Cheap New York (7 Episode PBS Boxed Set) (DVD) (New York-Compelling Portrait, Ric Burns) Price

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But sometimes Ric, in "New York," lets that style, and the intellectual brand of rah-rah American centrism that is behind all of these documentaries, take precedence over its historical value. One will learn everything about New York's development as a colony, its geographical and economic importance, the European immigration that swelled its population, and its relationship to the rest of the United States. The work gives especial focus to the strength of the city as a modern Constantinople, a meeting place of all the world's cultures and traditions that nevertheless manages to exist in relative peace. Amid all of this, however, several crucial historical events and institutions, especially those from New York's more recent history, are omitted. The Five Points, for example, is mentioned but never defined or located.

Also without mention are: The New York Times, the Mafia, the Battery landfill project, the theatre industry, the fledgling movie industry and its later removal to Hollywood, and the subsequent rise of Los Angeles as the only American city seriously to challenge New York's cultural primacy, the Beats, drugs, rap music (which is mentioned, but Burns is apparently afraid of playing us any), the election of Mayor David Dinkins, the gay and lesbian movements in the city, and the rehabilitation of the city under Police Commissioner William Bratton, seeing the most radical drop in the crime rate in the city's history.

In place of these we get more breathless paeans to urban multiculturalism, more tentative hagiographies of New York's most notorious characters, more desperate defenses of New York's apparently fragile position as capital of the world, more handwringing lamentations over the depredations wrought by the automobile and the suburban transformation of American culture, more vilifications of Robert Moses and urban renewal, and yet more breathless paeans to urban multiculturalism.

A balanced and thorough historical document would have been more valuable, both to us and to posterity, than yet another romantic hymn to New York. Still, as romantic hymns go, it's pretty remarkable.

Justice to the greatest city in the World.
The Burns family has come up with some fine work, from Baseball, to the Civil War; and now the latest, New York. A fine successor.

Ric Burns explores the early history of New York, starting with the God-created attributes of the region and one of the world's finest natural seaports. But the treasure is found in what man has added to the Apple, starting with the Erie Canal, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Subway system. The Bridge's history has itself been the subject of much scholarship, and Burns does it well also. The creation of the skyline, including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building are some of the series best moments, filled with some of the fascinating type of information that fans of Burns' documentaries have come to expect and enjoy.

The history of New York is the history of immigrants, and the interaction of Irish, Italians, Africans and other groups is splendidly examined. The politics of the City, such as the rise and demise of Al Smith are well explored also.

My few complaints are minor, and don't detract from the work. F. Scott Fitzgerald seems to have become a demi-god to Burns, and after awhile, I found the continued references to him and his work tiring. More than a few minutes on the history of Harlem would have been a welcome replacement. Of course, history is harder to write the closer we are to it, but I would have liked to have seen the series end later (perhaps at the end of the 1960's).

Even those not from New York will find it to be a rich, interesting history, worth of the length of time one must devote to its viewing. Those expatriate New Yorkers will be tugged to head back home. All in all, very worthwhile.

AMAZING!
If you are from New York this DVD set is a must have. Absolutley riviting and informative.The old film footage and other epherma that was collected for this compilation is remarkable. I literally sat through all 7 DVDs in one sitting without a moment of boredom. If you love history this will be a valued addition to any collection, even if you are not from NY.