The Donner Party

Name: The Donner Party
Director: Ric Burns
Released: 1992
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 8.4
Cast: David McCullough, J.D. Cannon, Timothy Hutton, Gene Jones, Amy Madigan

1992 · 90 MIN · IMDB 8.4 · 361 VOTES · DIR. Ric Burns

Overview

Doomed attempt to get to California in 1846. More than just a riveting tale of death, endurance and survival. The Donner Party's nightmarish journey penetrated to the very heart of the American Dream at a crucial phase of the nation's "manifest destiny." Touching some of the most powerful social, economic and political currents of the time, this extraordinary narrative remains one of the most compelling and enduring episodes to come out of the West.

Dialogue Timeline — 1,160 lines

A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE

00:00:07 Man reading: "IT IS ODD TO WATCH WITH WHAT FEVERISH ARDOR

00:03:55 IT CAN TELL US SOMETHING, I THINK, ABOUT OURSELVES

00:07:06 RATTLED SLOWLY OUT OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

00:10:04 ACROSS A HUGE WINDSWEPT PLAIN, THREE GREAT MOUNTAIN RANGES

00:13:29 AND ANXIOUSLY INQUIRING AFTER THE LATEST NEWS.

00:17:01 "INDEED, IF I DO NOT EXPERIENCE

00:20:33 McCullough: SARAH KEYES HAD BEEN A MEMBER

00:24:02 AND A BETTER ROUTE."

00:27:22 IT HAD TAKEN AN ENTIRE MONTH, INSTEAD OF A WEEK."

00:30:50 "AND ALL THE REST OF US WALKED.

00:33:57 Stegner: THEY DID SEEM TO BE DOOMED.

00:37:15 "WHO WOULD LEAVE A LETTER BY THE WAYSIDE.

00:40:27 "AT LAST WE REACHED THE FOOT OF THE MAIN RIDGE

00:43:48 GEORGE McKINSTRY.

00:47:20 McCullough: DURING BREAKS IN THE STORM, THEY SCANNED THE SUMMIT

00:51:02 ON THE SIXTH DAY, THEIR FOOD RAN OUT.

00:54:50 AVERTING THEIR FACES FROM EACH OTHER AND WEEPING.

00:58:48 WILLIAM EDDY TOLD A HELLISH STORY.

01:03:09 "WE SHOULD FIND THE EMIGRANTS.

01:06:37 "IF YOU NEVER SEE ME AGAIN, DO THE BEST THAT YOU CAN."

01:10:33 "WITH ONE ARM UPON THE BODY OF ITS MANGLED MOTHER

01:14:18 COUNTING JOHN SUTTER'S INDIANS LEWIS AND SALVADORE

01:17:50 LEWIS KIESBURG SPOKE OPENLY OF EATING HUMAN FLESH

01:23:05 WE'RE ALSO PROUD SUPPORTERS OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.

Cast & Characters

David McCullough Narrator (voice) J.D. Cannon voice Timothy Hutton voice Gene Jones voice Amy Madigan voice Donal McCann voice George Plimpton voice Paul Roebling voice Lois Smith voice Frances Sternhagen voice Eli Wallach voice

Dialogue Record

Lines indexed1,160

Dialogue density12.9 lines / min

First line00:00:07

Final line01:23:05

Production Record

DirectorRic Burns

LanguageEnglish

IMDb votes361

Factoids

Rating source

IMDb rating preserved from the supplied subtitle archive; it may differ from the current IMDb rating.

Local subtitle archive