Ken Burns: Prohibition

There is perhaps the ability to learn a thing or two about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Prohibition seems not to be about any of that but more about the desire to oppose a true desire to be free of pain, to be free of suffering, and in fact to be satisfied with life as nature provides in its raw form. It is a truly terrible slight to learn that the largest organ in the human body outside of your skin is your liver.This miraculous organ does the duties so important to a persons well being that once you learn just how magnificent the liver like the human body is this story should truly make you wonder.The Liver is perhaps the only organ in the human body that can regenerate an entire leaf, even its entire two leaf body.It is a detoxifying filter that if anything that is not good for you tries to harm you it will move to filter it, stop it from going any further.There is so much unmistakable love that came from our creator that when you learn of just what your liver does it will be a day in glory. It is a vital organ to be certain and without it the human being will die.It is as suggested a terrible slight to know that of all the yeoman duties that the liver performs there are many ways that the liver can be damaged and its ability to do its job can be impeded. One such way is by physical trauma.I can recall stories told of former World Heavy Weight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali when immediately following one of those terrible fights with say, Joe Frazier, Ali after the fight urinated blood. This would be an example of a physical trauma to the Liver, however, it is mostly a shame to learn that this resilient even magnificent organ can be felled by another way and that would be to overwhelm the Livers natural capacity to detoxify the body. Alcohol can damage the Liver and if the host persists Alcohol will kill the Livers ability to detoxify. The host inability to know better is directly tied to an influence that has no basis in the truth nor is there any representation in life other than to provide an escort to a premature departure.The unmistakable suffering that the consumption of alcohol has provided is such a discredit to society as to be a shame.The repeal of the Volstead Act represents one of the true injustices of the 20th Century. This malady has cast such a shadow across all of society that there is a pamphlet that appears to have been written by a particular church's Pastor.In the Pamphlet, it states some 6 or so very violent crimes ranging from Homicide, Robbery, Arson, etc... the place as a percentage that Alcohol plays in the commission of these particular crimes was a shock. The pervasive slight that this consumption of Alcohol and the place Alcohol represents is due to a world that loves not and it loves not due in part to the corruption that allowed for the repeal to have occurred. A dirty and corrupt world has underwritten the place that this toxic poison now has. The human heart is not here because it will be quited by the Toxic poison that is killing the host."Prohibiton" is not entirely necessary to view.I do not think that there is not a man or women alive given the respect of privacy and the dignity to place perhaps on paper that would not share this terrible wrong that Alcohol has manifested.This is what "Prohibition" is about, it is about a challenge that was created out of not wanting to be referred to as a "Nation of Drunkards". It was born out of the shame that reasonable men and women saw in their very communities.Married men unable to control any inhibition, would drink themselves drunk then spend all their money and cost family, which included children to suffer. Suffer to such an extent that failure, yes failure was its father. The film "Prohibition" does not answer anything as much as it gives no chance for anything other than more of the same injustice to occur.This need not be an answer but "Prohibition" is not fate.I think this is an important distinction "Prohibition" is in a manner of speaking not you nor me.It is further to know, like I suggest we know, in our collective psyche that Alcohol is a dangerous and deadly Toxic poison.There is no natural predilection to consume an alcoholic beverage and its consumption may have as much to do with not knowing why an individual consumes Alcohol, as would be to know why was it necessary to repeal the Volstead Act? The consumption of Alcohol in this opinion is a un-natural act, at the very least the consumption of alcohol is unnecessary. I do not think the viewing of "Prohibition" is necessary.

I learned so much about the Prohibition era from this documentary that I didn’t know. It was very well-researched, with an enormous amount of period photos and videos. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the subject.

How could any film by Ken Burns not be great and this was another one that provided a wealth of information that was astonishing. How fascinating the lengths people went to outwit prevailing prohibition law. I watched it twice, back to back over several hours and plan to view it every year or so. My only complaint is the musical score was often too loud and predominant. It's perfectly fine to have no background music; a good narration is enough.

Very happy with this purchase. DVD arrived promptly and in new condition.

Any Ken Burns documentary is going to be smart, well made and educational. This one is also fun (in the plus column), but lacks the emotion, ambition and power of his very best work, like "The Civil War" or "The Central Park Five".Made with a ton of great movie footage and stills, and lots of tid-bits about the history of drinking in America -- it's out of control pervasiveness among men, especially working class men, that led to the push for prohibition that puts the now ridiculous seeming constitutional amendment in a somewhat more understandable light. That in turn explains the odd confluence of its backers, from religious conservatives, to well meaning social progressives looking to save the poor from themselves, to blue-blood WASPS who hated working class immigrants who drank more openly, to women fighting for the right to vote, and who saw how often alcohol contributed to domestic violence.The film also does a great job in showing how a law that tens of millions of citizens will simply ignore is much worse than no law at all, as it sows the seeds of disregard and contempt for the law, as well creating a fertile ground for criminals to give people what they want in a black market. Much the same arguments are going on in the US right now about other "vice" laws, from marijuana, to prostitution, to proposed laws on fatty and sugary foods.One of the central questions of any democracy is how much and where does the government have a right to intrude into people's lives for the greater good. It's an important and complicated question, and one the series does a good job of raising.But at over 5 hours it starts to run a little thin, and the points and stories start to get a bit repetitive. I'm glad I saw it, and enjoyed myself quite a bit, but unlike many documentaries by Burns (and his equally talented brother Ric), I don't think I'll feel a need to re-watch it anytime soon.

This item is an excellent documentary. It arrived a bit late but in excellent condition. Glad that I ordered it.

This was a terrific examination of the noble social experiment that turned out to be a spectacular failure. This documentary chronicles why the prohibition movement grew, who supported it, and why it was destined to fail in the 20th century. My one complaint is that the first part of the documentary presented excellent evidence of how alcohol had turned the United States into a "nation of drunkards," yet in the latter parts of the documentary tended to dismiss and mock the very same opinions of of those noble-minded folks who wanted to rid America of the problems associated with alcoholism. Still I can't give it anything less than five stars.

I can't comment on the content of quality of this blu-ray, as it wouldn't play on my blu-ray player. Please be aware that (as stated) these are US imports, unfortunately, I wasn't aware that it meant that it would not be compatible at all as thought, like DVD's, that most equipment was multi-region these days.My mistake, so didn't return, but was a little sad as this was a gift, so the person couldn't enjoy them. I ended up re-ordering the standard DVD, which was weirdly more expensive! Maybe because a lot of people have made the same mistake.

Another high quality production from Burns and company. This part of American history does not get very much exposure, and you can tell why. Time worthy, including the special features. Thank you PBS.

A fairly good documentary on the Gangster Era.