The Untold History of the United States (also known as Oliver Stone's
Untold History of the United States) is a 2012 documentary series
directed, produced, and narrated by Oliver Stone.
Stone is the
director and narrator of all ten episodes. The series is a reexamination
of some of the underreported and darkest parts of American modern
history, using little-known documents and newly uncovered archival
material. The series looks beyond official versions of events to the
deeper causes and implications and explores how events from the past
still have resonant themes for the present day. Stone said, "From the
outset I've looked at this project as a legacy to my children and a way
to understand the times I've lived through. I hope it can contribute to a
more global insight into our American history."[7]
The first
three episodes of the series premiered at the New York Film Festival on
October 6, 2012, with Indiewire describing them as "extremely
compelling" and "daring."[8] The series was personally presented by
Stone at the Subversive Festival on May 4, 2013, in Zagreb, Croatia,
which next to film screenings also included debates and public lectures
by prominent intellectuals such as Slavoj Žižek and Tariq Ali.[9]
Stone
described the project as "the most ambitious thing I've ever done.
Certainly in documentary form, and perhaps in fiction, feature
form."[10] Production took four years to complete. Stone confessed, "It
was supposed to take two years, but it's way over schedule".[11] The
premiere was finally set for November 12, 2012.[12] Stone spent $1
million of his own money on the film as the budget inflated from $3
million to $5 million.[13]
The series premiered on Showtime in
November 2012. The executive producers were Oliver Stone, Tara Tremaine
and Rob Wilson. A book by the same name was also published.
The
Untold History of the United States was released on Blu-ray on October
15, 2013. All ten episodes of the show are featured on four discs, and
the Blu-ray release also includes various bonus content, as well as two
prologue episodes. The first prologue episode deals with World War I,
the Russian Revolution and Woodrow Wilson. The second prologue episode
highlights the pre-World War II era of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf
Hitler and Joseph Stalin.[14][15] The series was released on DVD on
March 4, 2014.[16] The series is currently available for streaming on
Netflix.
The ten-part series is supplemented by a 750-page
companion book, The Untold History of the United States, also written by
Stone and Kuznick, released on Oct 30, 2012 by Simon &
Schuster.[17]
Kuznick objected to the working title "Secret
History", claiming that "the truth is that many of our 'secrets' have
been hidden on the front page of the New York Times. If people think the
secrets will be deep, dark conspiracies, they'll be disappointed. We'll
be drawing on the best recent scholarship".[18] It was subsequently
retitled The Untold History of the United States.
The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more
