Over a hundred years ago on a stormy May 31, 1889, a dam in Johnstown, Pennsylvania collapsed causing a tidal wave over 40 feet high to fall over the heavily populated town below it. A major flooding of the valley destroyed countless buildings and claimed over 2,000 lives in the aftermath. All that remained was a barely recognizable wasteland and some very fortunate survivors. Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, Johnstown Flood is a story about the people who survived and people who died in one of the worst floods to ever hit North America. Through documented and illustrated first-hand accounts from survivors of the flood, the actual event is brought to life. Horrified survivors watch as the bustling industrial city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is instantly reduced into a wasteland.
Details
LENGTH: 1 x 64 Minutes
FORMAT: Special
INTERNATIONAL TRACK: No
TEXTLESS: No
CLOSED CAPTIONS: Yes
ASPECT RATIO: 16 x 9 Anamorphic Widescreen
PRODUCTION YEAR: 2006
RELEASE YEAR: 2010
SUPPLIER: Inecom Entertainment Company
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
RIGHTS TERRITORY: Worldwide
Townspeople and visitors alike are afflicted with untimely demises. Michael Mann, an unlucky miner, is far from his home, pursuing opportunities in Conemaugh Valley. Charles Dewald, a salesman from Altoona, suffers a dreadful fate as the last person to enter Johnstown’s luxurious Holbert Hotel. Little children playing so innocently one moment, struggle to survive the rushing waters the next. Each of these people’s stories immerses viewers in this tragic event, enabling audiences to relive their experiences. Among others, a New York World correspondent who is one of the first reporters to reach Johnstown after the disaster tells of the aftermath. As the waters recede, people from all over the world rally around the survivors to help victims regain all that is lost.
Johnstown Flood reveals both the bright and dark sides of humanity with a mixture of intense live action, personal stories and period photographs and engravings.
Reviews
“Beautifully narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. Really brings the story alive with first-hand accounts from survivors. It’s a beautiful documentary and it really does pay homage to the survivors and those who died in the .” – Sophia Choi, CNN Headline News
“A fascinating look at a National disaster and its aftermath. Well worth watching.” – Video Store Magazine
“Tension builds as the program… unfolds like a Hitchcock thriller. Tied together by Richard Dreyfuss’ passionate narration, this melodramatic production is a riveting account of the tragedy that claimed nearly 3,000 victims.” – Candace Smith, Booklist
“Mark Bussler’s outstanding documentary… does a marvelous job of recreating one of the worst disasters in American history.” “An excellent choice for public, school, and academic libraries, this is highly recommended.”
- L. Stevens, Video Librarian“If most documentaries aspire to the cool objectivity of The New York Times, dives into the sensationalism of tabloid journalism and the results are enticing, unsettling, and thoroughly entertaining.”
“All the drama and suspense of a horror movie.” – Bret Fetzer, editor, amazon.com“Using dramatic re-creations, old photos, and first person narratives, the video illustrates the flood’s capricious power. The video expertly depicts the heady optimism of this bustling industrial town.”
“This disc includes outstanding extras.”
“Highly recommended for school and public libraries.” – Stephen Rees, Library Journal” is a riveting and stylish film.” – Kevin Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
“This excellent documentary about one of the worst tragedies to occur in America is nicely narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. A must have” – Chuck O’Leary, Fulvuedrive-in.com
“…a glimpse into history that should be interesting to a wide audience.”
“As a document of what transpired [at the ], this film is perfect…ties up the story in a well-made bundle.” – Gil Jawetz, dvdtalk.com“Effective in delivering its message and entertaining in doing so.” – Dean Winkelspecht, DVDTown
“A great and emotional documentary that is absolutely required seeing for everyone interested in the history of this country. Well written and photographed, marvelously narrated, this film is coming to great life on this DVD release, so make sure to check it out.” – Guido Henkel, dvdreview.com
“…the “historian’s commentary” by Richard Burkert of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, engagingly describes the events depicted in the film…viewers interested in the history of the event are strongly encouraged to watch the film.” – Josh Ralske, allmovieguide.com
“It concurrently educates and entertains. A worthy introduction to an American tragedy.” - Ryan Cracknell, Movie View
“This film successfully handles the enormous historical scope of the Johnstown flood while exquisitely capturing the humanity of the disaster.”
“Accurate enough for history buffs while accessible (and entertaining enough) for school-age history students.” – Meredith Towbin, review on amazon.com“A dramatic and well-done reenactment of one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history, with copious extras and a striking transfer. Highly recommended.” – digitallyobsessed.com
“This movie really opens your eyes to the level of destruction that took place.”
“Dreyfuss did a great job as the narrator. His voice holds you to the story.” – Review on amazon.com“… compelling, detailed [documentary].” – Tampa Tribune
“One of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen.” - Review from the winner of TheHistoryNet.com Daily Quiz
“This is a fascinating documentary of one of the most devastating disasters in Pennsylvania history. This poignant drama breathes new life into a tragedy that occurred more than a century ago. serves as a prelude of what can be witnessed through a visit to the sights and museums of Johnstown and Cambria County.” – J. Mickey Rowley, Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary for Tourism, Film and Economic Development Marketing
“…does a fine job of explaining why the impact of May 31, 1889 remains with us.” – Dan Lybarger, KansasCity.com
“Tells a compelling, historical story with purpose, accuracy, objectivity and proper emotion. Entertaining and informative.” – Dennis Schwartz, Ozus’ World Movie Reviews
“A well-stocked trove of imagery and vivid recollection of a terrible event. The writing and research is excellent.” – Karina Montgomery, Cinerina
“The kind of work that you lean forward while watching; the events, at one point unfamiliar, come trampling off the screen almost as if they happened mere moments before.” – David Keyes, Cinemaphile.org
PRODUCTION NOTES
More than a century ago, the bustling industrial city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania was destroyed by the worst man-induced flood in American History. It left thousands dead, homeless or missing.
Documentary filmmaker Mark Bussler and Inecom Entertainment Company CEO Michael Bussler have long been fascinated with the subject, and after significant research, decided it was a story well worth telling for two reasons: they felt that other documentaries on the were sanitized and that other productions lacked the emotional impact of what happened on that horrific day.
“The primary goal was to pack the documentary with action and personal stories. That required a lot of research to gain first-hand accounts and make the film as exciting, while still as factual, as possible. It’s about the people who survived or perished in Johnstown, along with all the other carnage the flood inflicted when it roared through the city. I first became aware of the Johnstown Flood history two years ago; about the time we were ramping up to make films for the DVD market. I recognized that the story had a number of dramatic elements that would make an interesting movie,” said Inecom CEO and Executive Producer Michael Bussler.
“You have the traumatic nature of this flood. This was not your typical, rising-water type of flood. It was more like a massive tidal wave, crashing through four towns and was still a solid wall of 40-mph water, 45-feet high when it hit Johnstown. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the debris of four towns was dammed up at the stone railroad bridge. Then a fire began. Hundreds who otherwise might have been saved by floating away on remnants of debris were doomed to death by flames.
“The fundamental good nature of the American people is demonstrated in the aftermath of the flood when locals pitched in to put the town back together. Clara Barton and the American Red Cross rallied the nation to help Johnstown recover from the devastation.
“Putting all this together, I thought here is a story people need to learn more about today, illustrating as it does the American spirit in these turbulent times,” said Bussler.
Mark Bussler set out to write and direct a documentary that literally places the viewers there and allows them to experience the horror and tragedy first-hand.
“The terror from the size of the huge, crushing wall of water had to be shown in the film to really convey how awful this event was. This of course proved difficult when I couldn’t drown my actors or flood a real town. Special effects and miniatures involving water looked cheap so instead I went with the principle that what you don’t see is the most terrible thing of all. You hear and see the flood before it kills people, and you can feel it through the actors’ reactions and the massive soundtrack I put together. That coupled with the actual pictures of the destruction make you really feel the size and force of the Johnstown Flood.
“I went with a predominantly black and white film to set the right mood. The film has a period feel, exemplifying the black and white still photography that existed in 1889. From a stylistic viewpoint it looks angrier too. There are no cheerful colors to get in the way of the death and destruction,” said Bussler.
There were lots of ups and downs during the production, most notably, the complexity of the scenes and the weather. But the fact that Bussler is also a set designer enabled him to make clever use of whatever was around him. Recreating 1889 Johnstown, a bustling, historic city, was a challenging assignment to accurately convey the size and scope of the flood as well as the Victorian era in which it took place.
The biggest problem to overcome was the weather. The took place in the lush, green Conemaugh Valley in May of 1889. Bussler’s filming schedule was to take place through the winter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas – a memorable winter that was below zero much of the time with snow on the ground for months on end.
Through the generosity of people in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio, Bussler was able to secure and build locations quickly. Filming was done in a variety of antique shops, historical societies and local residences. A section of the debris field was built on a farm representing the smoldering debris at the bridge. The debris field was usually covered in snow and ice and was cleared off with hot water before each filming day.
The coldest day of filming was minus ten degrees at the Ohio Central Railroad in Sugar Creek, Ohio. It was far too cold for the smoke machine to work properly and when the crew threw water onto the train representing rain, it froze instantly. All the scenes inside the train were shot from angles to hide the fact that it was a snow covered tundra outside.
Fortunately all the footage came back the way Bussler wanted and the story was pieced together as precisely as it was originally storyboarded. was looking great and Executive Producer, Michael Bussler, decided he wanted to have it narrated by the best narrator in the industry. Actor, Richard Dreyfuss, was recorded in January. Mark Bussler recalls, “Richard is an amazing actor with a terrific voice. He gave the emotional intensity and drama to make it an exceptionally powerful film.”
Bussler worked with Richard Burkert and Dan Ingram at the Museum in Johnstown to round out the production. The Flood Museum provided the film with a tremendous amount of additional pictures of Johnstown and the aftermath, many of which were never before published. From there Bussler was nearly complete with the editing. The remaining few shots that had no available pictures or were not filmed were hand drawn with pen and ink by Bussler mimicking the 1889 style.
Editing was completed in April of 2003 after weeks of sound and music work. The last scene to be filmed was the lynching, which was filmed after the majority of ice had melted from the debris field set in late March.
Bussler wanted epic, classical music to end the film and turned to Scandinavian composers Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen. An authentic 1889 piano piece about the was performed by Pittsburgh Symphony pianist, Patricia Prattis Jennings exclusively for the film.
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