The World's Greatest Fair (2004) User Reviews

It was the GREATEST World's Fair of all !

[1904fan · 9/10 · 28 January 2005]

Around the beginning of the 20th century during the Victorian Era and the Industrial Revolution, a series of World's Fairs were held in Europe and the United States. They displayed the latest inventions, manufacturing processes, agriculture advances, and brought together the peoples of the world to see the world--all in one location! The Victorian World's Fairs attracted millions of people, and reached an apex in 1904 in St. Louis at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

Scott and Bob produced a magnificent portrait of this amazing Fair, not by descriptions of the fantastic buildings and exhibits, but by telling numerous detailed and intimate stories about the Fair. The viewer will learn all about the Fair, including David Francis (the President of the Fair), the music, food, art, and people that at the Fair, the Pike (the mile of entertainment), the 1904 Olympics, and the great Ferris Wheel. Since the Fair reflected the culture of the times, there are stories about women and the only official woman photographer at the Fair, and the treatment of the minorities that were brought to the Fair as part of the young science of Anthropology. Stories about the transportation of the time include an automobile 'race' from New York to St. Louis, and the wreck of a train full of would-be Fair visitors.

Critically acclaimed, the movie was thoroughly researched and photographed, and features many famous St. Louis voices, including Mayor Slay and Stan Musial. Written with the help of many St. Louis World's Fair enthusiasts, it has shown to sold out audiences many times in St. Louis. This movie will interest anyone who is interested in history or entertainment of the early 1900s from beginning to end with it's variety and scenery.

Even though I was a "Fair Fan" and one of the lucky ones who got to help Bob and Scott, I learned many new things from this movie. You'll see that the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair truly was "The World's Greatest Fair".

A different sort of fair or just a different sort of focus?

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 4 April 2012]

Just a few days before I watched "The World's Greatest Fair", I saw a very similar sort of documentary also from PBS called "Expo: Magic of the White City". Both films were about World's Fairs--"Expo" about the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and "The World's Greatest" about the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. However, despite all their similarities, the shows are also quite different. "Expo" is very inexpensively made and mostly consists of Gene Wilder narrating while photos and recreations were seen on the screen. "The World's Greatest" is much more richly made--with lots of guests to talk about the fair in addition to the pictures and narration. It simply looks better. However, this does not mean it IS better. As for me, I actually prefer the film about the Chicago fair--it is a lot more focused on fun, the efforts to build the fair, technological advances and a pavilion by pavilion explanation of what you'd find. As for "The World's Greatest", it is much more focused on the politically incorrect aspects of the fair--such as race relations in American and the public's reactions to the ethnographic sections of the fair. It's good but I felt that the focus, often, wasn't really on the fair but the social/cultural problems in America. Now if the film had been longer and adequately covered exactly what WAS at the fair and then discussed the plight of blacks, I think it would have worked--and this would have meant expanding the running time of the film.

Here are a few of the things about "The World's Greatest" that I really liked:

The sad and weird uses of the new miracle product, radium, in the fair! Watch faces and the like were prominently displayed--with folks having little idea of how dangerous the production of these things would be.

The weird baby incubator segment. You just have to see it to believe it!

The Olympics, for the first and last time, were made a part of the fair. The end results were less than stellar--with a green swimming venue!

The public's reaction to the Igorot people in the ethnographic area. The Igorot ate dogs and would butcher and eat them in front of crowds full of the curious and accepting as well as the disgusted!

You just have to see the Tyrolian exhibit--you'll see what I mean!

Overall, very good. I guess, however, after watching another similar show, I was a bit of a hard sell and found it to be just a tiny bit lacking.

Illuminating

[jellopuke · 8/10 · 21 February 2021]

This is going to teach you a lot about the 1904 World's fair. If that sounds interesting then you'll love it, if it sounds boring then you'll probably not get much out of it, even though it's fascinating.

the real deal

[toppinggroup · 17 December 2004]

Excellent documentary, I learned a heck of a lot. It is well worth seeing for many reasons... the historic images, the interviews, the editing. Great use of interviews and music - very watchable. A great film for history buffs, or anyone with casual interest.

The film used personal stories for most of the narrative, and it gave the film some life. Not a dry film at all. Really gave me a feel for fair, and more importantly, it gave me a feel for what life in general was like in that era.

I talked about the film with some friends that saw it, and they were impressed with how the social issues of the day were treated in the film. Some might think that the producers were overly sensate, or "politically correct" to the issues of race and womens rights, but I don't think so. It seemed to me to be an even handed treatment.

Great look at a piece of American history.

[jimvandemoter-50236 · 10/10 · 18 February 2020]

This fair took place at a time when America was just beginning to become a true world power. It takes place at a time when the electric light, the telephone, the automobile, modern flight and so many other things we take for granted were first being seen. It also shows some of what today are considered barbaric ideas. This show is a great and sometimes disturbing look at American history 100 years ago. Highly recommended.

Enjoyed by everybody that saw it.

[Storm-68 · 9 December 2004]

My friends and I in the 1904 World's Fair Society enjoyed the movie very much. The original black and white pictures were excellent and had such a high definition...you could really see the details. It was interesting to see the contrast of those historical pictures against the color images of the experts being interviewed.

While I am not in the movie business I did appreciate the lighting and backgrounds used in the interviews, also the sound. Every time I see it, I hear sounds that I missed before.

The movie did not try to tell everything about the great Fair, instead several engaging stories were featured.

The world premier at the huge Fox Theater sold out, the Missouri Historical Society showings sold out and so did others.

The 1904 World's Fair represents a magical time in St Louis history. If we could go back in time ... it would be to attend the World's Greatest Fair.