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{{Short description|1992 film by Ric Burns}}
{{Infobox film| name = The Donner Party
{{Infobox film| name = The Donner Party
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| director = [[Ric Burns]]
| director = [[Ric Burns]]
| producer = Lisa Ades<br>Ric Burns
| producer = Lisa Ades<br />Ric Burns
| writer = Ric Burns
| writer = Ric Burns
| starring =
| starring =
| cinematography = [[Buddy Squires]]<br>Allen Moore
| cinematography = [[Buddy Squires]]<br />Allen Moore
| music = [[Brian Keane]]
| music = [[Brian Keane]]
| editing = Bruce Shaw
| editing = Bruce Shaw
| distributor = [[Steeplechase Films]]
| distributor = [[Steeplechase Films]]
| released = 1992
| released = {{Film date|1992}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = United States
| country = United States
Line 16: Line 17:
| budget =
| budget =
}}
}}
'''''The Donner Party''''' is a 1992 documentary film traces the history of the [[Donner Party]], an ill-fated pioneer group from [[Springfield, Illinois]] to Sutter's Fort, California - a disastrous journey of 2500 miles made famous by the tales of cannibalism the survivors told upon reaching their destination. The film is narrated by [[David McCullough]] and premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 1992 and aired on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] as part of the ''[[American Experience]]'' program in October, 1992.
'''''The Donner Party''''' is a 1992 documentary film that traces the history of the [[Donner Party]], an ill-fated pioneer group that trekked from [[Springfield, Illinois]] to [[Sutter's Fort]], California - a disastrous journey of 2500 miles made famous by the tales of cannibalism the survivors told upon reaching their destination. The film, narrated by [[David McCullough]], premiered at the [[Telluride Mountainfilm Festival]] in May 1992 with an introductory lecture on the Donner Party by noted Western historian [[David Lavender]]. It subsequently aired on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] as part of the ''[[American Experience]]'' program in October, 1992. It was funded in part by the [[National Endowment for the Humanities]].


The film was produced using a combination of archival materials, including letters, photograph, paintings and diaries from members of the Donner Party. New footage was shot of the trail the Party journeyed along in Oregon and California. Animated maps are used to show the route the Donner Party took. On-camera experts include [[Harold Schindler]], Joseph King, Donald Buck and [[Wallace Stegner]]. [[Timothy Hutton]], [[Amy Madigan]], [[Frances Sternhagen]], [[George Plimpton]], [[Lois Smith]], and [[Eli Wallach]] perform the letters and diaries written by the Donner Party before, during and after their journey.
The film was produced using a combination of archival materials, including letters, photographs, paintings, and diaries from members of the Donner Party, as well as new footage shot of the trail the Party journeyed along in Oregon and California. Animated maps are used to show the route the Donner Party took. On-camera experts include [[Harold Schindler]], Joseph King, Donald Buck, and [[Wallace Stegner]]. [[Timothy Hutton]], [[Amy Madigan]], [[Frances Sternhagen]], [[George Plimpton]], [[Lois Smith]], and [[Eli Wallach]] perform the letters and diaries written by the Donner Party before, during, and after their journey.


==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
In 1846, a large wagon train left [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]], [[Illinois]] for [[California]]. In July of that year, following the advice of "The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California" written by a pro-emigration promoter named [[Lansford Hastings]], the Donner party left the main body of emigrants to take a never before tried “shortcut” across the Great Basin.
In 1846, a large wagon train left [[Springfield, Illinois]], for [[California]]. In July of that year, following the advice of ''The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California'' written by a pro-emigration promoter named [[Lansford Hastings]], the Donner party left the main body of emigrants to take a never before tried "shortcut" across the [[Great Basin Divide|Great Basin]].


The Donner Party arrived at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the last mountain pass before California weeks behind schedule and short of food. The first blizzard of the season started only one day before they planned to head up and over the Sierra Nevada. With 95% of their journey already completed, they would be forced to wait months to make the final push, enduring the Sierra Nevada's most unfavorable winter in history. The group was trapped on the eastern side of the Sierra for five months, culminating in death and cannibalism. Of the 87 men, women and children in the Donner Party only 46 survived to reach California.
The Donner Party arrived at the foot of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], the last mountain pass before California, weeks behind schedule and short of food. The first blizzard of the season started only one day before they planned to head up and over the Sierra Nevada. With 95% of their journey already completed, they would be forced to wait months to make the final push, enduring the most unfavorable Sierra Nevada winter in history. The group was trapped on the eastern side of the Sierra for five months, culminating in death and cannibalism. Of the 87 men, women, and children in the Donner Party only 46 survived to reach California.


==Critical Reception==
==Critical reception==
Time magazine called the film "a grueling, unforgettable trip" and named the film one of the top ten television programs of the year.<ref name=time>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976917,00.html|newspaper=Time|year=1992 | title=Short Takes: Nov. 2, 1992|date=November 2, 1992}}</ref> USA Today’s Matt Roush wrote, “Historical narratives rarely have as much dire beauty as Ric Burns’s The Donner Party, a documentary that aches with the austere eloquence of human desperation.”{{citation needed|date=April 2011}} Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times characterized Burns as a "low key" director but also wrote that the film "has everything: heroism, cowardice, stupefying folly and price and a truly terrible irony."
''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine called the film "a grueling, unforgettable trip" and named it one of the top ten television programs of the year.<ref name=time>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976917,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812194930/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976917,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 12, 2010|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| title=Short Takes|date=November 2, 1992}}</ref> ''[[USA Today]]''{{'s}} [[Matt Roush]] wrote, "Historical narratives rarely have as much dire beauty as Ric Burns's ''The Donner Party'', a documentary that aches with the austere eloquence of human desperation."{{citation needed|date=April 2011}} Kevin Thomas of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' characterized Burns as a "low key" director and wrote that the film "has everything: heroism, cowardice, stupefying folly and price and a truly terrible irony."<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=October 19, 1992|title=?}}</ref>
<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=October 19, 1992}}</ref>


==Awards==
==Awards==
⚫
*George Foster Peabody Award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://interactive.wxxi.org/highlights/2010/01/donner-party-american-experience |website=Peabody Award|date=2010|title=Donner Party: ''American Experience''}}</ref>

⚫
*George Foster Peabody Award<ref>[http://interactive.wxxi.org/highlights/2010/01/donner-party-american-experience Peabody Award]</ref>
*Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1993
*Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1993
*D. W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review for the Best Television Program of 1992<ref>[http://www.ricburns.com/flash.html D. W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review for the Best Television Program]</ref>
*D. W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review for the Best Television Program of 1992<ref>{{cite web|website=RicBurns.com|url=http://www.ricburns.com/flash.html|title=D. W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review for the Best Television Program|date=1992|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527213325/http://www.ricburns.com/flash.html|archivedate=2011-05-27}}</ref>
*Director's Guild of America for Best Director, Documentary (nomination)
*Directors Guild of America for Best Director, Documentary (nomination){{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
*EMMY Award for Writing & Directing (nomination)<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/about/award/broadcast Broadcast Awards American Experience]</ref>
*EMMY Award for Writing & Directing (nomination)<ref>{{cite web|publisher=WGBH|website=PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/about/award/broadcast|title=Broadcast Awards: ''American Experience''|access-date=2017-09-15|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210802/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/about/award/broadcast|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{cite book|url=https://www.ricburns.com/film/the-donner-party|publisher=RicBurns.com|title=The Donner Party|date=2 January 2012 }}
* http://www.ricburns.com/Donner_set.swf
* http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/donner/
* {{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/donner/|website=PBS|publisher=WGBH|title=The Donner Party: ''American Experience''}}

{{American Experience}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Donner Party (1992 film)}}
[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:1992 films]]
[[Category:Programs produced by Thirteen/WNET New York]]
[[Category:American Experience]]
[[Category:American documentary television series]]
[[Category:Television series by WNET]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ric Burns]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ric Burns]]
[[Category:1992 documentary films]]
[[Category:Documentary films about California]]
[[Category:Donner Party]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:English-language documentary films]]

Latest revision as of 22:01, 5 September 2024

The Donner Party
Directed byRic Burns
Written byRic Burns
Produced byLisa Ades
Ric Burns
CinematographyBuddy Squires
Allen Moore
Edited byBruce Shaw
Music byBrian Keane
Distributed bySteeplechase Films
Release date
  • 1992 (1992)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Donner Party is a 1992 documentary film that traces the history of the Donner Party, an ill-fated pioneer group that trekked from Springfield, Illinois to Sutter's Fort, California - a disastrous journey of 2500 miles made famous by the tales of cannibalism the survivors told upon reaching their destination. The film, narrated by David McCullough, premiered at the Telluride Mountainfilm Festival in May 1992 with an introductory lecture on the Donner Party by noted Western historian David Lavender. It subsequently aired on PBS as part of the American Experience program in October, 1992. It was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The film was produced using a combination of archival materials, including letters, photographs, paintings, and diaries from members of the Donner Party, as well as new footage shot of the trail the Party journeyed along in Oregon and California. Animated maps are used to show the route the Donner Party took. On-camera experts include Harold Schindler, Joseph King, Donald Buck, and Wallace Stegner. Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Frances Sternhagen, George Plimpton, Lois Smith, and Eli Wallach perform the letters and diaries written by the Donner Party before, during, and after their journey.

Synopsis

[edit]

In 1846, a large wagon train left Springfield, Illinois, for California. In July of that year, following the advice of The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California written by a pro-emigration promoter named Lansford Hastings, the Donner party left the main body of emigrants to take a never before tried "shortcut" across the Great Basin.

The Donner Party arrived at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the last mountain pass before California, weeks behind schedule and short of food. The first blizzard of the season started only one day before they planned to head up and over the Sierra Nevada. With 95% of their journey already completed, they would be forced to wait months to make the final push, enduring the most unfavorable Sierra Nevada winter in history. The group was trapped on the eastern side of the Sierra for five months, culminating in death and cannibalism. Of the 87 men, women, and children in the Donner Party only 46 survived to reach California.

Critical reception

[edit]

Time magazine called the film "a grueling, unforgettable trip" and named it one of the top ten television programs of the year.[1] USA Today's Matt Roush wrote, "Historical narratives rarely have as much dire beauty as Ric Burns's The Donner Party, a documentary that aches with the austere eloquence of human desperation."[citation needed] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times characterized Burns as a "low key" director and wrote that the film "has everything: heroism, cowardice, stupefying folly and price and a truly terrible irony."[2]

Awards

[edit]
  • George Foster Peabody Award[3]
  • Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1993
  • D. W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review for the Best Television Program of 1992[4]
  • Directors Guild of America for Best Director, Documentary (nomination)[citation needed]
  • EMMY Award for Writing & Directing (nomination)[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Short Takes". Time. November 2, 1992. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010.
  2. ^ "?". Los Angeles Times. October 19, 1992.
  3. ^ "Donner Party: American Experience". Peabody Award. 2010.
  4. ^ "D. W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review for the Best Television Program". RicBurns.com. 1992. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27.
  5. ^ "Broadcast Awards: American Experience". PBS. WGBH. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
[edit]
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