American Masters - Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning

2014 • 111 minutes
4.0
14 reviews
TV-G
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

From PBS and American Masters - More than four decades of 20th-century America are filtered through Lange’s life and lens — her creations and achievements, her tragedies and losses. Known for her powerful images from the Great Depression, her haunting "Migrant Mother" remains emblematic of that period. In 1936, when photographs of the poverty-stricken mother of seven, stranded in a camp in California, were published, a national awareness began. As America matured into a world power, Lange continued to bear witness — mass migration, increasing urbanization and the cost of war at home — bringing subjects alive, transmitting raw emotions and capturing the human condition. This film is made by Dyanna Taylor, Lange's granddaughter, who began her artistic vision, literally, at Lange's feet.
Rating
TV-G

Ratings and reviews

4.0
14 reviews
S Forman
September 3, 2014
This wasn't my favorite American Masters. I'm a life-long student of photography. Dorothea Lange along with Walker Evans were brilliant in their work for FSA. This film is more personal therapy for the director, who narrates. She analyzes Lange's maternal failings rather than study her work. The film is very long and some archival footage runs far too long to hold interest.
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Buddy Hatfield
February 24, 2021
Enjoyed watching how Lange's amazing work evolved but was shocked by her choices as a mother. Felt the same about the brilliant painter Maynard Dixon, her first husband, in his role as a father.
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Iris Gross
December 17, 2014
Learned that Ms Lange was a lot more than her iconic photography of American poverty during the Great Depression. Impressive woman
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