The American Experience: The Great San Francisco Earthquake (1988)
*** (out of 4)
This was the very first episode in the still-running "The American Experience" series. It takes a look at the 1906 earthquake that pretty much leveled San Francisco and forced the city to rebuild everything. I don't think it would be unfair to say that the series would certainly get much better as it went along as the programs got to be a lot better made. It's important to remember that this was the first film in the series so this subject could probably be due for an updated version but until then this here is at least watchable. I think, for the most part, the documentary at least does a good job at giving you an idea of how damaging the earthquake was. The first fifteen-minutes talks about what all was going on in the city and then we get to the earthquake stuff before finishing off with the 1915 fair. I thought the documentary also did a good job using footage from movies that were shot in the aftermath of the quake. Most people don't realize that quite a few movie studios started filming soon after the quake hit to exploit the situation and these movies are still out there and are very much worth watching. The biggest problem with the film is that it's a tad bit too dry and there's really not much energy in it.