'Grab a Hunk of Lightning'

This nice show about the wonderful Dorothea Lange, part of the "American Masters" series from PBS, can be purchased as a DVD, or watched online at PBS for no charge (U.S. only). It's also on YouTube.

And there's a book, with more than 100 plates. (U.K. link.)

Here's the Amazon U.K. link for the video, but it's still a Region 1 encoding DVD that requires a North American or multi-region DVD player and NTSC compatible TV. Here's Amazon's explanation of DVD formats.

Mike
(Thanks to Ken Tanaka, Gary, and Andrew Lamb)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Steven Major: "I've seen the video...well done and as much about life choices as it is about photography. Here in Maine, Bert of Bert's Bees product line recently passed. His eulogy included 'he lived a life of his own invention.' I believe that to be true of Dorothea Lange as well and one of the highest complements possible."

Comments

[Ken Tanaka]

The documentary is very good. But for those with the time and interest the book (of the same title) is richer. She was a complex person with quite a wacky life.

[David Cope]

Can't see it online in UK :-(

PBS = "public broadcasting service"? If it's free and public domain, why stop it at US borders? I don't understand media controls sometimes.

[Markus Spring]

Yes, that would be interesting to watch. After all, 'Migrant Mother' in my opinion sits next to W. E. Smith's 'Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath'.

But, here in Germany, this is the result:

The profit-to-the-max economy has worked well out their digital restriction schemes. Knowledge or education won't matter.

[Gary]

Do you have a UK Amazon link for the DVD? The on line video isn't playable in the UK because of rights restrictions. Thanks.

[David Evans]

What's even more annoying is that there are BBC programs, paid for by my licence fee, which I can't watch online in the UK.

[Jim Metzger]

Sorry those of you outside the USA cannot view this. It is a fantastic program about passion, drive, circumstance and dedicating ones life to something bigger than ourselves. The downside of this dedication on her personal life is also well documented.

What are we willing to "give up" to pursue our dreams?

Her interaction with John Szarkowski, MOMA curator of photography at the time, on deciding which images went into her final retrospective show was wonderful.

The photographs emotional content and "presence" as printed object are stunning.

[Simon Griffee]

PSA (public service announcement):

To bypass silly geographical imaginary frontiers you can use http://hola.org/

[Andrew Lamb]

Here's a four minute film, from the Getty Museum, that seems to be available everywhere:

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/video/134950/dorothea-lange's-documentary-photographs/

[Andrew Lamb]

Oh, and you can see the PBS film in the UK via You Tube.

[Bahi]

The YouTube link that Mike included works well in the UK.

[hugh crawford]

The RB Graflex, what a camera!

[Peter]

I thought the film was too long; could have been cut a good bit; and got a bit reverential in places. That said, it was very interesting, especially in regard to Lange's marriage to Paul Taylor and Taylor's work. It revealed parts of her career I was unaware of -- the Japanese-American internment camps and the flooding of Berryessa Valley, now Lake Berryessa (near where I grew up). The framing device of preparing for her MOMA retrospective I thought worked well.

[Richard Newman]

A very well done video. Lange, Strand, the FSA photographers and Life magazine were strong influences on me in my young days and largely shaped my interest in photography.

[Dennis Huteson]

I followed the link from the UK and managed to watch it, but when I passed the link on,a day later, it had been pulled. Shame, it was a very good piece.