17-Feb-07 (Created: 17-Feb-07) | More in 'Humanities 2007'

The plow that broke the plains, The River, Virgil Thompson

was released in 1936. Director Pare Lorentz knew that the devastating drought on the Great Plains would be a dramatic subject for his first film. Hollywood wasn't interested, but the U.S. government also wanted to make a point about the Dust Bowl and agreed to fund his film.

Two years later, they financed The River, in the hope that it would make the case for massive flood-control projects on the Mississippi.

Both films are widely recognized for their cinematography and for music by American composer Virgil Thomson. The images have been restored and released on DVD, with Thomson's original score performed by the Post-Classical Ensemble. Spaniard Angel Gil-Ordonez conducts.

The music seems very American. worth checking out