There is no denying that this series is well crafted: expertly-written, produced and directed. Outstanding narration and perfectly cast re-enactments lend power and gravitas to an amazing era in American history.
There are however two irredeemable problems that no amount of money can solve. First, is that it is riddled with historical errors, overstatements and generalizations. If you are going to produce something for the history channel, you really ought to get the history right. Other reviewers here have pointed out many of these, so I won't belabor this point, but it is a shame they didn't get it right. The endless repetition was also a major viewing problem, but I lay that at the feet of the History Channel itself, rather than the writers, cast and crew, who did an excellent job.
And this leads to second and even greater sin: the blatant attempt to romanticize, even rationalize as good and right, the dirty, sleazy, underhanded and often downright criminal manner in which virtually every one of these scions of the industrial age conducted their affairs. I mean, if you turn to Donald Trump for insight into the mind of a successful business person, then you really have your ethical hat on backwards. All of the modern commentators are unapologetically in awe of the cunning and ruthlessness of guys like Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Ford, who regularly went back on their word, exploited their workers and couldn't give a damn about the American people, despite going to great lengths to project a white knight image of benevolent stewards of social development. They were total pricks, and the commentators they chose for this program are cut from the same cloth. You can plainly see that they all wish they were able to get away with today, what good old Henry Frick was able to pull.
It is apparent from the many positive reviews here that it had the desired effect. It seems to have reinforced the idea that these men, while undoubtedly crucial to the rapid rise of the American Empire, were basically noble Captains of Industry. The facts are, however, that they were horrible human beings and the moral rot that pervades America today should be directly attributed to their selfish pursuit of the almighty dollar at all costs.
Worth watching, but God Save America if you come away from it believing that History ought to look kindly and with respect the Men Who Built America.
There are however two irredeemable problems that no amount of money can solve. First, is that it is riddled with historical errors, overstatements and generalizations. If you are going to produce something for the history channel, you really ought to get the history right. Other reviewers here have pointed out many of these, so I won't belabor this point, but it is a shame they didn't get it right. The endless repetition was also a major viewing problem, but I lay that at the feet of the History Channel itself, rather than the writers, cast and crew, who did an excellent job.
And this leads to second and even greater sin: the blatant attempt to romanticize, even rationalize as good and right, the dirty, sleazy, underhanded and often downright criminal manner in which virtually every one of these scions of the industrial age conducted their affairs. I mean, if you turn to Donald Trump for insight into the mind of a successful business person, then you really have your ethical hat on backwards. All of the modern commentators are unapologetically in awe of the cunning and ruthlessness of guys like Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Ford, who regularly went back on their word, exploited their workers and couldn't give a damn about the American people, despite going to great lengths to project a white knight image of benevolent stewards of social development. They were total pricks, and the commentators they chose for this program are cut from the same cloth. You can plainly see that they all wish they were able to get away with today, what good old Henry Frick was able to pull.
It is apparent from the many positive reviews here that it had the desired effect. It seems to have reinforced the idea that these men, while undoubtedly crucial to the rapid rise of the American Empire, were basically noble Captains of Industry. The facts are, however, that they were horrible human beings and the moral rot that pervades America today should be directly attributed to their selfish pursuit of the almighty dollar at all costs.
Worth watching, but God Save America if you come away from it believing that History ought to look kindly and with respect the Men Who Built America.