World History - Middle East Films

2 DVD Box Set

Disc 1: Classic Israel Films (1930s - 1950s)

Brief Synopsis of DVD: Incredible film and newsreel footage collection spanning from 1933 - 1957.  Includes footage of The Israeli - Egyptian War, Palestinian refugee camps, Israel in the 30s, and Israeli life and culture. 

Title #1: Five Newsreels

Production Date: 1955 - 1957

Running Time: 5 minutes

Brief Description: Variety of (5) newsreels with footage about Israel, including footage of Israel's war and entry into Egypt and a Tel Aviv protest. 

Title #2: Amateur Footage

Production Date: 1933

Running Time: 16 minutes

Brief Description: Rare film footage of Israel from the early 30's full of street scenes and landmarks, including the wailing wall. 

Title #3: Labor Of Thy Hands

Production Date: 1950

Running Time: 14 minutes

Brief Description: Sponsored by an America Zionist Women's Organization, this propaganda film aims to build support among Americans for Israel by showing all the similarities between the US and Israel.

Title #4: Sands Of Sorrow

Production Date: 1950

Running Time: 28 minutes

Brief Description: Produced by The Council for Relief of Palestinian Arab Refugees, an American organization, this film contains some of the first footage of Palestinian refugees and refugee camps in Israel & The Gaza Strip. 

Disc 2: Classic Middle East Films (1930s - 1950s)

Brief Synopsis of DVD: This is a special DVD compilation of educational and historic Middle East films from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Come and watch  a piece of world history, digitized and preserved on DVD for the future. Approximate running time 84 minutes.

Title #1: Desert Venture

Production Date: 1948

Running Time: 28 minutes

Brief Description: Desert Venture may be the greatest oil propaganda film ever made.  This film explains why venture capital in Saudi Arabia is crucial to the fuel America's "nation on wheels." 

Title #2: Iran: Between Two Worlds

Production Date: 1954

Running Time: 14 minutes

Brief Description: Iran is portrayed immediately before the 1953 coup d'etat. This film covers some great aspects of the history of Iran, including art, religion and day-to-day life. There's great historical footage of weaving, silver plate making and food preparation.

Title #3: Screen Traveler: Damascus

Production Date: 1936

Running Time: 11 minutes

Brief Description: This is a 1930s travelogue of Damascus, Palestine and Jerusalem with terrific footage of the markets and streets of these holy cities. Included in the film is footage of the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Jaffa Gate, Mount of Olives and more...

Title #4: Labor of Thy Hands

Production Date: 1950s

Running Time: 14 minutes

Brief Description: This 1950s film is aimed toward American audiences, and tries to link the similarities between Israel and the United States. It's an informational piece focusing on how Israel is a democracy, so the ideals of the country match up with those of the US.

Title #5: Amateur Film: Middle East

Production Date: 1933

Running Time: 17 minutes

Brief Description: This movie is a collection of amateur footage taken of Israel (much of it in Bethlehem) during the 1930s. Excellent first-hand historical documentation!