I knew the story of the Donner Party: a group of pioneers in hope of a "better" life in California set out on a fool's errand using the unreliable advice of a scam artist and their own fortitude to survive in the most unbearable conditions a human could imagine.
If you want a comprehensive and much more historical documentary of this story, I would suggest PBS's American Experience: The Donner Party which was made maybe 20 years ago but is excellent. American Experience captured the moral and religious parts, the hopelessness, and the heartache, that The Weather Channel omitted.
This being a Weather Channel production, it is focused mainly on the weather and environmental conditions that drove these people to the absolute brink. And because of the scientific info contained in this documentary (temperatures, day count, and snowfall amounts), I think it's a very worthy and educational film.
We complain when the walk from the front door to our car is too cold. Or when our houses don't have central air. I don't know if anyone living on this earth today truly knows what cold or hot is, after seeing what these people faced, first in the desert then in the hellish mountains. These pioneers went through something the likes of which very few of us can ever imagine. And half of them survived which is an absolute miracle. It is a testament to the strength and sheer will our forefathers possessed. And how weak we modern folk seem in comparison. Riveting viewing.
If you want a comprehensive and much more historical documentary of this story, I would suggest PBS's American Experience: The Donner Party which was made maybe 20 years ago but is excellent. American Experience captured the moral and religious parts, the hopelessness, and the heartache, that The Weather Channel omitted.
This being a Weather Channel production, it is focused mainly on the weather and environmental conditions that drove these people to the absolute brink. And because of the scientific info contained in this documentary (temperatures, day count, and snowfall amounts), I think it's a very worthy and educational film.
We complain when the walk from the front door to our car is too cold. Or when our houses don't have central air. I don't know if anyone living on this earth today truly knows what cold or hot is, after seeing what these people faced, first in the desert then in the hellish mountains. These pioneers went through something the likes of which very few of us can ever imagine. And half of them survived which is an absolute miracle. It is a testament to the strength and sheer will our forefathers possessed. And how weak we modern folk seem in comparison. Riveting viewing.