Peter Miller Movies

Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman narrates filmmaker Peter Miller's documentary tracing Jewish involvement in the development of American baseball. From Sandy Koufax's campaign to achieve equal rights for all players to Hank Greenberg's unwavering support of the legendary Jackie Robinson, Jewish personalities have played a pivotal role in shaping this uniquely American sport, and ensuring that every athlete has their turn at bat. Interviews with Al Rosen, Shawn Green, Kevin Youklis, Maury Allen, Larry King, and Ron Howard offer additional insight into the role Jews played in making baseball the great American pass-time, and a rare, archival interview with Koufax allows fans to witness the evolution of their favorite sport firsthand. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A small town murder sparks landmark civil rights case, and the filmmakers of American Experience detail how one simple act of violence can affect the lives and legal standings of Americans from coast to coast by investigating the obscure court case that eventually made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Edna, Texas: 1951. A field hand named Pete Hernandez was having drinks in a gritty cantina when an argument with his boss erupted into violence. When the dust settled, Hernandez's employer was dead. A court battle entitled Hernandez v. Texas ensued, in which a team of Mexican-American lawyers boldly stood up against Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican-Americans. The strategy of the prosecution was to prove that Mexican-Americans did not properly fit into a legal structure that only recognized blacks and whites. Mexican-Americans were, "a class apart," and as such would not be afforded the same rights as their fellow countrymen. In this documentary, filmmakers place the story of Hernandez v. Texas and its' central players within the context of history, examining the history of Latinos in American during an era of profound change. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Ken Burns continues his exploration of massive, sweeping subjects with his 15-hour documentary The War; in this case, the conflict in question is World War II. Yet within the scope of that gargantuan subject, Burns and co-director Lynn Novick narrow their scale of emphasis, honing in on four "average" American towns and charting the experiences of individual young men who enlisted to go overseas and fight against the encroaching shadow of fascism. The film covers each major "region" of the U.S. by transporting audiences to the west coast (Sacramento, California); the south (Mobile, Alabama); the east coast (Waterbury, Connecticut) and the Midwest (the farming community of Luverne, Minnesota). Within that geographic framework, Burns uncovers a series of astonishing tales about bravery in the midst of adversity - from the story of a young man who transported 12 American soldiers from the Normandy beach on D-Day, to the accounts of innumerable young men who falsified their ages and enlisted early. Burns and Novick thus repeatedly emphasize the human side of war - an aspect all too often glossed over when documentarians treat WWII on a broader scale. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Episode five of Ken Burns' series deals with jazz during the increasingly bleak Great Depression from 1935 to 1937. Swing music is now the most popular music of the time. Young fans flock to dance halls to swing their troubles away. Bandleaders such as Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmie Lunceford, and Artie Shaw are worshipped by their fans like matinee idols. Then Goodman, risking his career, forms the first racially integrated jazz group with the brilliant pianist Teddy Wilson. Meanwhile, Billie Holiday emerges from a rough childhood and is soon heralded as one of the greatest jazz vocalists ever. As 1937 comes to an end, Goodman heads to the Savoy Ballroom for what is billed as "The Music Battle of the Century" -- a musical face-off with Chick Webb's big band. Despite the tough competition, it's obvious to the many dancers on the floor who is the true "King of Swing." ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

The seventh part of Ken Burns' series covers the years 1940 to 1945 and finds jazz at the center of battles at home and abroad during World War II. Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw enlist in the armed forces and take their bands overseas to entertain the troops. Hitler bans jazz in Germany despite -- or rather, because of -- its underground popularity with "swing kids." Yet, as jazz serves as a symbol of American democracy in Europe, many black Americans still aren't allowed to hear freedom swing. The Savoy Ballroom is closed down to keep white servicemen from its integrated swing dances, and riots ensue. Despite the hypocrisy of the era, Duke Ellington sells war bonds and pairs with a brilliant young composer named Billy Strayhorn to write some of the most compelling work of his career. Meanwhile, a cadre of young musicians gathering nightly at a Harlem club discover a new way to play jazz: As the war comes to an end and the recording ban is lifted, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker record the song "Ko Ko" based on the chords to "Cherokee." Thus, "bebop" takes Americans by surprise and propels jazz in a whole new direction. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

Episode eight -- 1945 to 1955 -- of Ken Burns' series finds jazz musicians reflecting the prosperity and tension of the postwar years in their music. Charlie "Bird" Parker garners legions of devoted followers who imitate not only his brilliant soloing, but also his heroin addiction -- a problem that will plague jazz through the 1950s. As the big bands fade, small-group jazz becomes de rigeur: dancing is out and experimentation is in. Dizzy Gillespie infuses bebop with Latin rhythms, employing congero Chano Pozo. And pianist Thelonious Monk creates angular and percussive jazz all his own. Despite this surge in creativity, most people prefer the new, simpler, dance-oriented rhythm & blues of artists like Louis Jordan. Meanwhile, in California, jazz musicians influence a mellow album featuring the arrangements of Gil Evans and the trumpet of Miles Davis, creating what is soon called "cool" jazz. Dave Brubeck helps lead the charge by recording his million-selling album "Time Out". But as the '50s wear on, Davis moves away from cool jazz and begins his own creative journey as the "pied piper" of jazz. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

The final installment of Ken Burns' acclaimed series -- canvassing 1960 to the present -- finds jazz searching for relevance. Despite Louis Armstrong outselling the Beatles with Hello Dolly, most jazz musicians are scuffling to find work, let alone be heard. Most young people listen to rock music. The "free jazz" of artists such as John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman takes the music in increasingly avant-garde -- and non-commercial -- directions. Musicians and critics alike begin to debate the future and tradition of jazz. In typical fashion, Miles Davis at once illuminates and compounds the issue with Bitches Brew, his landmark fusion album. Toward the end of the 1970s, the deaths of both Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington seemed to mark the end of the development of jazz. But, the prodigal return of saxophonist Dexter Gordon from Europe incited a new generation to revisit the jazz of the past and rejuvenate the music. Soon a virtuosic young trumpeter, proficient in both classical and jazz music, is leading the movement to bring the tradition of jazz full circle. Wynton Marsalis, a native of New Orleans -- the birthplace of jazz music -- takes it into the next century. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

In a similar fashion to his other documentaries, The Civil War and Baseball, Ken Burns uses historical fact and personal accounts to illuminate the story of jazz and how it coincided with the maturation of America. Jazz roots itself in New Orleans for its first installment, Gumbo. One of the 19th century's most progressive cities, the "wide open" town was filled with gambling, prostitution, crime -- and music. Burns shows how African-American musicians combined Caribbean rhythms, opera, minstrel shows, and (most importantly) marching bands with ragtime and the blues to produce a music that would soon be called "jass," and later "jazz." The viewer is introduced to such legendary innovators of the music as Buddy Bolden -- the trumpet player who, although never recorded, is mythically touted as the first true jazz musician -- and pianist Jelly Roll Morton, who flamboyantly claimed to have invented jazz (he was the first to notate the music on paper). It is also made apparent how race played a large factor in the development of the music. In 1917, a group of white musicians calling themselves the Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded the first jazz record and quickly became a huge success -- at once polarizing black musicians and ringing in the "Jazz Age." ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

Episode three of Ken Burns' comprehensive series -- which covers 1924 to 1929 -- shows how jazz reflected the atmosphere of the country just before the Depression. We meet Bessie Smith, the first influential female vocalist who helped forge new roads for black record labels by performing the blues. There is also the tragic story of the first great white jazz musician, cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, who would create some of the most poignant and melodic solos of his day and then die at age 28, from complications arising from his alcoholism. Burns touches on the Harlem Renaissance's connection with the development of jazz, relating the career of Duke Ellington at Harlem's white-patrons-only Cotton Club and his influence on Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. The episode culminates with a meditation on Louis Armstrong's brilliant recording "West End Blues" and how it captured the tumultuous atmosphere of America right before the stock market crash. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

Depicting the effects of a mid-1980s strike by the employees of a Hormel meat-packing plant in Austin, Minnesota, Barbara Kopple's Academy Award-winning documentary American Dream observes both the daily struggles of the striking workers and the behind-the-scenes conflicts amongst the union leaders. Upset at a proposed pay cut, the local union chapter begins the strike against the advice of their parent organization, hiring an outside consultant who encourages the workers. This consultant's aggressive, no-compromise approach turns the conflict into national news but also alienates management. Soon, despite the efforts of a seasoned negotiator sent by the parent union, the company has locked out the workers and hired scabs, leading to a series of violent conflicts amongst members of the community. The workers' resolve progressively fades as the battle extends into months and years, and the financial hardships they and their families suffer leads some to doubt the value of their efforts. Kopple, who had previously covered an extended miner's strike in the acclaimed 1977 documentary Harlan County, USA, focuses on the personalities and emotions behind the strike, creating a highly charged portrait of labor that is sympathetic to the workers' distress without ignoring the strike's greater ambiguities. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

The early years of the future King Arthur are recounted in this film from Sidney Hayers. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi