The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014)

To me, this movie is perfection.

The Worst Film Ever

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is indeed my favorite documentary. It's an intimate look at the life of the best president ever Teddy Roosevelt, his niece Eleanor Roosevelt, and her husband Franklin Roosevelt. I am biased, you see, so I will admit that my favorite bits are about teddy, and his war hero sons. Although Eleanor's accomplishments are incredible and I'm more impressed with her than I am with her husband Frank.If you only see one documentary this year, make it this one. For I can only describe it with one word: BULLY!And remember, speak softly and carry a big stick!

I was slightly startled to find that while there were seven episodes, only two covered TR--a man that accomplished more in his lifetime than any other three humans I can think of, including FDR and Eleanor.There are numerous assumptions of espoused political and social attitudes being in fact correct, with lip service given to opposing views. The sections on domestic and social agendas drag on and on, especially in the FDR/Eleanor episodes. To the point where I started losing interest. I saw strong hints of political bias in many sections.All that said, though I've read several biographies of TR and FDR, I learned a great deal new about all three of the major players and the restored photography and video is great. But by devoting only two sections to TR, they glossed over some amazing parts of his story.

The Roosevelts is an informative if flawed documentary series on one of the preeminent families of American history, tracing its exploits from Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency of FDR. It offers a wealth of detail for devotees of American history to chew on, but at times glosses over both context and the flaws of its subjects.The series' strongest point is the amount of information it marshals on its protagonists. All but the most devoted Roosevelt fans will learn something new here. The series discusses not only the presidencies of Theodore and Franklin, but also their family lives, their travels, and their struggles. Perhaps the most moving portion is the section dealing with FDR's struggle with polio, a subject that receives too little attention in most discussions of his character.The film also benefits from the wealth of primary sources that Ken Burns always brings to his series. We get the correspondence between the various Roosevelts, as well as commentary from other contemporary figures on their activities. All these sources are read by a talented voice cast that includes Meryl Streep and Ed Harris.However, the series also suffers from the weaknesses of many of Burns's films, including a lack of historical context and a tendency to gloss over uncomfortable subjects. As informative as the film is about Franklin, Eleanor, and Theodore, we get very little understanding of the times they lived in. For instance, the film does not discuss the causes of the Great Depression. Rather than an event with roots in previous economic policy, it comes across as a storm that just rose up out of the blue.More disconcerting, The Roosevelts often downplays the rougher edges of its subjects. For example, although it at times references Theodore Roosevelt's callousness towards the suffering caused by war, it tends to play down his often vociferous racism. It briefly mentions an incident where TR unjustly drummed a group of black soldiers, including former comrades of his, out of the service after false accusations of murder by racist whites, it largely ignores his role as a prominent defender of eugenics and racist immigration policies. (Interesting historical tidbit: TR attacked Margaret Sanger, who is much more commonly vilified for her eugenic sympathies, because he feared her birth control clinics would dampen the birth rate of the "racially pure.") The most egregious omission, however, is in the sixth episode, dealing with the early years of World War II. It devotes at most two minutes to discussing the internment of Japanese Americans, most of which focuses on Eleanor Roosevelt's ambivalence towards her husband's policy. To essentially gloss over a major tragedy in American history is simply unacceptable. Whatever one's feelings about the internment, the series should at least have looked at the policy discussions underlying Roosevelt's internment decision. An interview with a surviving internee would also have been a good addition.That said, the series does offset these omissions to a certain extent by featuring commentary from modern critics of the Roosevelts. George Will and Clay Jenkinson offer particularly incisive remarks. For all its flaws, The Roosevelts is still an informative series and could be useful for classroom use, especially in short segments.

Government, backed by masses of people organised to craft a government that works more for ordinary people than it does for hyper-rich elites, can help to engender a more benign and inclusive society, worth living in by ordinary people...Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been in office nearly four years and was up for re-election when he made a speech in New York's Madison Square Garden on 31 October 1936. Here is an excerpt: "We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace-- business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred."