Pete Seeger Movies

This biographical documentary relays the fascinating life story of Thomas Maupin, a legendary buck dancer who culled a reputation as one of the most formidable "old-time" hoofers in America. In the film, Maupin{ speaks openly and candidly about the joys and trials of his experiences, not simply as a dancer, but as a father and instructor as well. As directed by Stewart Copeland, the documentary actually uses Maupin's life as a springboard into broader themes including the ability of music to help us rise above our circumstances, and its tendency to build and fortify relationships. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The optometrist and artist who was shunned by the media and society-at-large after being declared "The Top Red in Buffalo" back in 1957 stands as the subject of director Ezra Bookstein's inspirational documentary about the value of standing up for your rights in the face of social injustice. It was the height of the Red Scare, and the life of Milton Rogovin was about to be changed forever - but not necessarily in the way one might expect given such a hostile social environment. Singled out by none other than The Buffalo News for his supposed involvement with the communist party, Rogovin's life as a dedicated optometrist came to a sudden halt when his friends and patients vanished into the woodwork. The truth is that Rogovin had been working with local unions to promote worker's rights, and doing his best to register black voters. Rogovin wasn't a man who sought out conflict, yet he refused to be intimidated or silenced by the paranoid powers that be. In the aftermath of his excommunication, the die-hard activist decided to use the medium of photography in order to let his voice be heard. At first, Rogovin took pictures of Buffalo's disenfranchised and marginalized population - the unfortunate folks he referred to as "the forgotten ones." While Rogovin never considered himself to be a true artist, he was soon traveling the world and collaborating with such luminaries as Pable Neruda and WEB DuBois on a lifelong mission to promote social justice. Today, Rogovin's photographs stand as some of the most powerful protest images ever captured, and sit well-protected in the vaults of the Library of Congress and Center for Creative Photography. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The reflective documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song explores the legacy of revered American folk singer and activist Seeger - written and directed by filmmaker Jim Brown when Seeger was in his late '80s. In lieu of recounting the narrative of Seeger's life note-for-note, however, Brown uses that individual biography as a contextual lens, through which he recounts decades of American social history. To tell his story, the filmmaker interpolates original, exclusive interviews with such Seeger contemporaries as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, archival footage of Seeger in concert, and extracts from Seeger's private home movies. In the process, Brown unveils the extent to which Seeger continually prompted societal change through his consciousness-raising music and offstage social efforts. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In the early '60s, revolutionary music producer and promoter Harold Leventhal's contributions to the American folk scene forever changed the face of modern music. In addition to being the man who gave Bob Dylan his first major concert hall performance, Leventhal also managed such folk legends as the Weavers, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Arlo Guthrie. In this tribute film to Leventhal, named after director Jim Brown's 1982 documentary The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!, filmmaker Brown weaves interview footage with Arlo Guthrie and other longtime folk specialists in with footage from Leventhal's 2003 Thanksgiving weekend concert at Carnegie Hall. In addition to offering live performance footage of Peter, Paul, and Mary and The Weavers, this tribute concert also features performances by Leon Bibb, Theodore Bikel, Tao Rodriguez-Singer, Sarah Lee Guthrie, and Johnny Irion. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

With their blend of folk singing and stand-up comedy, Tom and Dick Smothers became a popular nightclub attraction in the early 1960's and were frequent guests on many television variety shows of the day. In 1967, in a bid to win younger viewers away from NBC's perennially popular western series Bonanza, CBS gave The Smothers Brothers an hour-long comedy-variety series airing on Sunday evenings The show became an unexpected hit, and in their second season, The Smother Brothers and their writing staff (which at the time included Rob Reiner and Steve Martin) began using the show as a platform for satiric humor which examined key issues of the day, including the war in Vietnam, drugs, racism, and the right-wing policies of the Nixon White House. While the show remained popular, it also became wildly controversial, and the Smothers Brothers soon found themselves battling their network and the FCC for the right to say what they wanted on their own show. Smothered: The Great Smothers Brothers Censorship Wars is a documentary which explores the history of the show, and how network brass and Nixon's cabinet worked together to pull the plug on a hit TV series; the film includes interviews with Tom and Dick Smothers, Rob Reiner, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, and Joan Baez. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When First Unto This Country narrates the origins of American roots music and follows its development through the 1920s. When Africans and Europeans founded the new world in the 17th century, each ethnic group brought its unique musical heritage to the new world. It was the combination of these different heritages that created a uniquely American music, or, American roots music. At the beginning of the 20th century, scholars and musicians became more aware of this musical legacy. At first, traveling musicians had spread blues, folk songs, and "hillbilly" music. The Fisk Jubilee Singers traveled widely in the 1870s, popularizing African-American spirituals. Later, the phonograph and radio accelerated the process, carrying local sounds beyond their region of origin. Ralph Peer recorded both Jimmie Rogers and the Carter Family in 1927 in Bristol, TN, while WSM in Nashville began to broadcast a Saturday night barn dance in 1925, later to be called the Grand Ole Opry. When First Unto This Country includes rare footage of country music founder Rodgers and blues legend Son House, and interviews with Ricky Skaggs, Bonnie Raitt, and Pete Seeger. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi

Ramblin' Jack Elliott, a self-styled folk musician, was an important transitional figure between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. This documentary serves as both a chronicle of his colorful life and an attempt by his daughter, director Aiyanna Elliott, to reconnect with her often-absent father. Born Elliott Adnopoz in Brooklyn, Jack ran off as a teenager in 1947 to join a traveling rodeo troupe after seeing them perform in Madison Square Garden. He returned to New York and took up singing, first cowboy songs, then traditional and contemporary folk music. He and Woody Guthrie traveled through the South in the 1950s, learning songs from blues artists such as the Reverend Gary Davis, Elizabeth Cotton, and Jesse Fuller. Elliott remained one of Guthrie's truest friends all through Guthrie's long battle with Huntington's chorea, the congenital nerve disease that killed him in 1967. In 1955, Elliott and the first of his four wives decamped to England, where his reputation was made with fans of the skiffle music craze. He returned to New York in 1961, just as the folk music boom was producing its biggest hero, Bob Dylan, who aped both Guthrie and Elliott in his early recordings. Among the interviewees are Nora and Arlo Guthrie, singers Pete Seeger and Dave Van Ronk, and ex-wives and managers, who all agree on Elliott's carefree attitude toward schedules and money. His almost pathological determination not to conform to any kind of bourgeois lifestyle eventually crippled his chances for wider recognition, though in the mid-'90s, he won a Grammy and a National Medal of the Arts, awarded by President Bill Clinton. The vintage clips are interspersed with Aiyanna Elliott trailing her father around with a camera and microphone, hoping to capture some admission of past mistakes, but as always, Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a tough man to pin down. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Directed by Irving Lerner and Willard Van Dyke, and narrated by renowned folk troubadour Pete Seeger, this film presented by the Museum of Modern Art in New York chronicles the history of the banjo, an instrument with roots in African-American slavery. Shot in Appalachia in the 1940s, highlights include footage of a performance by Sonny Terry and rare footage of the legendary political folksinger Woody Guthrie. Other performers in this program are Baldwin Hawes, Brownie McGhee, Texas Gladden, and Margot Mayo's American Square Dance Group. ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi

Pete Seeger and his kin perform their special brand of feel-good folk music in this concert video. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This portrait of a singer/songwriter, Sarah Gunning who is noted for her traditional singing and the many compositions of labor organizing songs. ~ Rovi

This series of award-winning programs sets out to engage youngsters in the joys of reading. Aimed at ages from preschool to fourth grade, they feature a picture book, activities related to the story, and a number of books reviewed by kids. LeVar Burton hosts the series, and is also one of the producers. In Reading Rainbow: Abiyoyo, a giant, Abiyoyo, menaces a town, but is thwarted by the efforts of a small boy and his father. Burton demonstrates how the story can be told in a dance, a music video, animation, and through rap. Other works discussed include Blackberry Ink by Eve Merriam and Peter and the Wolf. ~ Alice Day, Rovi