Louis Schwartzberg’s America! – The Complete Series (Genius/RHI DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Episodes: C+

 

 

If you don’t always agree with everything that claims to be pro-American, does that make you a traitor, “commie” or fool?  Not when it is as sappy as Louis Schwartzberg’s America! – The Complete Series (2007) which is like the old TV series Real People, but with a surprisingly exploitive side.  Yes, he interviews people, many of whom are portrayed as good and may even be truly nice, yet this is silly Right-Wing propaganda in sheep’s clothing.

 

The stories of some of the people here can be interesting and if they left it at that, this could have been really good, but there are always strange hints of something else, often unsaid going on here.  A sort of implied Christianity that we must “obey” and all take part in, one we must “conform” to or be thrown away is constantly at work here.  Worst of all, it is the only way to happiness and one we must take part in whether we want to or not.  That is the ideological goal of this series, no matter who is in it, but it cannot hide behind the good people here because those who can see it for what it is will call Mr. Schwartzberg on it and now you know what to expect.

 

Plus, with such a title, what else could you expect?  After all, it is not like Mr. Schwartzberg owns or is the only one who knows this country and he sure does not own it… or you.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on video and despite aliasing errors and detail troubles, color and image stability are good enough to overcome these errors more often than not.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is flat and standard, often showing its limits from the location recording.  Extras include five featurettes, a bonus episode (hurray?) and a short film called L.A. Jam.  However, it is the featurette Louis Schwartzberg – An American Auteur that is a wreck.  How self-aggrandizing can this get?

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo