{"product_id":"the-spanish-earth-mod-dvd-movie","title":"The Spanish Earth (MOD) (DVD MOVIE)","description":"In late 1936, during the height of the Spanish Civil War, a consortium of American artists and intellectuals -- including Ernest Hemingway, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, and Archibald MacLeish -- banded together to produce a motion picture to support the democratically-elected Spanish Republic government. After raising three thousand dollars, the group (now calling themselves Contemporary Historians, Inc.) sent Dutch documentarian Joris Ivens to Spain, with instructions to capture on film common people affected by the war. Ivens chose to focus on the small village of Fuenteduena, where 1,500 townspeople were attempting to irrigate the dry, cracked earth. This was in hopes of providing nourishment for the soldiers fighting against the right-wing forces led by Generalissimo Francisco Franco (and backed by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi war machine.) Using a brutally realist style, Ivens' camera captures the heartbreaking futility of the villagers' efforts, and punctuates it with scenes of the horrific warfare happening nearby. Once the footage had been assembled in America, a voice-over was recorded for the film by young radio and stage actor, Orson Welles, who had recently starred in Archibald MacLeish's play \u003ci\u003ePanic\u003c\/i\u003e . However, Ernest Hemingway felt that Welles's voice was too soft and cultured for the subject at hand. He subsequently re-wrote and re-recorded the narration in his own brusque, red-blooded manner. (Despite this, Orson's name remains in the credits of the film.) \u003ci\u003eThe Spanish Earth\u003c\/i\u003e  had its premiere at the White House on July 7, 1937. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it \"a film...the world should see.\"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e BONUS: \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMoorish Spain\u003c\/i\u003e (1931):\u003c\/b\u003e The Arabic influence on Spain is explained in this installment of RKO's \u003ci\u003eVagabond Adventure Series\u003c\/i\u003e. Narrated by Alois Havrilla, host of CBS's popular \u003ci\u003eStrange as It Seems\u003c\/i\u003e radio show (1935-1940).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"COLOR: #0000ff\"\u003eDVD Details\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u0026gt;Rated:  NR\u003cbr\u003e\u0026gt;Runtime:  1 hours,  2 minutes\u003cbr\u003e\u0026gt;Encoding: Region 1(US \u0026amp; Canada)\u003cbr\u003e\u0026gt;Originally Released:  1\/1\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u0026gt;Label:  Alpha Video\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStarring: 0\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"BORDER-BOTTOM: blue 3px solid; BORDER-LEFT: blue 3px solid; WIDTH: 675px; HEIGHT:140px; BORDER-TOP: blue 3px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: blue 3px solid\"\u003eThis product is made-on-demand by the manufacturer using DVD-R recordable media. Almost all DVD players can play DVD-Rs (except for some older models made before 2000) - please consult your owner's manual for formats compatible with your player. These DVD-Rs may not play on all computers or DVD player\/recorders. To address this, the manufacturer recommends viewing this product on a DVD player that does not have recording capability. \u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Alpha Video","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53382617334060,"sku":"089218803894","price":18.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0772\/6327\/4284\/files\/The-Spanish-Earth-MOD-DVD-MOVIE.jpg?v=1782480912","url":"https:\/\/www.margaritasvideostore.com\/products\/the-spanish-earth-mod-dvd-movie","provider":"Margarita's Video Store LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}