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      Mark Twain's America

      G Released Jul 2, 1998 52m Documentary List
      Reviews 71% Audience Score 250+ Ratings Spanning two centuries, "Mark Twain's America" presents one of the most dynamic on-screen chronicles of the human experience. Twain enjoyed enormous success but also experienced great failures and tragedy. He incurred a large debt as the result of investments in failed patents and suffered the loss of almost his entire family, with the deaths of his wife, his son and two of his three daughters. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Jae-Ha Kim Jae-Ha Kim Spanning two centuries, the latest IMAX three-dimensional film, "Mark Twain's America," celebrates the puckish author through his own words, 3-D stills and re-enactments of historic events. Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 28, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member We All Live in Mark Twain's America So far as I can tell, the difference between the two options Rotten Tomatoes gives me for where to enter this is whether I'm writing about the theatrical release or the DVD. There also seems to be a third, and I haven't looked to see if it's the same movie yet again. I'm putting this under the entry for the theatrical release even though I haven't seen a true IMAX theatrical release since the early '90s. This is because I don't think there's any difference among them, so that's the date all entries should be under. I'm aware that I'm asking too much to expect Rotten Tomatoes to get their act together on this one. Why should they start with this? But as usual, I thought I'd point out that they have screwed up and explain why I made the choice I did. So here we are. Obviously, there isn't much in the way of footage from most of Mark Twain's life. As it happens, I've just gotten access to some of it; there's a public domain movie channel for the Roku, and among other things, it's got footage of the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake. But you're not exactly going to get Mark Twain's boyhood in Hannibal on film, is what I'm saying. Instead, what we have here is a combination of pictures and reenacting. A Fourth of July parade in modern-day Hannibal, which passes right by the large statue of Tom and Huck. Those reliable friends of filmmakers everywhere, Civil War reenactors. The famous photo of Mark Twain on his porch in a rocking chair, a small and blurred kitten by his feet. And over it all, the slow, soothing voice of Anne Bancroft telling us the life story of one Samuel Clemens, as well as what the country was like as he grew up in it. The movie uses considerably fewer of the famous Twain quotes, choosing to leave out "those unaccountable freaks" and "this will sell us another five thousand copies for sure." Instead, there are rather lengthy passages about his Civil War experiences, his travel abroad, and his hopes of fame and fortune from gold mining. Let's face it. Anyone could tell us that he was the first person to submit a manuscript which had been typed. ([i]Life on the Mississippi[/i], which he had in fact handwritten first and which was typed by someone else.) However, the film chooses instead to go with the Twain who was so determined not to invest in another dang fool gadget that he missed out in becoming partners with a young man by the name of Alexander Graham Bell. Which, I have to tell you, is probably apocryphal. I can't say for sure, but Alexander Graham Bell wasn't a nobody. He could, after all, afford the lawyers he ended up needing for the patent disputes. But that's the thing about Mark Twain. He invented himself. Mark Twain and Samuel Clemens might be said to be two different people. However, I can forgive him this when I can't forgive William Faulkner, because Mark Twain never wanted you to take him seriously. Why should you? He didn't. The stories he told about his own life were pretty firmly tongue-in-cheek, and he knew you knew that. Think, possibly, about a favourite uncle, one whose delight is in stringing a story out for as long as possible before you realize he's making the whole thing up. I wouldn't exactly say the film captured that Mark Twain, but it definitely hinted at it. The problem is that Mark Twain today is as much legend as man. I'd imagine that increasingly few people actually read his books; I must confess I haven't read a lot of them myself. People know of Tom and Huck, but I don't think they really know them. And even if people have read the books, I don't think they necessarily think about the fact that, unlike Tom and Huck, Sam Clemens grew up. As it happens, the first piece of Twain I ever read was a letter he wrote to his youngest daughter, Susie, claiming to be a letter from Santa Claus. This means that I've spent most of my life thinking of him as a grown-up with children. The movie includes the quote about how, in his days as a Confederate officer, Twain was nearly captured by Ulysses S. Grant's men. Which is funny. But how many people know that Samuel Clemens then befriended the general and helped the dying man write his memoirs so that the Grant family wouldn't starve? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member I took Jared to see this at the IMAX. Well worthwhile, I thought. What a tragic ending to his life, though. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Amazing Its My Fav Film Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member GR8EST FILM EVA!!!!!!!!! FUCKIN HALARIOUS Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Mark Twain's America

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Spanning two centuries, "Mark Twain's America" presents one of the most dynamic on-screen chronicles of the human experience. Twain enjoyed enormous success but also experienced great failures and tragedy. He incurred a large debt as the result of investments in failed patents and suffered the loss of almost his entire family, with the deaths of his wife, his son and two of his three daughters.
      Director
      Stephen Low
      Producer
      Mitchell Cannold, Isaac Palmer, Jonathan Stern
      Screenwriter
      Alex Low, Stephen Low, Stephen Low
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics
      Production Co
      Ogden Entertainment
      Rating
      G
      Genre
      Documentary
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jul 2, 1998, Wide
      Release Date (DVD)
      Nov 6, 2007
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $2.3M
      Runtime
      52m