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Uncommon Friends of the 20th Century

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Wikipedia article




'Uncommon Friends of the 20th Century' is a 1999 documentary film about Florida businessman James D. Newton and the relationships he enjoyed with five key historic figures: Thomas A. Edison, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and Alexis Carrel. The film, which was directed by first-time filmmaker John Biffar and narrated by Walter Cronkite, included interviews with Newton (who was 94 years old at the time of production), archival footage and dramatic re-enactments.[http://www.tvguide.com/movies/uncommon-friends-20th/review/134352 TV Guide review]

The film had a brief theatrical release, and reviews were mostly negative. Lawrence Van Gelder, writing in 'The New York Times', called the film a weak broth of biography, spiritual uplift and environmental concerns and added its generally uncritical and sometimes apologetic posture (Lindbergh's acceptance of a Nazi medal) and its failure to distinguish between its authentic film images and its re-enactments of events.[http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B07E5D6153EF932A35753C1A96F958260 New York Times review] Nico Baumbach, writing in 'The Village Voice', stated that Newton's anecdotes are so unspecific that his ostensible authority, the premise of the film, feels like a put-on.[http://www.villagevoice.com/film/9938,217547,8604,20.html Village Voice review]

'Uncommon Friends of the 20th Century' was broadcast on public television in 2000. To date, the film has not been available as a commercial DVD release. However, copies of the film can be purchased from the Uncommon Friends Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by James D. Newton that provides educational scholarships to business students.[http://www.uncommonfriends.org/prod.asp Uncommon Friends Foundation]

References




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