New OrleansA two-hour documentary history for the American Experience New Orleans – the utterly original American city that lies at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi and at the beating heart of the great American
Click here to watch the opening of New Orleans (3:30 mins - 30MB)
Click
here to watch a scene from New Orleans featuring legendary creole chef Leah Chase of Dooky Chase Restaurant. (4:45
mins - 40MB) Please enable popups to view media The history of New Orleans is, first and foremost, the story of race in America. There, a full century before Louisiana became part of the United States, slaves and free blacks, Africans and people of the Carribean diaspora, whites from France, Spain and the American heartland all comingled, creating a culture of assimilation and tolerance on the one hand, and vicious racial hatred on the other. At the same time, the challenges of diversity have been consistently and constantly amplified by the peculiar accident of geography that is New Orleans. Perched on the narrow natural levee of the Mississippi, a ribbon of high ground no more than  two miles at its widest
point, the city has had to wage a perpetual war against the
implacable force of water – a war that has produced
one of the most improbable and precarious cityscapes in the
country, and one of the most revealing. Thanks partly to the
pressures of the environment, which have both shaped and answered
the city’s most insistent social problems, the dynamics
of race in America have been writ large in the streets of
New Orleans.The city’s unparalleled density and diversity has also created one of the most vibrant and authentic metropolitan cultures in the country, one that has always set the New Orleans apart, not only from other American  cities but from
the rest of the world. From the political and racial dramas
that have long animated Carnival and its socially-exclusive
Krewes, to the cheek-by-jowl, outdoor lifestyle that gaverise
to the ubiquitous street parades and then to jazz, to the
human gumbo that spawned the city’s signature
dish
– each ingredient at once blended with, and yet distinct
from, the rest – the cultural life of New Orleans
has served as a muse for some of the country’s most
famous creative minds (among them Tennessee Williams and
Louis Armstrong), and has come to embody much of what is
best about America.Over the course of two compelling hours, New Orleans traces the history of this remarkable city through revealing first-hand interviews with New  Orleans natives and scholars, and a
rich trove of archival material (much of it miraculously
spared from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina).
Vividly bringing the film up to the current moment is a
series of verité-style portraits of people now living
in or returning to the city, including famed restauranteur
Leah Chase, “The Queen of Creole Cuisine” and the members
of the irreverent “Krewe Du Vieux,” the first
Mardi Gras organization to parade after Katrina. Also featured,
both on camera and on the film’s soundtrack, is New
Orleans’ current cultural ambassador, renowned jazz
musician Irvin Mayfield. Jeffrey Wright narrates. New
Orleans premiered on February 12th, 2007 on American
Experience.
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A Sampling
of Critical Acclaim for "New
Orleans"
"Timely
and timeless... a historical gumbo juxtaposing the city's
fabled past with contemporary post-Katrina snapshots
of a resillient city."
TV Guide "...Provides an often fascinating look at the city's history" New York Times "...A portrait that illuminates it's central place in the American landscape... highlights New Orleans' particular brand of humor, fatalism, and wry rebelliousness, while raising critical questions about what lies ahead." New York Post "The combination of history and culture, edification and empathy, puts this project at the top of the pile of documentaries that have been done about this town since the big soak. It's the one to show first to someone who's never been here, or, for that matter, a lot of lifers." New Orleans Times-Picayune "Typically extraordinary edition of PBS' 'American Experience.'... Director Stephen Ives and writer Michelle Ferrari craft an insightful two-hour documentary... What emerges throughout this stylishly presented tapestry is a symbolic microcosm of what's unique and disturbing about America..." Hollywood Reporter "...A remarkable film that balances the past with the present. In addition to illuminating it's place on the American landscape, it raises questions about what comes next for the city that was devastated by Katrina." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Must-see... Ives has crafted a good one, balancing broad pictures, personal glimpses and subtle, soulful music." Gannett News Service "Love letters are rarely this eloquent. Director-producer Stephen Ives has rounded up poetic witness to the allure of New Orleans... [Jeffrey] Wright is another major asset. His warm, caressing voice adds flavor." Orlando Sentinel "...Offers a compelling angle: the blend of integration and segregation that has helped New Orleans stand apart from the rest of America - but exemplifies America's struggle with race and class." Boston Globe "...'New Orleans' is no requiem, but a chronicle of how the city got to be such an artistic, anarchic, inspiring, discouraging, and distinctive place." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
