MacArthur (1999 film)

Television documentary film

MacArthur

Genre| Documentary
Written by| Austin Hoyt[1]
Directed by|

* Austin Hoyt
* Sarah Holt[1]

Narrated by| David Ogden Stiers[1]
Music by| Michael Bacon[1]
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
Production
Producers|

* Austin Hoyt[1]
* Sarah Holt (coproducer)[1]

Cinematography| Terry Hopkins[1]
Editors|

* Bernice K. Schneider[1]
* Sarah Holt[1]

Running time| 240 minutes[2]
Production company| WGBH Educational Foundation[1]
Original release
Network| PBS
Release| May 17, 1999 (1999-05-17)

MacArthur is a 1999 two-part television documentary film about Douglas MacArthur, a United States General of the Army. Produced by PBS for The American Experience (now simply American Experience) documentary program, it recounts the significant events and controversies in MacArthur's life, from childhood to his death in 1964. Written and produced by Austin Hoyt, directed by Hoyt and Sarah Holt, and narrated by David Ogden Stiers, the film first aired on PBS in two parts on May 17 and 18, 1999.

## Interviewees

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* Stephen E. Ambrose, historian
* Zeneida Quezon Avenceña, daughter of Manuel L. Quezon
* Leon Beck, U.S. Army
* Faubion Bowers, aide to MacArthur
* Tanya Brooks, daughter-in-law
* Alfred X. Burgos, Manila resident
* Charles Canada Jr., friend of Arthur MacArthur Jr.
* Robert Dallek, historian
* John Dower, historian
* Daniel Finn, U.S. Army
* Carol Gluck, historian
* Beate Sirota-Gordon, constitution drafter for Japan
* Richard M. Gordon, U.S. Army
* Joseph C. Harsch, journalist
* Stanley Karnow, author
* Hal Lamar, aide to Admiral Chester Nimitz
* Robert W. Love, Ernest J. King biographer
* Harry J. Maihafer, military historian
* Merrill Pasco, aide to George Marshall
* Geoffrey Perret, biographer
* Carol Petillo, biographer
* Edwin Ramsey, U.S. Army guerilla
* Beth Day Romulo, Manila journalist
* Frank J. Sackton, aide to MacArthur
* Michael Schaller, historian
* Donald Showers, aide to Admiral Nimitz
* Edwin H. Simmons, marine historian
* Mark Stoler, George Marshall biographer
* Stephen Taaffe, historian
* Frank Tremaine, journalist
* Vernon A. Walters, U.S. Army
* Yoshida Yutaka, historian
* Kenneth R. Young, Arthur MacArthur Jr. biographer

## Critical response

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Walter Goodman of The New York Times gave MacArthur a positive review, stating that "Although far from uncritical, Austin Hoyt's carefully balanced approach does justice to MacArthur's tactical abilities even as it takes account of a political obtuseness that at times verged on megalomania."[3] Shannon Jones of World Socialist Web Site also gave an overall positive review, although with reservations, stating that "To the producers' credit the program attempts to deal with the subject in a serious way. [...] However, as one expects with American television, the commentary, while often informative, does not probe too deeply the political issues raised by Douglas MacArthur's career, nor does the production seriously challenge the image of the general as a 'hero'".[4]

## Home media

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MacArthur was first released on VHS by PBS on May 11, 1999, a few days before its television broadcast.[5] PBS would later release the film on DVD by February 10, 2004.[2]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "MacArthur - Credits". PBS. WGBH Educational Foundation. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
2. ^ a b "American Experience - MacArthur". Amazon.com. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
3. ^ Goodman, Walter (May 17, 1999). "TELEVISION REVIEW; The General at the Center of the Stage". The New York Times. p. 6. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
4. ^ Jones, Shannon (May 27, 1999). "Documentary on Douglas MacArthur raises issues of contemporary importance". World Socialist Web Site. International Committee of the Fourth International. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
5. ^ The American Experience: MacArthur [VHS]. ISBN 0780625323.

## External links

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* Official PBS site

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American Experience episodes

Seasons

* 1964
* A Brilliant Madness
* Adam Clayton Powell
* The Amish
* Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film
* Bataan Rescue
* The Battle Over Citizen Kane
* The Chinese Exclusion Act
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* The Donner Party
* Earth Days
* Eyes on the Prize
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* Freedom Riders
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* George H.W. Bush
* George W. Bush
* Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
* The Great War
* Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World
* Jesse Owens
* Jimmy Carter
* John and Abigail Adams
* The Johnstown Flood
* Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
* Last Days in Vietnam
* LBJ
* The Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
* The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter
* MacArthur
* Malcolm X: Make It Plain
* Marcus Garvey: Look For Me in the Whirlwind
* Midnight Ramble
* Miss America
* The Mormons
* The Murder of Emmett Till
* My Lai
* New York: A Documentary Film
* Nixon's China Game
* Radio Bikini
* Return with Honor
* Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad
* Scottsboro: An American Tragedy
* Soundtrack for a Revolution
* Stonewall Uprising
* Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern
* Truman
* Two Days in October
* Ulysses S. Grant
* Vietnam: A Television History
* Walt Disney
* We Shall Remain
* Wild by Law
* Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of the American Century
* The Wright Stuff

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