The Men Who Built America

The Men Who Built America

Region 1 DVD cover
Genre Biography, Docudrama
Written by Stephen David, Patrick Reams, Keith Palmer, Randy Counsman, Ed Fields, David C. White
Directed by Patrick Reams, Ruán Magan
Starring David Donahoe, Matt Boliek, Adam Jonas Segaller, Cary Donaldson, John C. Bailey, Eric Rolland, Justin Morck
Narrated by Campbell Scott
Theme music composer "Save My Soul" by Blues Saraceno
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 4
Cinematography Richard V. Lopez
Brian O'Carroll
Editor(s) Tim W. Kelly, Jonathan Soule, Beatrice Sisul, Tina Pacheco, John Kilgour, Sheri Bylander
Release
Original network History

The Men Who Built America (also known as The Innovators: The Men Who Built America in some international markets) is a six-hour, four-part miniseries docudrama which was originally broadcast on the History Channel in the Fall of 2012, and on the History Channel UK in Spring of 2013. The series focuses on the lives of Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan and Henry Ford and how their industrial innovations and business empires revolutionized modern society. The series is directed by Patrick Reams and Ruán Magan and is narrated by Campbell Scott. It averaged 2.6 million total viewers (1.2 million adults 25–54 and 1 million adults 18–49) across 4 nights.

Cast

In alphabetical order:

Episodes

Note: The series consists of eight one-hour episodes; for TV they were combined into four two-hour episodes.

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"A New War Begins"Ruán MaganDavid C. White, Keith PalmerOctober 16, 2012 (2012-10-16)
Cornelius Vanderbilt grows from a steamboat entrepreneur to the head of a railroad empire, and gets into a heated rivalry with Jim Fisk and Jay Gould; the up and coming John D. Rockefeller founds Standard Oil. Many business owners lay their own rail lines which leads to the Panic of 1873. Later, Rockefeller starts to expand his wealth by diverting his business from the railroads to a new innovation, oil pipelines.
2"Bloody Battles"Patrick ReamsDavid C. White, Keith PalmerOctober 23, 2012 (2012-10-23)
Andrew Carnegie builds an empire around steel, but finds himself struggling to save face after the ruthless tactics of his business partner, Henry Frick, result in both the Johnstown Flood as well as the bloody 1892 strike at the Homestead Steel Works.
3"Changing the Game"Patrick ReamsDavid C. White, Patrick Reams, Keith PalmerOctober 30, 2012 (2012-10-30)
J.P. Morgan proceeds to banish the dark with the direct current electric light of Thomas Edison, but the two soon face serious competition from the alternating current of George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla. As the 19th century comes to a close, the titans of industry must try to work together to stop a new threat in budding politician William Jennings Bryan, who threatens to dissolve monopolies in America.
4"When One Ends, Another Begins"Patrick ReamsDavid C. White, Keith PalmerNovember 11, 2012 (2012-11-11)
Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan team up to help elect William McKinley to the U.S. presidency by paying for his 1896 campaign, to avoid a possible attack on monopolies. However, fate intervenes when McKinley is suddenly assassinated, and vice president Theodore Roosevelt assumes the presidency and promptly begins dissolving monopolies and trusts in America. Meanwhile, Morgan buys out Carnegie Steel to make Carnegie the richest man in the world, and Henry Ford designs an affordable automobile with his Model T and starts his own business, Ford Motor Company, which sets a new business model for companies to follow.

Home media release

The miniseries has been released by The History Channel on January 22, 2013, in a three-disc set in both DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Lambert, David (November 30, 2012). "The Men Who Built America (mini-series) – Blu-rays, DVDs for This October's History Channel Miniseries". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
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