Rating: 
Summary: Economics...exciting? There must be some mistake.
Review: This documentary takes you from the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and Karl Marx to our present economic leader, Alan Greenspan. Commanding Heights paints a picture of the economic situation during the last century. I would highly recommend this masterpiece to anyone who questions the decisions made each and every day concering the world's marketplace.
Rating: 
Summary: Historical Blindspots and Political Bias
Review: This film provides a generally good historical overview of the dominant LIBERAL political-economic philosophies of the 20th Century.Soviet state socialism is unfortunately (and incorrectly) lumped together with the Keynesian welfare state social democracy, thus glossing over differences between these two forms of political-economic organization. Socialism is identified is any tendency to regulate the economy, thus radically glossing over socialism's utopian committments to equality, social justice, and the redistribution of wealth. Throughout the film, the right-wing policies and practices of Hayek, Friedman, Sachs, Thatcher, and Reagan, along with the World Bank and IMF, are repeatedly celebrated and legitimized by the narrator. Neo-liberals and the CEOs of corporations are depicted as political revolutionaries and radicals while the anti-globalization movement and other social movements are portrayed as naive, sloppy, and ill-informed. By the end of this documentary, the evolutionary history of capitalism, the end of viable 'alternatives' to free-markets, and the continued dominance of mainly American and Western firms seem inevitable; moreover, the movement of history towards contemporary 'globalization' is (falsely) portrayed as a natural phenomenon rather than a political one. The narrative argues that globalization has everything to do with nation-states and economic policy makers managining inflation and deficit crisis: there is no account of the role that the American imperium played constructing, militarily defending, and ideologically universalizing global capitalism; there very little discussion about of the downside of global capitalism including world terrorism, inter-imperial rivalries and war, environmental catatsrophe and destruction, the increasing division of rich and poor between and within first and third world countries, overproduction/underconsumption, the erasure of indigenous culture, etc. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching this film: it introduced me to the dominant belief systems of and rhetorical strategies used by the world's most powerful people.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating Reading
Review: This is a good match to the book - Commanding Heights by Yergin and Stanislaw. It provides an insight into the intersection of politics and economics, and the dramatic effect of globalization and developing countries adoption of market based economies. Captivating reading.
Rating:
Summary: persuasive presentation of Hayekian 20th century economics
Review: This is a powerful and persuasive presentation of 20th century economics. The presenters lean heavily towards the Hayekian model of economics development, which is controversial and not without its many detractors. Many critics of Hayek are given space to present their respective arguments, but one gains the overall impression that the weight of the arguments leans heavily in favour of Hayek's approach of an unfettered market driven economy.
Critics of Hayekian model of economics development (which includes those who oppose economic globalisation and trade liberalisation) would do well to watch the documentary, and note the key strengths of Hayek's model of economic development, thereby refining their criticisms of the current trend towards market liberalisation. Believers in "rational econoomics" would do well to consider the damaging side effects an unfettered market economy would have on the environment, and present a model of economic development that is both sustainable and ecnomically viable.
Either way, this documentary is compelling viewing.
Rating:
Summary: persuasive presentation of Hayekian 20th century economics
Review: This is a powerful and persuasive presentation of 20th century economics. The presenters lean heavily towards the Hayekian model of economics development, which is controversial and not without its many detractors. Many critics of Hayek are given space to present their respective arguments, but one gains the overall impression that the weight of the arguments leans heavily in favour of Hayek's approach of an unfettered market driven economy.
Critics of Hayekian model of economics development (which includes those who oppose economic globalisation and trade liberalisation) would do well to watch the documentary, and note the key strengths of Hayek's model of economic development, thereby refining their criticisms of the current trend towards market liberalisation. Believers in "rational econoomics" would do well to consider the damaging side effects an unfettered market economy would have on the environment, and present a model of economic development that is both sustainable and ecnomically viable.
Either way, this documentary is compelling viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Commanding Heights
Review: This is a true and very complex story told in a compelling way. It draws you in from the beginning moments. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to World economics
Review: This is a very well put together documentary: excellent interviews, great archive footage, and good flow. I was constantly amazed how they got so many interviews with the movers and shakers of the world economy. 4.5* stars. I did find it lacking in several points:
1) No mention of productivity and its importance
2) Very little mention of competition policy (anti-monopoly). Competition is what drives productivity and quality improvements.
3) Little mention of the level of corruption in many third world countries. IMF loans go to dictator's Swiss bank accounts.
4) Oversimplification - the series seems to say - "free markets create growth". It blames Japan's recession on its market being too closed. How then did it become the world's second largest economy?
Rating:
Summary: The price of eggs fell
Review: This is one of the best designs and clearest documentary on how economic reform came about. It is a must see for those that are too young or were too busy to see it happening. It is worth owning this set so one can use repeated reviewing and pick up on the nuances. This documentary far surpasses any written works on theories (there is a companion book available). You get to see all the economists in person or film. For my part the design is not a bunch of detached sound bites but a coherent and supported (informed) display of before and after.
Not to distract from this 3 volume set there is a lesser know concept that you may find imbedded in these economic reforms. Read "The Capitalist Manifesto" by Louis O. Kelso, Mortimer Jerome Adler
Rating:
Summary: Commanding Heights
Review: This is riveting history--it pulls you in from the first moments. The story of our world economy has never been explained so perfectly; Commanding Heights ties it all together in a beautifully done epic.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent, my best DVD purchase ever!
Review: This is truly the best documentry I have ever seen. I enjoyed every bit of this very positive and erudite story about our recent history. And I agree fully with the Washington Post if they say - "No more important program for making sense of our life and times has been seen in at least a decade.". This is not a romantic moralistic story of recent history with lots of moral driven finger pointing, no thank you, this is a factual account of how the Western system is developing through the world by what some call globalization. It discribes the changes in recent history and what pain they brought, but also what the motives behind these changes are and what the benefits are. Some people here complain it is too positive about the current direction of history. I do not agree, it is quit factual. But indeed, it does not conform to the so often voiced negative world views that are so often hearth. So, if you like freedom, then I am sure you love this documentry.
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