An Empire of Reason (1988)
Overview
Docudrama about the debate surrounding New York State's ratification of the United States Constitution. Historical figures wear modern dress and use familiar language to help today's audience understand firsthand the forces that shaped this country two hundred years ago. The argument, characters, passions and debating points are historically accurate, but the language and the medium of the debate is modern in form. Present day newscasters and commentators play themselves, reporting on the events of the 1780s as though they were occurring now.
Production Companies
Additional Info
| Budget | $0.00 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $0.00 |
| Original Language | en |
| Popularity | 1.51 |
Directed By
Muffie Meyer
Ellen Giffard
Crew
Muffie Meyer
Ellen Giffard
Ellen Giffard
Lynn Piasecki
Alison Ellwood
John Wright Stevens
Muffie Meyer
Ed Marritz
Arnold Black
Barbara Shapiro
Lawrence Silk
Margaret Peckham
Terry Benes
Brenda Goodman
Nicole A. Gordon
Kyle McCarthy
Eve Battaglia
Jo-ann Dumm
Amy J. Kaufman
Ronald Blumer
Susan Douglas
Mary Jane McCarty
Judy Claman
Robert Achs
James McCalmont
Michael Zande
Jeanette Oleksa
TOP CAST
Cokie Roberts
Self - Host
Walter Cronkite
Self
John Chancellor
Self
Phil Donahue
Self
Robert MacNeil
Self
Andrea Mitchell
Self
Al Roker
Self
Forrest Sawyer
Self
Jamey Sheridan
Daniel Shays
Ed Koch
Mayor of New York City, 1788
James Rebhorn
Jesse Woodhull
Mario Cuomo
Self
François Giroday
Alexander Hamilton
Christopher Curry
John Lansing, Jr.
Nesbitt Blaisdell
Gov. George Clinton
Sol Wachtler
John Jay
Drew Snyder
Demonstrator
Joseph Warren
Robert Yates
John C. Vennema
Robert R. Livingston
E.G. Marshall
Federalist Spokesman
Rex Robbins
Isaac Roosevelt
Edwin McDonough
Donahue Audience Member
Richard Bright
Donahue Audience Member
Richard Seff
Donahue Audience Member
William Duell
Donahue Audience Member
MacIntyre Dixon
Donahue Audience Member
Patrick Clear
Donahue Audience Member
Eli Wallach
Anti-Federalist Spokesman
Roberts Blossom
Melancton Smith
Guy Paul
Convention Secretary
Jonathan Bolt
Anti-Federalist Delegate
Stu Daly
Voice-over Announcer
Similar Movies
A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy
Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy was a television special featuring the First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy on a tour of the recently renovated White House. It was broadcast on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1962, on both CBS and NBC, and broadcast four days later on ABC. The program was the first ever First Lady televised tour of the White House, and has since been considered the first prime-time documentary specifically designed to appeal to a female audience.
Allegiance
Inspired by the true-life experience of its star George Takei, Allegiance follows one family's extraordinary journey in this untold American story following the events of Pearl Harbor. Their loyalty was questioned, their freedom taken away, but their spirit could never be broken.
The American Dream: Europeans in the New World
The history of Europeans in North America, from the arrival of Columbus in 1492 to the business success of German immigrants such as Heinz, Strauss or Friedrich Trumpf, Donald Trump's grandfather. During the 19th century, thirty million people — Germans, Irish, Scots, Russians, Hungarians, Italians and many others — left the old continent, fleeing poverty, racism or political repression, hoping to make a fortune and realize the American dream.
Joy
A story based on the life of a struggling Long Island single mom who became one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs.
The Lost Spirits
The last surviving Native Americans on Long Island are the focus of The Lost Spirits. The film chronicles their struggles as an indigenous people to maintain their identity amidst relentless modernization and a heartless bureaucracy.
The Work and the Glory
When Benjamin Steed and Mary Ann Steed relocate their family to upstate New York in the early 1800's, they unwittingly settle in a town divided along religious lines. After their new hired help turns out to be at the center of the uproar, each member of the Steed family must come to terms with their own beliefs in the face of heavy persecution. Together they struggle to weather the raging controversy surrounding a young man named Joseph Smith.
1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond
The Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the May events in France, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, the Prague Spring, the Chicago riots, the Mexico Summer Olympics, the presidential election of Richard Nixon, the Apollo 8 space mission, the hippies and the Yippies, Bullitt and the living dead. Once upon a time the year 1968.
Duel for the White House
A retrospective on the great election battles of the past in the United States: the Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960, the first ever to be televised; the Republican campaign of 1972, which proved to be the starting point for the Watergate scandal; and the electoral strategy of Barack Obama in 2008, the first election to fully exploit the potential of the Internet.
The Work and the Glory II: American Zion
"The Work and The Glory: American Zion" sets the story of the fictional Steed family against the historically factual backdrop of the Mormon people's move into the West. Divided by their diverse reactions to a nascent ideology, the Steeds struggle to hold together as the strength of their convictions and their filial bonds are tested. The stirring narrative of the faith that led a persecuted people to Missouri and beyond is one of the most poignant untold tales of American history. It is the account of a valiant struggle to exercise the rights promised by a fledgling nation. "The Work and the Glory: American Zion" unearths the story of the passion behind the movement which eventually launched the largest American migration and the colonization of the West: the vision of a promised land in America.
Nobody's Fool
A rascally nearing-retirement man juggles a workers' compensation suit while secretly working for his nemesis and flirting with his nemesis' young wife. As his estranged son returns, he faces new family responsibilities, while a banker plots to evict him from his home.
You Can Count on Me
A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely-seen younger brother returns to town.
Ray
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone
An attempt to create a bridge between the different political positions that coexist, sometimes violently, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain.
JFK
Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.
Legacy of the Hollywood Blacklist
This one-hour film, narrated by Actor BURT LANCASTER, explores the lingering effects of The Hollywood Blacklist, which occurred in the late forties and early fifties as part of the Anti-Communist witch-hunts that terrorized the nation. This film is seen through the eyes of the wives and children of the now deceased Hollywood figures whose careers were destroyed when studio bosses, along with guild and union officials capitulated to the demands of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Democracy for $ale
In the United States of America, lobbyists, corporations and billionaires invest millions of dollars to ensure that a suitable candidate, one inclined to support their personal ambitions and economic projects, wins an election, which inevitably affects everything, from the selection of local officials to presidential elections, creates countless conflicts of interest and undermines what supposedly used to be a model democracy.
The Secret Lives of Dentists
An introspective dentist's suspicions about his wife's infidelity stresses his mental well being and family life to the breaking point.
Dragonwyck
For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter, to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.
Pushing Hands
Mr. Chu is an elderly widower who teaches tai chi chuan in Beijing. He moves to America to live with his son's family, but finds the cultural adjustment difficult. Since his daughter-in-law is a white woman who does not speak Chinese, Mr. Chu's son, Alex, must mediate.
Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy
Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy is a feature-length documentary film highlighting the history of the Crownsville State Mental Hospital in Crownsville, MD.