My class is doing an Oregon trail simulation and it's really fun. We should learn about the donner party, because it has stuff to do with pioneers. At least this stuff won't be happening on the Oregon trail!
@mark34667 Yes, Angelo Badalamenti has written it. It is called Dark Spanish Symphony. All of his music is quite unique, but this is my favorite piece. You can find more here on YouTube. Regards, Mark
I think the main problem was that they weren't wilderness people at all. They were well off city folks who were chasing a rainbow. Too bad. One of America's tragic tales.
thankyou SO much for this :) brilliant documentary. i only heard about the donner party a few days ago via a song (momu - donner pass). was a really interesting read on wiki, and was hoping to see a docu about it. im from england so prob why i havnt heard much about it, i thought my parents might have known but they didnt! tragic but amzing piece of american history. makes me want to read more :)
"Do you go after the little guy because he can't fight back? or do you all gang up on the body builder because he has more steaks and chops? These are the kind of decisions people have had to make..."
@exxod255: Oh wait, how many indians died from indian war parties every year? Do some research. The indians were not all just holding hands skipping along the rivers. they too were quite murderous in the name of their religions. they just got beat at their own game just as every nation/people has at one time or another.
@aaqaaqaaqaaqaaqaaqaa Your comment makes it very clear you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The only arguable case of Indians warring for religion was in the case of the Aztecs, and what the Spanish did to them makes completely pale by comparison their wars prior to European arrival. By disease alone the Europeans did more damage, not counting the atrocities.
@exxod255 The official statistic is that the population of Native communities which were within travel distance of European settlement was halved every 25 years. This is why there are barely any natives left in the oldest settled areas like the east coast and the eastern islands in the Gulf of Mexico like Puerto Rico. Think about the population of the U.S. going from 300 million to 150 by 2036, and to 75 million by 2061. That's what happened to Natives.
Humans have had hardship and have died ever since day one. How is this any different from any other time in human existence? These people gambled against Mother Nature and lost. Nobody will ever win against Mother Nature...
I know what you mean!The BBC showed this documentary in the early 90s, I must have watched the video of it over 50 times. Terrible story briliantly told.
I'm sure I saw this on Channel 4 here in England as part of the True Stories series, it was called Death of A Wagon Train. I was so moved by it i looked up everything I could about the Donner party, this was before everyone had the internet so i had to use the library. It's still a fascinating and heartbreaking story
@Teobi1 I saw that too in the UK back in the 90s, the impact must've stayed with me as I'm looking up documentaries to watch and books to read now....
@nandagrey I recommend A History of the Donner Party: A Tragedy of the Sierra by C. F McGlashan. It was even more heartbreaking than the documentary. I can't believe how everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. And Hastings literally got away with manslaughter for leading them astray in the first place. You literally sit there with your hand over your mouth saying "Don't go that way! Turn back!!"
@NewAppleNews my 8th grade class watched this today, and of 34 students, about 14 were awake during the movie. i was really interested about it, but my friends could care less.
we walk along paths cut by greater men and women than us their dust blows through our hair their tears have dried in the earth and we forget and turn away and fight and dream of oil and gold
@DICKENS81 - That's human nature. However, it's hard to truly admire pioneers without thinking of the horrors that the American Indians endured because of their desire to go west. An entire race decimated.
we walk along paths cut by greater men and women than us their dust blows through our hair their tears have dried in the earth and we forget and turn away and fight and dream of oil
That Alexis de Tocqueville quote...it really rings true about us Americans. It is haunting how he is almost speaking across the century and a half and commenting on our country as it is now. I wonder if that is how Europe has always seen us, and still sees us today.
The Donner site was a very beautiful place when we vsited. Very nice. Would highly reccomend it. But knowing what went on there made it a depressing place as well and felt a bit quesy.Plus the fact that, yes, it is haunted, even though I never believed that nonsense before means I'll never camp there again.
Clancy76- you are up to 24,000 views and you deserve it. The best "American Experience" on PBS ever. Ithink what the one commentator said is so, so true. People want to know the limits that human-beings will go through to survive. And 24,000 people feel the same way. Please don't ever remove this. you have done a great service to YT watchers. this is beyond a simple documentary. it is a work of art. A masterpiece as one person said.
It was Reed's decision to take the "cut-off" that lead to this ordeal. They took much longer on that supposed time-saver, having to cut through the Wasatch Mountains and then enduring traversing the Salt Lake where many of their cattle bolted. Such a shame that later so many died of starvation in the high Sierras. They should have backtracked to the lower elevations. That would have saved their lives, as their remaining livestock would not have been buried in snow.
This is beautifully done and a tragic story. Had the wagon train not stopped to rest that night, they would have made it to California. One day too late...and very sad.
Please don't ever take this down! Besides being a fascinating and deeply moving story, the music is FANTASTIC! I wish i could buy the soundtrack just by itself! It compliments this fascinating and tragic story so well. Best Wishes, Brian
...I used to watch this on the public-access channel as a kid. It always gave me nightmares, haha. But it's one of my favorite documentaries ever. Thanks for reposting it, this is a piece of my childhood as well as history. :D
@septip123 It's not difficult to understand. That melding of media (Angelo Badalmenti's "Dark Spanish Symphony", David McCullough's narration, the script, the visuals, and the reflections of Harold Schindler and Joseph King) extending from 0:59 to 4:02 may well be the most gripping that I have ever experienced. Ric Burns is the MASTER at this. Brother Ken can't hold a candle to him..
Because it's a fascinating story, brilliantly told with incredible music. Very sad what those people went through-I can't even imagine. I've watched this numerous times myself!
I always think it's funny when people say, "give California back to Mexico." Mexico only had CA for 20 years, before that Spain had it for a long time. Why doesn't anyone say, "give CA back to Spain"?
You can't just pick a specific year and say everything was good, let's go back there. If you want to rewind to 1845, when Mexico held CA, are you also advocating a return of slavery to the South? Should Austria-Hungary rule Italy again?
Just because a people are born on a certain piece of ground that doesnt give said people ownership of that ground. Europeans built the ships to cross the Atlantic to seek out greener pastures. Europeans migrated and settled. If you can get there by your own doing, you have a right to be there! Many moons ago Africans crossed the Med and sailed into ( S Europe ) and settled. You dont see Europeans complaining..
@jcsrealty bullshit. think about the native americans that were here before the white man. being able to settle in a place means shit. the land was stolien from the people who originally lived in america.
I can only reply to you in this way.. So, the Irish who had the toughest land to farm in all of Europe.. The Irish were starving to death and dieing... They have a right to survival, dont they? Dont they have a right to walk, or float to a new land and settle? As far as killing - the natives killed just as many whites. Then we dominated them. Those were the times we lived in... The African Moors to floated in and settled S. Europe for greener pastures and killed 1000's...Its all to human!
thats the thing, im more than half Hawaiian and our land was stolen from us by the americans and they dont want to give us consolation unlike some of the other native americans (i guess we're technically native americans) so we have been fighting for our land back for a long time
@violetdawn369 The ancestors of the Native Americans most likely did the same thing. They crossed over the land bridge between Alaska and Asia and settled in what is now the Americas, most likely eliminating any people who may have been here before them. It's the way life goes. It's sad, true, but it is the reality of the human condition.
and you white people complain now of Mexicans immigrants returning to California when you white people stole this land from mexico in the first place. Mexicans didn't cross the boarder, the broader crossed them.
@ArxVirtus may I remind you Mexicans are Indians and where Indian before the white Spaniards came off those ships. Indigenous Mexicans have settled that land before Mexico was conquered and ruled by the white Spaniards. Get off your mom bitch
1. NOT ALL Mexicans are Indian. Many Mexicans are of mixed ethnicity and others have no Indian at all.
2. The peoples of the area now known as California were not "Mexicans" before the Europeans came here. There were over 100 different cultures and languages spoken in the area before European settlement there - none "Mexican."
3. Funny how someone who pretends to be intellectual and enlightened debases the argument in to ad hominem attacks like "Get off your mom bitch." You're pathetic.
I didn't say all Mexicans are Indians now dumb ass but they all were Indian before the white Spanish raped their women thus making a new race called mestizo. Mexican is not a language. Those people living there before whit ppl were living in a territory that was part of Mexico. Mexico has existed for over 3,000 years. All of your ancestors must number in the millions; it's hard to believe that many people are to blame for producing you. The inbreeding is certainly obvious in your family. Fag
Had no idea this was a competition? Since you seem to believe that I lost what did you win? I'd like to leave you with one thought, but I'm not sure you have anywhere to put it! Dumb ass fag.
"We white people" complain about ILLEGAL immigration from Mexico, China, Russia or anywhere people cross the border illegally. Try crossing Mexico's southern border illegally and see what happens to you. They ask for tolerance for their lawbreakers, yet Mexicans are racist and intolerant to their southern neighbors. People think Central and South Americans are one happy people, they don't realize how much chauvinism exists among those countries.
Heart breaking story..you can read the actual immigrant's letters online. The film skipped over a lot of details, like Keseberg enjoying eating humans, they were able to kill some wild game for food, and the greed of humans.
@qx1zed Actually, it did somewhat mention at the end of the film Keseberg liking to eat human flesh. it said that he was the only one of the party to talk openly about having eaten human flesh and that everyone around him regarded him as a ghoul.
i just got done watching the movie The Donner Party..and it was really sad and tragic what happen to thme..i could not imagine myself in that harsh weather and starve like they did and also had to turn to cannibals.
I first heard of The Donner Party in Stanley Kubricks The Shining. Jack Nicholson was talking about it to his son. I never really thought to look into it, being such a morbid tale, but what better place to start than American Experience. Love this show! And great music too, I agree.
Much of what is said in this "documentary" isn't true. The Burns' do very little of their own research they just rehash the same old myths and stories many of which are inaccurate. Keseberg didn't open a restaurant but a hotel, the Forlorn Hope was not a contemporary term but came about afterwards, the members of the Donner Party didn't "curse" Hastings; most never met him. Hastings Cutoff appears just once in the Guide. Listen to only very little of this so called documentary.
................... i find it hard to believe that each person/party that got snowbound did not 'curse' that rat Hastings. he should have been accountable for fraud/misrepresentation and manslaughter as a result of what happened in 1846-7.
all documentaries have 'artistic license' - why haven't you written PBS or American Experience to let them know what is inaccurate? This documentary is OLD.............
@TigerRifle1 Could it be possible that Keseberg's hotel also had a restaurant in it and so it was known as both a hotel and a restaurant? There are a lot of hotels like that today.
If they were looking for music that could instantly transport one back in time to the Old West and, at the same time, convey a sense of the majesty of and the hardships presented by the American landscape of that time and of the almost collective mindset of that time, I don't think they could've found any better than what they have here!
thanks so much for posting. I'll never forget walking in and seeing this when it was first broadcast--so riveting I was unable to leave the room till its conclusion
Oh yeah,i'm sure of it. I tend to believe that MOST places in the world are indeed haunted. There is some energy lingering in all places people once lived and died.
holy smokes. i was just thinking the music is great. ABSOLUTELY the best "American Experience" ever. rarely do documentaries move me to tears like this. been waiting for someone to post this for about 2 years
Appreciate you posting this, it helped with ma Donner Party presentation :D, and to the comments posted below, i feel i could eat someone if it meant living XD... i wonder what it tastes like 0_0
they would kill and eat the weakest person. just thinkin bout it gives me the shivers! imagine if u wer tha weakest person and everyone decided to eat u! they made a south park episode out of this.
i just watched this in eighth grade history. i had no idea the desperation they went through. i wonder how the people who did eat human flash felt the reas of there lives?
My History class just finished learning about the Donner Party - it really is a tragedy, but it really shows the need to find the shortest route to what we want and the consequences of those shortcuts. And really, the saddest thing to me about the Donner Party is that they were warned against taking the shortcut, but were in too much of a hurry to listen. It just goes to show that whe we try to hurry through things we often bring misfortune to ourselves.
Saw this video for the first time in AP History in High School. Still moves me to this day, 11 years later. The human spirit hasn't changed, neither has human fallacies and cowardice and manipulation. The Donner Party in many ways is an appropriate odyssey that sums up the American Dream, in both its majesty and its tragedy.
Five lazy asses watched this from the comfort of their recliners and decided they only had enough energy to click "I dislike this."
Spoiled, pathetic losers.
mediumrare415 3 days ago
Thumbs up if you were watch big bang and then youtube'd this.
And if this seems insensitive, I have not seen the video yet so I'm sorry!
Freakawn 3 weeks ago 4
This is a great video to watch before going to bed... yup....
emochick956 1 month ago
@emochick956 LMFAO!!
11harrison11 1 week ago
I thought this was a Ken Burns movie, had no idea that it was made in fact by Ken's brother Ric who I never knew existed.
mrceebees14 1 month ago
My class is doing an Oregon trail simulation and it's really fun. We should learn about the donner party, because it has stuff to do with pioneers. At least this stuff won't be happening on the Oregon trail!
vantphuong 1 month ago
Is it possible to buy the soundtrack of this documentary? The music is beautiful.
mark34667 1 month ago
@mark34667 Yes, Angelo Badalamenti has written it. It is called Dark Spanish Symphony. All of his music is quite unique, but this is my favorite piece. You can find more here on YouTube. Regards, Mark
goodkarma33 1 month ago
Proud to have Surname "Donner" Born-In SaoPaulo-SP (Brazil)
July 39th 1932 / Surely My Father and Grand Father / Were much
Closer-To: Jacob Donner / John William Donner / Spring 2011 /
jwadonner 3 months ago
My history class watched this in 8th grade, no one spoke afterwards
enohpoxasotla100 3 months ago 12
@enohpoxasotla100 its becuz everyone wuz hungry!
bluesgurugod 1 month ago
@bluesgurugod =D
enohpoxasotla100 1 month ago
I think the main problem was that they weren't wilderness people at all. They were well off city folks who were chasing a rainbow. Too bad. One of America's tragic tales.
Methrt3 4 months ago 8
I wrote a song about this after watching this doc. It's on my band's 8th album. It's called Westering.
This isn't spam as I'm not linking anything and nothing can be found on my channel. Just saying how moved I was by this story.
PetriSoul 5 months ago
@PetriSoul having said that, i would like to hear it now...
saveusmilkboy 2 months ago
Such a haunting and well made documentary.
Keelacat 5 months ago
thankyou SO much for this :) brilliant documentary. i only heard about the donner party a few days ago via a song (momu - donner pass). was a really interesting read on wiki, and was hoping to see a docu about it. im from england so prob why i havnt heard much about it, i thought my parents might have known but they didnt! tragic but amzing piece of american history. makes me want to read more :)
illhorse 6 months ago
"Do you go after the little guy because he can't fight back? or do you all gang up on the body builder because he has more steaks and chops? These are the kind of decisions people have had to make..."
boiledhooker 6 months ago
@boiledhooker
Those are some hard choices to make bro. My opinion it would have been best to get as many like minded individuals and head off on our own.
CSATexan 3 months ago
They should have fed Lansford hastings to Keseberg!
goodkarma33 6 months ago
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goodkarma33 6 months ago
Comment removed
goodkarma33 6 months ago
5 cannibals watched this
Daisycutt3r 7 months ago
Wait how many native Americans died? Over 70,000 because of the expansion of pioneers such as these? Oh this is so sad.
exxod255 9 months ago
@exxod255: Oh wait, how many indians died from indian war parties every year? Do some research. The indians were not all just holding hands skipping along the rivers. they too were quite murderous in the name of their religions. they just got beat at their own game just as every nation/people has at one time or another.
aaqaaqaaqaaqaaqaaqaa 6 months ago 2
@aaqaaqaaqaaqaaqaaqaa Your comment makes it very clear you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The only arguable case of Indians warring for religion was in the case of the Aztecs, and what the Spanish did to them makes completely pale by comparison their wars prior to European arrival. By disease alone the Europeans did more damage, not counting the atrocities.
Duskofdead 2 months ago
@exxod255 The official statistic is that the population of Native communities which were within travel distance of European settlement was halved every 25 years. This is why there are barely any natives left in the oldest settled areas like the east coast and the eastern islands in the Gulf of Mexico like Puerto Rico. Think about the population of the U.S. going from 300 million to 150 by 2036, and to 75 million by 2061. That's what happened to Natives.
Duskofdead 2 months ago
@Darkstar27100 7:02
jusdt heard it
wakamachulet 10 months ago
@Darkstar27100 7:02 "On April 16 1846, 9 brand new covered wagon graveled slowly out of Springfield Illinois and headed west..."
just heard it
wakamachulet 10 months ago
@Darkstar27100 7:02 "On April 16 1846, 9 brand new covered wagon graveled slowly out of Springfield Illinois and ehadeds west..."
just heard it
wakamachulet 10 months ago
Comment removed
lacouerfairy 10 months ago
is anyone aware that there is a text version of this that the narrarator seems to be quoting EXACTLY
PoofythePuppy 10 months ago
Why couldn't Hastings hang from the gallows? Why????
calik23 10 months ago
so SPRINGFIELD(the simpsons) is located at illinois.. nc
wakamachulet 10 months ago
Do you know if "The West" is anywhere on youtube? It's another documentary by Ken Burns I believe
27Bork 11 months ago
oh my fuck, i read the wiki, then watched this, dear lord that is horrible
omgpuppies0707 11 months ago
People who always want more and more and more always meet their demise. That's what leading to the fall of this greedy country.
OZRIC1985 11 months ago
Humans have had hardship and have died ever since day one. How is this any different from any other time in human existence? These people gambled against Mother Nature and lost. Nobody will ever win against Mother Nature...
OZRIC1985 11 months ago
@OZRIC1985 its not nice to fool with motha nature....
omgpuppies0707 11 months ago
@septip123
I know what you mean!The BBC showed this documentary in the early 90s, I must have watched the video of it over 50 times. Terrible story briliantly told.
mrploat 11 months ago
Patty's Doll is so old!
ThePinkflower72 11 months ago
There's a plaque just to the left of the fence, in Lincoln Square, that marks their starting point.
comgeek24 11 months ago
7:03 is modern-day downtown Springfield IL, S. 5th St. The fence is around the Old Capitol Building, 5th and Washington St.
comgeek24 11 months ago
This is so tragic and heartwrenching, yet I can't stop watching it...
comgeek24 11 months ago
Agreeing about the beautiful music. The documentary itself is very interesting as well.
lushie 1 year ago
I'm sure I saw this on Channel 4 here in England as part of the True Stories series, it was called Death of A Wagon Train. I was so moved by it i looked up everything I could about the Donner party, this was before everyone had the internet so i had to use the library. It's still a fascinating and heartbreaking story
Teobi1 1 year ago
@Teobi1 I saw that too in the UK back in the 90s, the impact must've stayed with me as I'm looking up documentaries to watch and books to read now....
nandagrey 1 year ago
@nandagrey I recommend A History of the Donner Party: A Tragedy of the Sierra by C. F McGlashan. It was even more heartbreaking than the documentary. I can't believe how everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. And Hastings literally got away with manslaughter for leading them astray in the first place. You literally sit there with your hand over your mouth saying "Don't go that way! Turn back!!"
Teobi1 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Subscribe To My Channel Im Uploading All Of Them
willjrdn23 1 year ago
i watched this in class (9th grade) and wow i actually enjoyed it and would watch it again.
NewAppleNews 1 year ago
@NewAppleNews my 8th grade class watched this today, and of 34 students, about 14 were awake during the movie. i was really interested about it, but my friends could care less.
chsstorm15 1 year ago
@chsstorm15 to be honest i wasn't paying any attention to it until my teacher said they eat each other lol.
NewAppleNews 1 year ago
clancy76 my msn in profile! The Donner Party Part 1
sexykatie90 1 year ago
@usmcmomndads1st
Actually they found out that The Reed Family did not resort to cannibalism.
emmers57 1 year ago
I still say Landsford Hastings should have been hung up by his Buster Browns.
emmers57 1 year ago
@emmers57 Thats a foolish thing to say
wreckem881 1 year ago
@Clancy76 have direct dl links?
slammanna 1 year ago
Music by Badalamenti? No wonder I liked this documentary so much, I love his work in Lynch films.
carlsetzer 1 year ago
Comment removed
russell0931 1 year ago
@russell0931 Thank you!
PalaceOfExile 1 year ago
A trip that once took months of hardship, can now be made in one day.
EagleOnTheRhine 1 year ago 2
1:18 - the composer (I forgot his name) works a lot with David Lynch
-Blue Velvet
-Lost Highway
-The Straight Story
septip123 1 year ago
i watched the movie based on true story very sad.
Sophiemittens1 1 year ago
we walk along paths cut by greater men and women than us their dust blows through our hair their tears have dried in the earth and we forget and turn away and fight and dream of oil and gold
DICKENS81 1 year ago
@DICKENS81 - That's human nature. However, it's hard to truly admire pioneers without thinking of the horrors that the American Indians endured because of their desire to go west. An entire race decimated.
lacouerfairy 10 months ago
we walk along paths cut by greater men and women than us their dust blows through our hair their tears have dried in the earth and we forget and turn away and fight and dream of oil
DICKENS81 1 year ago
That Alexis de Tocqueville quote...it really rings true about us Americans. It is haunting how he is almost speaking across the century and a half and commenting on our country as it is now. I wonder if that is how Europe has always seen us, and still sees us today.
machidaboy 1 year ago
Comment removed
pucksterz12 1 year ago
The Donner site was a very beautiful place when we vsited. Very nice. Would highly reccomend it. But knowing what went on there made it a depressing place as well and felt a bit quesy.Plus the fact that, yes, it is haunted, even though I never believed that nonsense before means I'll never camp there again.
Rusfi16 1 year ago
this was an awesome documentary, very disturbing though
frabjousness 1 year ago
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mylykgirl 1 year ago
ugh, i'm such a nerd; looking up history & shitt :D i love it!
qabybabie21 1 year ago 2
Clancy76- you are up to 24,000 views and you deserve it. The best "American Experience" on PBS ever. Ithink what the one commentator said is so, so true. People want to know the limits that human-beings will go through to survive. And 24,000 people feel the same way. Please don't ever remove this. you have done a great service to YT watchers. this is beyond a simple documentary. it is a work of art. A masterpiece as one person said.
brianCIM 1 year ago
Speaking of Keseberg, I almost puked when they said he opened a restaurant. I wonder what was in the hamburgers....
lacouerfairy 1 year ago
It was Reed's decision to take the "cut-off" that lead to this ordeal. They took much longer on that supposed time-saver, having to cut through the Wasatch Mountains and then enduring traversing the Salt Lake where many of their cattle bolted. Such a shame that later so many died of starvation in the high Sierras. They should have backtracked to the lower elevations. That would have saved their lives, as their remaining livestock would not have been buried in snow.
strawberryseason 1 year ago
I bet George W. Bush was involved with this tragedy.
soundsliketruck 1 year ago
@soundsliketruck .....LMAO!!!!! I bet he was.
Mazeppa4 1 year ago
The first RV heaging West!
astranine 1 year ago
I 1st heard of this piece of American history from Stan Kubrick's film, 'The Shining'!lol!
neil73 1 year ago
To make an omelet you have to break a few eggs. This has been true everywhere in every time and is still true today.
redarrowhead 1 year ago
Can someone name a better documentary? I can't.
mgolin 1 year ago
@mgolin Just because someone can't name a better one doesn't mean this is any good, just means no one makes documentaries about it.
TigerRifle1 1 year ago
This is beautifully done and a tragic story. Had the wagon train not stopped to rest that night, they would have made it to California. One day too late...and very sad.
Baldgol4 1 year ago
i wonder if the kids said "are we there yet?" back then
barkpeeler2000 1 year ago 3
I love this documentary, it's so perfect and it really captures the feelings and realism of the events that took place. And the music is just..ahhh!
xmattvsmondayx 1 year ago 2
Please don't ever take this down! Besides being a fascinating and deeply moving story, the music is FANTASTIC! I wish i could buy the soundtrack just by itself! It compliments this fascinating and tragic story so well. Best Wishes, Brian
brianCIM 1 year ago 2
In my opinion this was Ric Burns' most fascinating, compelling, and somber documentary.
carlsetzer 1 year ago
...I used to watch this on the public-access channel as a kid. It always gave me nightmares, haha. But it's one of my favorite documentaries ever. Thanks for reposting it, this is a piece of my childhood as well as history. :D
ladyhrist 1 year ago
This was one of the families we learnt about at school! This is helping me a lot thankyou for uploading..:).
paulmccartney7ElvisP 2 years ago
Can someone please explain to me why I can't stop watching this???!!!
septip123 2 years ago 11
@septip123 It's not difficult to understand. That melding of media (Angelo Badalmenti's "Dark Spanish Symphony", David McCullough's narration, the script, the visuals, and the reflections of Harold Schindler and Joseph King) extending from 0:59 to 4:02 may well be the most gripping that I have ever experienced. Ric Burns is the MASTER at this. Brother Ken can't hold a candle to him..
TyteFystedFolkie 2 years ago
Comment removed
mycatisromeo 2 years ago
Because it's a fascinating story, brilliantly told with incredible music. Very sad what those people went through-I can't even imagine. I've watched this numerous times myself!
drumdude1000 2 years ago 11
they took that hardship and strife to move out west, now their descendants are probably very rich indeed
sneighwena 1 year ago
@septip123
The film shows the true nature of humanity, our common bond with nature which
reveals to you your own mortality.
Psycolynch 6 months ago
great opening narrative by:
Alexis de Tocqueville
Democracy in America, 1835
septip123 2 years ago 2
Damn it!
I just bought this on DVD.
Ha, ha. Thanks for the post, just the same.
septip123 2 years ago
I always think it's funny when people say, "give California back to Mexico." Mexico only had CA for 20 years, before that Spain had it for a long time. Why doesn't anyone say, "give CA back to Spain"?
You can't just pick a specific year and say everything was good, let's go back there. If you want to rewind to 1845, when Mexico held CA, are you also advocating a return of slavery to the South? Should Austria-Hungary rule Italy again?
Get real and live in the world you live in!
drivebydickhead 2 years ago 2
Just because a people are born on a certain piece of ground that doesnt give said people ownership of that ground. Europeans built the ships to cross the Atlantic to seek out greener pastures. Europeans migrated and settled. If you can get there by your own doing, you have a right to be there! Many moons ago Africans crossed the Med and sailed into ( S Europe ) and settled. You dont see Europeans complaining..
jcsrealty 2 years ago
@jcsrealty bullshit. think about the native americans that were here before the white man. being able to settle in a place means shit. the land was stolien from the people who originally lived in america.
violetdawn369 2 years ago
I can only reply to you in this way.. So, the Irish who had the toughest land to farm in all of Europe.. The Irish were starving to death and dieing... They have a right to survival, dont they? Dont they have a right to walk, or float to a new land and settle? As far as killing - the natives killed just as many whites. Then we dominated them. Those were the times we lived in... The African Moors to floated in and settled S. Europe for greener pastures and killed 1000's...Its all to human!
jcsrealty 2 years ago
thats the thing, im more than half Hawaiian and our land was stolen from us by the americans and they dont want to give us consolation unlike some of the other native americans (i guess we're technically native americans) so we have been fighting for our land back for a long time
ahkoifish 2 years ago
@violetdawn369 The ancestors of the Native Americans most likely did the same thing. They crossed over the land bridge between Alaska and Asia and settled in what is now the Americas, most likely eliminating any people who may have been here before them. It's the way life goes. It's sad, true, but it is the reality of the human condition.
rickyfan3956 1 year ago
Marxist interpretation of U.S, history..... it's a joke!
surfstrat59 2 years ago 4
and you white people complain now of Mexicans immigrants returning to California when you white people stole this land from mexico in the first place. Mexicans didn't cross the boarder, the broader crossed them.
02Nawal 2 years ago
What?? "You white people stole this land from Mexico"???
The Mexicans "stole" it from the Indians who lived there first. Those indians "stole" it from other Indians before them.
Your criticism is quite selective. Get off your high horse.
ArxVirtus 2 years ago
@ArxVirtus may I remind you Mexicans are Indians and where Indian before the white Spaniards came off those ships. Indigenous Mexicans have settled that land before Mexico was conquered and ruled by the white Spaniards. Get off your mom bitch
02Nawal 2 years ago
1. NOT ALL Mexicans are Indian. Many Mexicans are of mixed ethnicity and others have no Indian at all.
2. The peoples of the area now known as California were not "Mexicans" before the Europeans came here. There were over 100 different cultures and languages spoken in the area before European settlement there - none "Mexican."
3. Funny how someone who pretends to be intellectual and enlightened debases the argument in to ad hominem attacks like "Get off your mom bitch." You're pathetic.
ArxVirtus 2 years ago
I didn't say all Mexicans are Indians now dumb ass but they all were Indian before the white Spanish raped their women thus making a new race called mestizo. Mexican is not a language. Those people living there before whit ppl were living in a territory that was part of Mexico. Mexico has existed for over 3,000 years. All of your ancestors must number in the millions; it's hard to believe that many people are to blame for producing you. The inbreeding is certainly obvious in your family. Fag
02Nawal 2 years ago
Ad hominem attacks are the age-old tactic of someone whose position on the debate is faulty. You lose.
ArxVirtus 2 years ago
Had no idea this was a competition? Since you seem to believe that I lost what did you win? I'd like to leave you with one thought, but I'm not sure you have anywhere to put it! Dumb ass fag.
02Nawal 2 years ago
You keep proving my point with your juvenile tirades.
ArxVirtus 2 years ago
"We white people" complain about ILLEGAL immigration from Mexico, China, Russia or anywhere people cross the border illegally. Try crossing Mexico's southern border illegally and see what happens to you. They ask for tolerance for their lawbreakers, yet Mexicans are racist and intolerant to their southern neighbors. People think Central and South Americans are one happy people, they don't realize how much chauvinism exists among those countries.
drivebydickhead 2 years ago
@drivebydickhead Yawn*
02Nawal 2 years ago
Heart breaking story..you can read the actual immigrant's letters online. The film skipped over a lot of details, like Keseberg enjoying eating humans, they were able to kill some wild game for food, and the greed of humans.
qx1zed 2 years ago
............ hard to fit all the details into two hours
tialeetull 2 years ago
@qx1zed Actually, it did somewhat mention at the end of the film Keseberg liking to eat human flesh. it said that he was the only one of the party to talk openly about having eaten human flesh and that everyone around him regarded him as a ghoul.
rickyfan3956 1 year ago
Are Ric Burns and Ken Burns related?
machokingwwf 2 years ago
@machokingwwf Yup, they are brothers.
clancy76 2 years ago
@clancy76,When was this aired on PBS?
98bigbutt 1 year ago
@98bigbutt It originally aired in 1992.
clancy76 1 year ago
i just got done watching the movie The Donner Party..and it was really sad and tragic what happen to thme..i could not imagine myself in that harsh weather and starve like they did and also had to turn to cannibals.
llNoahTheHeroll 2 years ago 3
I first heard of The Donner Party in Stanley Kubricks The Shining. Jack Nicholson was talking about it to his son. I never really thought to look into it, being such a morbid tale, but what better place to start than American Experience. Love this show! And great music too, I agree.
machokingwwf 2 years ago 2
An awesome director - Rick Burns! Oustanding writer and documentary film specialist.
tialeetull 2 years ago
i remember this.......
TheOlmecindian 2 years ago
Much of what is said in this "documentary" isn't true. The Burns' do very little of their own research they just rehash the same old myths and stories many of which are inaccurate. Keseberg didn't open a restaurant but a hotel, the Forlorn Hope was not a contemporary term but came about afterwards, the members of the Donner Party didn't "curse" Hastings; most never met him. Hastings Cutoff appears just once in the Guide. Listen to only very little of this so called documentary.
TigerRifle1 2 years ago
@TigerRifle1 ..those are all minor inaccuracys. its a difficult story but told well by ric burns.
thank you
e
sengseal2 2 years ago 2
................... i find it hard to believe that each person/party that got snowbound did not 'curse' that rat Hastings. he should have been accountable for fraud/misrepresentation and manslaughter as a result of what happened in 1846-7.
all documentaries have 'artistic license' - why haven't you written PBS or American Experience to let them know what is inaccurate? This documentary is OLD.............
tialeetull 2 years ago
@TigerRifle1 Could it be possible that Keseberg's hotel also had a restaurant in it and so it was known as both a hotel and a restaurant? There are a lot of hotels like that today.
rickyfan3956 1 year ago
FUCK BILL
bigredv241 2 years ago
If they were looking for music that could instantly transport one back in time to the Old West and, at the same time, convey a sense of the majesty of and the hardships presented by the American landscape of that time and of the almost collective mindset of that time, I don't think they could've found any better than what they have here!
rickyfan3956 2 years ago 4
You're spot on.
TyteFystedFolkie 2 years ago
I have to write a paper on this, thank you so much for posting! It's very informational.
ABCDEFXU 2 years ago
I wrote a song about the Donner Party after watching this doc. Excellent excellent program.
elgray16 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Your fuckin gay...
niggababy420 2 years ago
My gay what?
elgray16 2 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
NO, i just said YOUR GAY. sorry for the confusion.
niggababy420 2 years ago
MY GAY what?
elgray16 2 years ago 2
brutal
chainsawteddybear 2 years ago
Believe it or not, Donner is my last name!
blackngoldgal65 2 years ago
i donner believe you lol....just kidding :o)
JamesArranMcGregor 2 years ago
The music is so beautiful, and coupled with the excellent documentary it's very moving.
PalaceOfExile 2 years ago 16
The music in this piece is Dark Spanish Symphony by Angelo Batalamenti
russell0931 1 year ago
I just drove to Reno and back today. Over Donner Pass, I never forget to think, for a moment, about the Donner Party.
kenkoch 2 years ago 4
thanks so much for posting. I'll never forget walking in and seeing this when it was first broadcast--so riveting I was unable to leave the room till its conclusion
mkervelegan 2 years ago 2
Have tbh one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Wonderfully done and so easy to understand =)
xmattvsmondayx 2 years ago
The Donner winter quarters are haunted.
Never believed in that kind of nonsense till i camped there.
Will never do it again.
Rusfi16 2 years ago 5
Oh yeah,i'm sure of it. I tend to believe that MOST places in the world are indeed haunted. There is some energy lingering in all places people once lived and died.
Chrisdrumz 2 years ago 7
really? what happened when you were there to make you believe it was haunted?
this story is very tragic and quite disturbing.
XjussyX92 2 years ago
If you could i would like you to tell me what happened to you to make that statement, I am a writer and this kind of stuff is my passion. Thank you.
irishsid13 2 years ago
A horrifying and tragic story, beautifully told.
Thanks for posting this excellent Documentary (haven't seen ot in years)
bshieldsbb01 2 years ago 2
we never knew how much trouble the
donner party got into once they split
off from the regular wagon train...one
thing after another...thanks for posting
excellent story by Ric Burns!!!
lifesworsttragedy 2 years ago
awesome. this has helped me out with my project sooooo much. thank u thank u aloooot
5maganas 2 years ago
This was a Masterpiece.
Outstanding music too.
commitactsofkindness 2 years ago 7
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holy smokes. i was just thinking the music is great. ABSOLUTELY the best "American Experience" ever. rarely do documentaries move me to tears like this. been waiting for someone to post this for about 2 years
TY so much clancy
brianCIM 2 years ago
Appreciate you posting this, it helped with ma Donner Party presentation :D, and to the comments posted below, i feel i could eat someone if it meant living XD... i wonder what it tastes like 0_0
Dresden1337 2 years ago
they would kill and eat the weakest person. just thinkin bout it gives me the shivers! imagine if u wer tha weakest person and everyone decided to eat u! they made a south park episode out of this.
MILeSsK8101 2 years ago
haha i saw that!
lamboforme 2 years ago
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actually, they were making fun of that movie alive.. lol.
finneyfaery 2 years ago
This could be called " The Dinner Party"
SPBASS 2 years ago
oh wow, that was a good one right there. how would you like it if i eat yOU for dinner?
btw i think we're gonna be studying this in my bioanthropology class sometime before the end of the semester
trickmastermonkey 2 years ago
i heared my teacher talk about it in science while we were disscussing snowstorms but i never knew the entire story. until i saw this, so tragic.
SailorMinaHitachin 3 years ago
For those who truly know this entire story, the suffering and amazing courage of these pioneers....It is tragic and yet amazing.
Baldgol4 3 years ago 3
i just watched this in eighth grade history. i had no idea the desperation they went through. i wonder how the people who did eat human flash felt the reas of there lives?
oinklol123 3 years ago 3
wow.........so sad
DHJ9696 3 years ago
My History class just finished learning about the Donner Party - it really is a tragedy, but it really shows the need to find the shortest route to what we want and the consequences of those shortcuts. And really, the saddest thing to me about the Donner Party is that they were warned against taking the shortcut, but were in too much of a hurry to listen. It just goes to show that whe we try to hurry through things we often bring misfortune to ourselves.
RenSpencer 3 years ago
Saw this video for the first time in AP History in High School. Still moves me to this day, 11 years later. The human spirit hasn't changed, neither has human fallacies and cowardice and manipulation. The Donner Party in many ways is an appropriate odyssey that sums up the American Dream, in both its majesty and its tragedy.
steelphx08 3 years ago 5