This film is part of a DVD set entitled "Treasures III"--a set of four DVDs all about social issues and reform. The fourth disk (where you'll find this one) is about ethnic issues in particular.
In the late 1800s into the beginning of the twentieth century, most films consisted of everyday events being recorded with a stationary camera. When seen today, most of these things look amazingly mundane. However, they do also provide us with a time capsule--where we can see what life was like a hundred or more years ago. Because of this, films like EMIGRANTS LANDING AT ELLIS ISLAND are important films historically speaking. Fun to watch for most? No. But still very important. Here all you see are emigrants (mostly women) debarking from a boat. The only other image in an initial shot of a ferry moving people about and according to the audio commentary, this was actually an ad for this service.
In the late 1800s into the beginning of the twentieth century, most films consisted of everyday events being recorded with a stationary camera. When seen today, most of these things look amazingly mundane. However, they do also provide us with a time capsule--where we can see what life was like a hundred or more years ago. Because of this, films like EMIGRANTS LANDING AT ELLIS ISLAND are important films historically speaking. Fun to watch for most? No. But still very important. Here all you see are emigrants (mostly women) debarking from a boat. The only other image in an initial shot of a ferry moving people about and according to the audio commentary, this was actually an ad for this service.
