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Riding the Rails

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Riding the Rails

(15 customer reviews)

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Don't miss this ride! Riding the Rails tells the unforgettable story of the 250,000 teenagers who left their homes and hopped freight trains during the Great Depression. Featuring a foot-stomping soundtrack of such folk greats as Jimmie Rodgers, Woody Guthrie, Doc Watson, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Riding the Rails vividly combines the clear-eyed memories of witnesses with archival footage of teens riding atop speeding trains and newsreel interviews with lean-bodied kids full of bravado. Striking in its detail and depth of emotion, Riding the Rails is that rare film that will inform, dazzle, and profoundly move its audience. This is not a ride you want to miss. Featuring music by Jimmie Rodgers, Doc Watson, Woodie Guthrie, Brownie McGhee, and Sonny Terry.
Special DVD features include: new video segment featuring an interview with the filmmakers; photo gallery featuring archival images from the National Archives and the Library of Congress; excerpt from the companion book; scene selection; English audiotrack; and closed captions.
On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Full screen

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Product Details

Actors:	James San Jule; Arvel 'Sunshine' Pearson; Rene Champion; Richard Thomas; Peggy De Hart; John Fawcett (II); Charley Bull; Clarence Lee; Jim Mitchell; Bob 'Guitar Whitey' Symmonds; C.R. 'Tiny' Boland
Director:	Michael Uys; Lexy Lovell
Format:	Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Language:	English
Number of Discs:	1
Studio:	WGBH BOSTON
Run Time:	72 minutes
DVD Release Date:	February 25, 2003
Average Customer Rating:	based on 15 reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: 5.0

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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Powerful Images Feb 14, 2010
A very powerful DVD about a bygone era that makes our current recession look like a day in the park!
Very informative and educational. I now really understand what my parents generation went through.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

a heartbreaking tale focusing on shattered youth Nov 07, 2009
This documentary tells the heartrending story of how young men and even some young women began hopping freight trains to find work, excitement, adventure and a better life in general during the Great Depression. We get outstanding archival footage as well as quite a bit of recent interview footage with the now elderly people who rode the freight trains back then; and this film taught me quite a lot about their lives at this point in history.

The financial depression that ensued after the stock market crash of 1929 was almost unprecedented; grown men who had never been without a job suddenly found themselves out of work, sometimes with little hope of ever being the family breadwinner again. The burden of making money to support the family often went to the young teenagers, usually just boys but sometimes teenage girls, who had to look literally all over the country to find work and send as much money as they could back home. One African-American man recalls vividly the day when his father told him that they could not afford to feed him anymore and that he would have to strike out on his own despite his still being a teenager. Indeed, the average person hopping freight trains was a hungry, financially desperate teenager who wanted to try their luck in other parts of the country. Yes, a few of the young people wanted adventure and the thrill of being a rebel; but I still had the distinct impression that they also needed the money no matter what they said in that archival footage. They all looked hungry and most of them were quite thin at that time.

Believe it or not, I'm not giving it all away (I don't want to spoil this for you); there's plenty more to learn from this insightful film. Just trying to jump up and onto a moving train often meant risking your life if you fell! We see the long term psychological effects of riding the rails as well as society's varying reactions to the people scrounging for a living as they rode trains from one town to another. Fortunately, there are distinctly bright spots in this story.

The DVD comes with extras. In particular, I liked the interview with writers/directors Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell; and there's a printed excerpt from a book by Errol Lincoln Uys entitled Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression. We get a slideshow of photos with music; and there are a couple of links to websites on the Internet that explore the topic of this film.

I highly recommend this fine documentary that tells the incredibly poignant tale of the teenagers and others who were so down on their luck that they had to ride freight trains all over the nation looking for work often just barely avoiding starvation even when they made their very best efforts. This is particularly useful for anyone studying American history and people who are interested in the Great Depression in particular would do well to add this to their collections.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

Riding the Rails Jul 04, 2009
This DVD shares the stories of adults who survived the depression and for various reasons, rode the trains as teenagers during that time. Insightful to the realities of the depression for this age group in particular and the whole country in general. Relevant to economic concerns today. It brings a sense of the human side to economic struggles with the potential for inspiring one to understand how people come to find themselves in desperate situations. One can walk away with hope that this too shall pass and become aware that a little compassion goes a long way.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

REAL history Jun 21, 2009
Truthfully, I EXPECTED less. After some of the reviews, I thought I might be setting myself up for disappointment. NOT SO- I love first hand accounts, history from people who have lived thru the experiance. Having lived by railroad tracks most of my life, I often fantisized about the adventure. I would recomend this selection.

Fantastic Film, Superiorly Directed Mar 17, 2009
This is a factual film depicting true stories of people riding the rails across America during the great Depression, especially young teens. It is the will to survive during difficult times to make money, for adventure, or just ride for the thrill, and risking their lives each time. It is entertaining and educational. It is a MUST see for any American who wants to know more about our history. It is an essential especially for historians and American studies students and professors. There is so much to learn between the film and the book by the director's father, Errol Lincoln Uys, that this would make an excellent class at any University or college. The film is superb, well directed, filmed in high quality.