Trapped in the Sierra Nevadas during the bitter winter of 1846, nearly 90 members of the Donner and Reed families longed for California's "Promised Land." But an untried shortcut became a death warrant for half of them-victims of madness, death, and cannibalism. The program re-creates the Donner Party's journey from family journals, newspaper accounts, and interviews with historians and descendants.
Starring: David McCullough, J.D. Cannon, Timothy Hutton, Gene Jones, Amy Madigan, J. D. Cannon, Donal McCann, George Plimpton, Paul Roebling, Lois Smith, Frances Sternhagen, Eli Wallach
Director: Lisa Ades, Ric Burns, Sam Katzman
Rating: NR
Wishlist is empty.