Two American Families 1991-2024 (2024)
“A knockout documentary …At a time when so much documentary television feels generic, disposable and even straightforwardly pointless, this is both a master work unto itself and a glaring reminder of what is largely absent in television narrative nonfiction.”
Margaret Lyons, The New York Times
“… intriguing and entertaining”
Boston Globe
“If the people weren’t so decent, it would be difficult to watch. But they are decent, even heroic.”
Wall Street Journal
“… a rebuke to the fantasy, dear to certain (wealthy) politicians, that
any family can (and some of them say) survive on a single paycheck. Bootstraps can lift you only so far”
Los Angeles Times
“One of the most moving and riveting and upsetting documentaries I’ve seen in quite some time”
Margery Eagan, WGBH Boston Public Radio
“Powerful … think of it as the American Seven Up”
Economic Hardship Reporting Project
Years Of Living Dangerously (2016)
” … succeed[s] at drawing [viewers] into a tough issue in a fresh way.”
Andrew Revkin, The New York Times
Two American Families (2013)
“‘Two American Families’ … will take its place among the central documents of our time.”
George Packer, The New Yorker
“Extraordinary”
David Rohde, The Atlantic
“Watch Two American Families right now … “It’s one of the best, and most heartbreaking, documentaries I’ve seen this year.”
Alex Pareene, Salon
“… a potent treatise on the U.S.’ struggling middle class … it demands to be seen and discussed.”
Brian Lowry, Variety
“Watch it, and if your blood isn’t boiling by the end, check your pulse.”
Greg Kaufmann, The Nation
“Heartbreaking … If this documentary was a study in anything, it was in the grace and resilience with which these two families met the incoming tide and their cheerfulness in the face of impossible odds.”
Emma Brockes, The Guardian
“Powerful”
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“The details of particular scenes are striking and moving”
PopMatters (8 out of 10 stars)
“Much like the series of Up documentaries by Michael Apted, visiting the same small group of people over every seven years of their life, Bill Moyers and Frontline have produced a series of intimate, involving studies … Moyers brings, as always, two things missing from many TV reports on economic issues: perspective and compassion.”
David Bianculli, TV Worth Watching
“America got it’s own Up Series”
Tweeted by Gawker senior writer Nitasha Tiku
“I can’t recommend “Two American Families” highly enough … The film touches on so many big issues — the credit crunch; what’s waiting for latch-key kids; jobs going overseas and not returning; the mortgage bust; how money, or its absence, can strangle the love out of a marriage — but effortlessly, without lecturing.
Previously.TV
“… stunningly thought provoking, and if I were you I’d not waste another second on this review but would cruise over to PBS.org and start streaming it. Right now.”
The Jesuit Post
United States of ALEC (2012)
“Most people have no idea what ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is or does, but everyone should…. Bill Moyers is helping get the word out.”
Washington Post
“Iron Man 3 just opened this past weekend, followed soon by more would-be blockbusters. I’m sure a lot of these movies will be entertaining, but none will be more important or relevant than … ‘The United States of ALEC'”
Huffington Post
Birders: The Central Park Effect (2012)
“Splendid”
Newsday
“ … should be a delight for everyone”
Wall St. Journal
“ … shows the non-birders among us what we’re missing out on. And it’s pretty cool … a fascinating look at the avian world, the state of nature today, and Central Park and the birders who inhabit it”
GQ
“ … a sweet study of the birders who flock to Manhattan’s thick strip of parkland each spring.”
The Guardian
“Engrossing … beautifully photographed … full of grace notes”
New York Post
“[A] luxurious film about birds and the people who watch them … sensitive and vibrant”
Los Angeles Times
“A meditation on nature and the human need to experience it …”
Austin Chronicle
“ … boast(s) lots of heart”
USAToday
“One of this year’s finest SXSW documentaries.”
Austin American-Statesman (Austin360.com)
“The documentary … is terrific for all sorts of reasons — its beautiful footage of birds, its enchanting portrait of Central Park through the changing seasons, its understated message on urban conservation.”
Bergen Record
“The Central Park Effect will be a hit with the growing population of birders but also boasts a broader human interest.”
The Hollywood Reporter
“Kimball, behind the lens, captures extraordinary images of these birds … Equally enrapturing are the birders themselves.”
Globe and Mail
“… as delightful as Mad Hot Ballroom and as relevant as The City Dark … a nice balance of stunningly gorgeous imagery, engaging characters, a healthy dose of education, and all done with fantastic editing and a great score.”
Slackerwood
– South By Southwest Film Festival selection (World Premiere)
– DOC NYC Film Festival selection
– Boston International Film Festival selection
– Seattle International Film Festival selection
– Vancouver International Film Festival selection
– Acquired by HBO for summer 2012 TV premiere
– Emmy Nomination (Music & Sound)
Fun City Revisited: The Lindsay Years (2010)
“REASON TO WATCH: Overview of eight tumultuous years (1965-73), by veteran PBS producer Tom Casciato.”
Newsday
” … provides a fascinating glimpse into New York’s roughest years and the man who tried (but didn’t always succeed) in maintaining order amid the chaos.”
Filmthreat.com
– New York Emmy Award
Wide Angle (Series, 2009)
“…the kind of suspense Hollywood cannot manufacture”
Wall Street Journal (“Crossing Heaven’s Border”)
“Heart-rending”
Denver Post (“Heart of Jenin”)
“An unexpectedly poignant documentary … Suspenseful and thought-provoking”
Jerusalem Post (“Contestant No. 2”)
– Overseas Press Club Award (“Heart of Jenin”)
– 2 Emmy Nominations (“Heart of Jenin” and “Crossing Heaven’s Border”)
– International Documentary Association Award nomination (Continuing Series Award)
Expose: America’s Investigative Reports (Series 2006-2009)
“… a crisp, watchable affirmation of why we still need real journalists.”
New York Times (Series premiere: “Crisis Mismanagement”)
“Tune in to see why the media still matter to all of us … Grade: A”
Christian Science Monitor (Series premiere: “Crisis Mismanagement”)
– Emmy Award (“Blame Somebody Else”)
– 2 Additional Emmy Nominations (“Charity Begins At Home,” “In A Small Town”)
In The Footsteps of Marco Polo (2008)
“It’s not quite clear why Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell have taken more than a decade to turn the coolest vacation idea ever into a film, but the passage of time only adds to the allure of “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo” … [Heart] is what Mr. Belliveau and Mr. O’Donnell give you as they recount their remarkable journey.”
New York Times
“… an exhilarating, inspiring travelog that will make you want to get up and go …”
about.com
– Emmy Nomination
Is God Green? (2006)
“Intriguing”
New York Times
Global Health: America’s Response (2005)
“Devastating”
New York Daily News
– Emmy Nomination
America’s First River (2002)
“… a richly textured vision of a river’s effect on a country’s history, art, literature and environmental politics … This elegantly photographed work offers a bounty of glorious images.”
New York Times
Bulletproof: Reagan After Hinckley (2001)
“Gripping”
New York Times
Surviving The Good Times (2000)
“This is documentary television at its best.”
Rocky Mountain News
“What Bill Moyers and his longtime colleagues Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes have done is not only rather remarkable, but even commendable.”
New York Newsday
Free Speech For Sale: A Moyers Report (1999)
– Society of Professional Journalists’ First Amendment Award
Hardball: The Doc & Darryl Story (1996)
“First class producers Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes weave the many threads of the story into a coherent whole and then use television to push it to another level.”
New York Daily News
Living on the Edge (1995)
“Reminiscent of Hoop Dreams in its scope, this admirable project could be called Life Dreams as it examines the fallout from a national nightmare for blue-collar workers.”
USA Today
“Bruce Springsteen’s … The Ghost of Tom Joad, a brooding song cycle about society’s dispossessed, might well serve as the companion piece to this film … unsparing and unsettling.”
People
“The flow of good jobs out of America to cheap-labor countries has become a fact of American life, and “Living on the Edge” tells what that means for a few of the men and women left behind.”
New York Times
“… as the show progresses, its simplicity gathers power. Ignoring breadth, it delivers depth: a shockingly clear picture of the personal consequences that flow from the rearrangement of America’s economy.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
– Christopher Award
– Honorable Mention, Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award
Avalanche! (1995)
– Banff Mountain Film Festival Award
– New York Alpinfilm Festival Award
– Aspen Filmfest selection
– Telluride Mountain Film Festival selection
– Torello Mountain Film Festival selection
The Littlest Heroes (1993)
– Leukemia Society of America Award
Minimum Wages: The New Economy (1992)
“… a powerful look at how the American dream is vanishing right before America’s eyes.”
Hollywood Reporter
“… hits a national nerve …”
New York Daily News
“… a bleak but powerful portrait …”
Wall Street Journal
