The River
"The story of a river... and of men who tried to tame it."
Plot
Pare Lorentz's 1938 documentary 'The River' presents a powerful visual and narrative exploration of the Mississippi River's crucial role in American life and economic development. The film traces the river's journey from its Minnesota headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico, illustrating how it has shaped the land, supported agriculture, and enabled human settlement for centuries. Through striking cinematography and poetic narration, the documentary exposes the devastating environmental consequences of unchecked progress, particularly the soil erosion and flooding caused by intensive farming and deforestation practices in the Mississippi Valley. The film highlights the human cost of this environmental destruction, focusing on impoverished farmers who suffer from the land's degradation and the devastating floods of 1927. The documentary culminates with a hopeful message about the New Deal's Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other conservation efforts aimed at restoring the balance between human progress and natural resources, suggesting that scientific management and government intervention can heal the wounded river and revive the communities that depend on it.
Director
Cast
About the Production
The River was produced as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, specifically under the U.S. Film Service created to document American life and promote government initiatives. The film was shot over several months by a team of cinematographers including Willard Van Dyke, Floyd Crosby, and Stacy Woodard, who faced significant technical challenges capturing the river's power and scale. The production utilized innovative camera techniques including aerial photography to capture the river's vastness and intimate close-ups to show human impact on the environment. The film's score was recorded with a full orchestra under Virgil Thomson's direction, creating a musical narrative that complemented the visual poetry of the footage. The production team traveled thousands of miles along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, often working in difficult weather conditions to capture seasonal changes and the dramatic flooding sequences that form the film's emotional climax.
Historical Background
The River was produced during the height of the New Deal era, a period of unprecedented government intervention in the American economy following the Great Depression. The 1930s witnessed catastrophic environmental disasters including the Dust Bowl and the devastating Mississippi River flood of 1927, which affected over 700,000 people and became the most destructive river flood in U.S. history. These events created widespread recognition that unregulated development and farming practices had led to severe environmental degradation with human consequences. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration responded with ambitious conservation programs including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Soil Conservation Service, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built dams and implemented flood control measures throughout the Mississippi Valley. The River was commissioned as part of a broader effort to build public support for these expensive government initiatives by demonstrating the connection between environmental destruction and human suffering. The film also reflected growing scientific understanding of ecosystems and the interconnectedness of natural systems, knowledge that was just beginning to influence public policy. The documentary emerged alongside other New Deal cultural projects including the Federal Art Project, Federal Writers' Project, and Federal Theatre Project, all designed to both employ artists and create a shared narrative about American identity and values during a period of national crisis.
Why This Film Matters
The River represents a watershed moment in American documentary filmmaking, establishing a new standard for the marriage of poetic narration, sophisticated musical scoring, and powerful visual imagery. The film's artistic approach influenced generations of documentary filmmakers, demonstrating that documentaries could be both educational and emotionally compelling works of art. Its environmental message was remarkably prescient, predating the modern environmental movement by decades and helping establish conservation as a national priority. The River's success proved that documentaries could achieve both critical acclaim and popular appeal, paving the way for the documentary renaissance of the 1960s and beyond. The film's innovative techniques, including its use of aerial photography and complex sound design, expanded the technical possibilities of non-fiction filmmaking. Culturally, The River helped create a shared understanding of environmental responsibility that would influence American attitudes toward conservation for generations. The film also established a model for government-sponsored documentary production that would be emulated by countries around the world, particularly in Britain where the GPO Film Unit under John Grierson produced similar works. The River's preservation in the National Film Registry recognizes its enduring importance as both a historical document and an artistic achievement that continues to resonate with contemporary audiences concerned about environmental issues.
Making Of
The production of 'The River' was a remarkable achievement in documentary filmmaking, undertaken during one of America's most challenging economic periods. Pare Lorentz, a former film critic and music journalist with no previous directing experience, was appointed head of the U.S. Film Service by President Roosevelt specifically to create documentaries that would build public support for New Deal programs. The film was conceived as both an artistic statement and a propaganda tool, designed to justify massive government spending on conservation projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority. The production team faced numerous challenges, including capturing footage of the river's power during different seasons, working with primitive camera equipment in difficult weather conditions, and creating a coherent narrative from thousands of feet of documentary footage. Lorentz's innovative approach involved writing the poetic narration first, then having the cinematographers shoot footage to match his script—a reversal of typical documentary production methods. The film's score by Virgil Thomson was composed to serve as an emotional guide through the documentary, with different musical themes representing the river, human progress, and environmental destruction. The production employed some of the most talented documentary filmmakers of the era, including Willard Van Dyke, who would later become an influential figure in the American documentary movement. Despite its government sponsorship, the film maintained a critical perspective on American capitalism and environmental exploitation, making it a remarkably balanced piece of political communication.
Did You Know?
- The River was one of three landmark documentaries directed by Pare Lorentz for the U.S. government during the New Deal era, alongside 'The Plow That Broke the Plains' (1936) and 'The Fight for Life' (1940).
- The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject (One-Reel) in 1938, one of the first documentaries ever nominated for an Oscar.
- Virgil Thomson's musical score for The River was so acclaimed that it became the first documentary film score to be performed independently in concert halls.
- The River was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1990 by the Library of Congress for being 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.'
- The film's production cost approximately $50,000, a substantial sum for a documentary at the time, but was considered money well spent by the Roosevelt administration for its propaganda value.
- The River was distributed to over 8,000 theaters across the United States, reaching an estimated audience of 12 million people during its initial release.
- The film's cinematographer, Floyd Crosby, would later win an Academy Award for his work on 'Tabu: A Story of the South Seas' (1931) and become father to musician David Crosby.
- The River's innovative use of aerial photography to document the Mississippi River basin was groundbreaking for documentary filmmaking in the 1930s.
- The film was shown at the 1938 Venice Film Festival where it won the Mussolini Cup for Best Documentary, despite its critical view of American capitalism.
- Thomas Chalmers, who provided the narration, was a renowned opera singer and stage actor who brought a theatrical gravitas to the documentary's poetic script.
- The River's environmental message was decades ahead of its time, predating the modern environmental movement by nearly 30 years.
- The film was used extensively in schools and community centers across America as an educational tool about conservation and environmental stewardship.
What Critics Said
Upon its release in 1938, The River received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics who praised its artistic ambition and technical achievements. The New York Times declared it 'a masterpiece of documentary art' while Variety called it 'one of the most important and powerful films ever produced in America.' Critics particularly celebrated Virgil Thomson's musical score, with many noting how it elevated the documentary from mere propaganda to high art. The film's poetic narration, delivered with
Awards & Recognition
- Academy Award Nominee for Best Short Subject (One-Reel) - 1938
- Mussolini Cup for Best Documentary - Venice Film Festival 1938
- Best Documentary - National Board of Review 1938
- Selected for National Film Registry - Library of Congress 1990