Pare Lorentz Film Library

Roosevelt Era on Video - Free to Educators - Collection of 350 DVD's
FDR Day by Day Online - Pare Lorentz' Chronology of the FDR Presidency
Video Curriculum Guides - Short video clips, study questions, teaching resources
Videoconference Workshops for Students & Teachers - Specialized film based workshops for students and educators
Critics Corner - Film reviews by students of selected films in the collection
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Critics Corner NEW

BECOME A FILM CTITIC

We would be interested in hearing your opinion and experience using Pare Lorentz films in your classroom instruction. If you would like to borrow films or learn more about becoming a critic please contact the Pare Lorentz administrator Laura Boxer at 845 486-1978 or laura.boxer@nara.gov.

Student Critics Project

During the summer and fall of 2008 a series of movie review sessions were organized by William Raymond of Troop 82 in Lagrangeville, NY. This project was part of William’s Eagle Scout Project. In consultation with the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library’s Education Specialist, Pare Lorentz films were selected and participants were invited to view and critique the films. The goal was to view these historic films and rate them as to their potential usefulness as a classroom learning tool.

The review session participants were a combination of students, middle and high school teachers and college professors from three school districts and two colleges located in the Hudson Valley. On average the groups consisted of twelve participants who were asked to rate the films based on the following criteria:

General Student Appeal
Applicability to the Curriculum
Overall Visual Appeal and Film Quality

From these criteria the following descriptions were created:

Excellent: ……..Extremely well received by members of the test audience. Applicability to the curriculum and overall film quality are first rate.
Very Good: …..Very well received by members of the test audience. Minor drawbacks in applicability to the curriculum, overall film quality is good.
Good: ………....Mixed reaction from the test audience. Applicability to the curriculum is somewhat limited, overall film quality is good.
Fair: ………….. Mixed reaction from the test audience. Applicability to the curriculum is limited to specific topics and specific classes. Would not be of great value to a general class audience. Overall film quality is good to fair.
Poor:…………...Unfavorable reaction from the test audience. Very limited applicability to the curriculum, the overall film quality is fair to quite poor.

These ratings are the opinion of just one small group of viewers. Teachers are advised to review the films and decide for themselves if the content and quality is suitable for their student and curriculum needs. Click here for reviews.

Please Note:

Not all the films in the library have been reviewed. Those that have reviews will have an additional information box titled Critics Corner Review. You may also view a PDF of the current film reviews. Click for Reviews.