. In fact, while the four-month trial is interesting, it doesn't reveal much that we don't already know. Unlike most so-called "reality" programming, The Staircase is the genuine article. That means that it lacks the constant throb of big, dramatic scenes provided by your average TV cop-courtroom show, especially as the series is well over six hours long. Still, although one might easily skip to Episode 8 to learn the outcome, there's more than enough suspense to justify watching every minute of it, and regardless of one's expectations, the announcement of the verdict is a jolting moment. Only two key elements remain unexplained: What went on in the jury room during deliberations? And did Peterson do it, or not? Only he knows, and he ain't talkin'. --Sam Graham

Browse Social Studies Online

Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp [Two-Disc Special Edition]

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Greece - Secrets of the Past (IMAX)

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WWII: A Filmed History

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Castle (Hosted by David Macaulay)

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Combat Classics 50 MoviePack

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9/11 Mysteries Part 1: Demolitions

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The Last Days of World War II (History Channel)

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Mysteries of the Bible - The Bible's Greatest Secrets (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)

The Staircase

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Korean War Stories