2012 American miniseries docudrama
The Men Who Built America
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/84/Men_Who_Built_America_Miniseries.jpg/220px-Men_Who_Built_America_Miniseries.jpg) Region 1 DVD cover
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Genre
| Biography
,
Docudrama
|
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Written by
|
- Randy Counsman
- Stephen David
- Patrick Reams
- David C. White
- Alec Michod
- Ed Fields
- John Fahy
- Keith Palmer
|
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Directed by
| Patrick Reams
,
Ruan Magan
|
---|
Starring
|
- David Donahoe
- Matt Boliek
- Adam Jonas Segaller
- Cary Donaldson
- John C. Bailey
- Eric Rolland
- Justin Morck
|
---|
Narrated by
| Campbell Scott
|
---|
Theme music composer
| "Save My Soul" by
Blues Saraceno
|
---|
Original language
| English
|
---|
No.
of episodes
| 4
|
---|
|
Cinematography
| Richard V. Lopez
Brian O'Carroll
|
---|
Editors
|
- Tim W. Kelly
- Jonathan Soule
- Beatrice Sisul
- Tina Pacheco
- John Kilgour
- Sheri Bylander
|
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Production company
| Stephen David Entertainment
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Network
| History
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Release
| October 16, 2012
(
2012-10-16
)
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The Men Who Built America
(also known as
The Innovators: The Men Who Built America
in some international markets) is an eight-hour, four-part
miniseries
docudrama
which was originally broadcast on the
History Channel
in autumn 2012, and on the
History Channel UK
in fall 2013. The series focuses on the lives of
Cornelius Vanderbilt
,
John D. Rockefeller
,
Andrew Carnegie
,
J. P. Morgan
, and
Henry Ford
. It tells how their industrial innovations and business empires revolutionized modern society. The series is directed by Patrick Reams and
Ruan Magan
and is narrated by
Campbell Scott
. It averaged 2.6 million total viewers (1.2 million adults 25?54 and 1 million adults 18?49) across four nights.
It is the first installment of the
That Built
franchise.
Cast
[
edit
]
In alphabetical order:
Episodes
[
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]
Note:
The series consists of eight one-hour episodes; for TV they were combined into four two-hour episodes.
Reception
[
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]
Neil Genzlinger from
The New York Times
observed that the series did not contain startling revelations about its principal subjects, although certainly gave them a modern-day relevance.
[1]
Linda Holmes
writing for
NPR
ridiculed the series for dull presentation, corny re-enactments and ineffective narration. She criticized the production for feeling "a lot like a tricked-out version of an elementary school filmstrip" and suggested that the series might be popular among those who accepted
Donald Trump
as one of the experts.
[2]
Geoff Berkshire from
Variety
criticized the series for "overblown recreations backed by bombastic music, combined with tepid performances by the re-enactors and rudimentary writing". Mentioning the series' "ostentatious style [that] begins to grate within the first 30 minutes", he scorned "the talking heads [that] simply feel like filler" and the particular style of padding out the runtime when "the viewers are subjected to the customary recap of the previous segment after every ad break." He concluded that unlike the game-changing icons it intended to celebrate, the series failed to leave its mark.
[3]
Verne Gay from
Newsday
gave the series "C" grade for "self-serving, obvious or of the fortune cookie variety" tips dispensed by the guests and for the lack of subtlety and historic context. On another hand, he praised the well-produced, although often static, recreations.
[4]
On
Metacritic
the series has a score of 60 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
[5]
Home media release
[
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]
The miniseries has been released by The History Channel on January 22, 2013, in a three-disc set in both
DVD
and
Blu-ray Disc
formats.
[6]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Genzlinger, Neil (15 October 2012).
"Then as Now, Businessmen Bent on Power"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
21 November
2017
.
- ^
Holmes, Linda (15 October 2012).
"Money Is the Object and the Subject in History's 'The Men Who Built America'
"
.
Pop Culture Happy Hour
.
NPR
. Retrieved
21 November
2017
.
- ^
Berkshire, Geoff (15 October 2012).
"The Men Who Built America"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
21 November
2017
.
- ^
Gay, Verne (15 October 2012).
"
'Men Who Built America' review: History dud"
.
Newsday
. Retrieved
21 November
2017
.
- ^
"The Men Who Built America"
.
Metacritic
. Retrieved
21 November
2017
.
- ^
Lambert, David (November 30, 2012).
"The Men Who Built America (mini-series) ? Blu-rays, DVDs for This October's History Channel Miniseries"
.
TVShowsOnDVD.com
. Archived from
the original
on December 2, 2012
. Retrieved
December 3,
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]