America Comes of Age
October 2007 Reviewed by: Marc Mickelson Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

As its title suggests, America Comes of Age collects documentaries on events that took place during the last half of the 19th century, when America was reuniting after the Civil War and coming into its own as a world economic and manufacturing power. Gettysburg and Stories of Valor collects a dozen short features on subjects relating to the Civil War. These were broadcast on PBS stations around the country in 2004 and include little-known snippets of American history, such as "The Lost Drum of Will Mayo" and the "Destruction of John Forney's Farm." Johnstown Flood explores one of the worst natural disasters in American history -- the 1889 destruction of Johnstown, Pennsylvania due to the failure of the South Fork Dam at Lake Conemaugh and the Little Conemaugh River, which killed over 2200 people and wiped out 99 complete families. The hour-long movie relates the events of the day through many firsthand accounts, some performed for the movie. I'm not a fan of such dramatization, but it works here. It's restrained and accompanied by many pictures of the Flood's aftermath.

The high point of this set is Expo - Magic of the White City. This two-hour film is a mini-course on the 1893 Chicago World's Fair -- the Columbian Exposition, as it was also called, one of the most fantastic tourist events ever held. Every country on the planet at that time used the Fair as a platform for educating -- and impressing -- patrons. Pavilions were dedicated to all manner of human ingenuity, and some families spent weeks visiting, never experiencing it all. Gene Wilder's narration is superb -- buoyant and knowing, hitting the tone of astonishment you will feel as you watch the movie, wishing for a time machine to take you back to turn-of-the-century Chicago, a ticket for the Ferris Wheel in hand.

The video image is bright and vibrant -- as always when a movie is filmed with a high-quality video camera -- and the sound is a tasteful combination of dialogue and music. The extras are uneven, however. There are only trailers for Gettysburg and Stories of Valor, while Johnstown Flood has an interview with and running commentary from historian Richard Burkert. There is also a historical piano piece on the Flood that was supposed to accompany photographs, but there are only captions here. Expo has the most promising group of extras, but most of the deleted scenes are very short or unfinished.

Inecom Entertainment's catalog of DVDs includes many that will interest war and history buffs. American Comes of Age covers fascinating material that many people will want to see more than once -- especially Expo, which is about a spectacle the likes of which we will never experience again.

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