The Wilderness Idea: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the First Great Battle for Wilderness
The Wilderness Idea: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the First Great Battle for Wilderness (1989)
To one man, it was perfect natural resource to benefit thousands of people. To another, it was a beautiful, sacred land that mustn't be defiled under any circumstance. In this documentary, the debate over the damming and flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park is examined by looking at the two most notable faces of the debate, United States Forest Service Chief Gifford Pinchot, and celebrated Scottish-American naturalist John Muir, two friends and notable conservationists who found themselves in complete opposition with one another in one of the earliest national controversies surrounding the United States wilderness.
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Admirable film.
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.