The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God

Nov 1, 1984

1h 0m

★ 6.8

Overview

They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Florentine Films

The TV Lab at WNET/13

The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator (voice)

David McCullough

(voice)

Paul Roebling

(voice)

Julie Harris

(voice)

Olga Bellin

(voice)

Wendy Tilghman

(voice)

I. Tucker Burr

(voice)

Steven Pudenz

(voice)

Jesse Carr

A group of Welsh settlers decided to emigrate to Argentine Patagonia in 1865. Among them, a woman named Catherine Roberts, her husband, and their three children. Aboard the ship Mimosa they arrived at the current Puerto Madryn, Chubut, on July 28, 1865. Catherine died on August 21 and was buried near the coast, but her traces were lost until 1995 when some bones were discovered by chance. Argentine scientists Silvia Dahinten, Julieta Gómez Otero and Fernando Coronato have been working for twenty years to determine if the remains found are those of Catherine. In 2015, the arrival in Puerto Madryn of a Welsh descendant of Catherine, and new scientific advances, allow us to confirm that the bones found in 1995 are those of Catherine.

5.7

The Somme

Nov 14, 2005

Drama-documentary recounting the events of the 1st July 1916 and the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front during the First World War. Told through the letters and journals of soldiers who were there.

4.0

Children playing with skipping rope

Jan 1, 1896

A group of children are encouraged to play in a park by two men. Some play a skipping game. One of the other children refuses and eventually runs away. Another child is fascinated by the camera and stares at it throughout, even when encouraged by one of the men to play. IN the background, traffic passes and pedestrians stroll past behind a railing on an upper level. The children wear sunhats, indicating the weather is very sunny.

4.6

Is Genesis History?

Feb 23, 2017

A fascinating new look at the biblical, historical, and scientific evidence for Creation and the Flood. Learn from more than a dozen scientists and scholars as they explore the world around us in light of Genesis. Dr. Del Tackett, creator of The Truth Project, hikes through canyons, climbs up mountains, and dives below the sea in an exploration of two competing views... one compelling truth.

No Image Available

0.0

Blue Collar & Buddha

Jul 11, 1986

Exploration of prejudice and culture clash that a group of Laotian Buddhist refugees must endure in Rockford, Illinois.

No Image Available

8.0

Visconti: La verdad del melodrama

Mar 12, 2001

No overview available.

0.0

American Crusaders

Jan 1, 2007

A harrowing exploration of the rapid rise of American religious fanaticism after 9/11. This film explores an emerging ultra Right Wing mass movement seeking dominion over all aspects of contemporary American society. The film weaves archival video, contemporary Christian Nationalist movement propaganda (recruiting videos, apocalyptic/military videogame imagery, etc.) and original investigative material) to create an intense examination of the totalistic mindset and its will to power.

6.3

Panoramas of War

Sep 27, 2018

The end of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71) saw the birth of the panoramas of war, huge circular paintings depicting scenes of war, cruelty and desolation that were contemplated by thousands of spectators, a kind of inmersive static newsreels, a mass media prior to the era of mass media, a virtual reality on canvas.

6.0

Cinéma, de notre temps: Mosso, mosso (Jean Rouch comme si...)

Aug 11, 1999

No overview available.

3.2

Revive Us

Oct 18, 2016

Are we in the last days of our great nation? Is it too late for America? Revive Us features worship, prayer, and thoughtful discussion as Kirk Cameron turns to Scripture to offer encouragement for our great nation. As Kirk says, 'When our family of believers gets together and the Spirit is moving, we are unstoppable!' Revive Us will have you believing this could be our finest hour!

7.0

Lucian Freud: Painted Life

May 25, 2012

Documentary about the painter Lucian Freud.

6.6

Dying for Everest

May 5, 2007

On 15 May, 2006, double amputee Mark Inglis reached the summit of Mt Everest. It was a remarkable achievement and Inglis was feted by press and public alike. But only a few days later he was plunged into a storm of controversy when it was learned that he had passed an incapacitated climber, Englishman David Sharp, leaving him to a lonely end high in the Death Zone.

7.0

Fritz Lang, le cercle du destin - Les films allemands

Apr 28, 2004

No overview available.

0.0

Ardisson, l'Homme en Noir : l'hommage

Jul 15, 2025

This tribute program takes you back into the world of Thierry Ardisson, a particularly creative, provocative, and erudite host and producer. From "Tout le monde en parle" to "Salut les Terriens !", via "Lunettes noires pour nuits blanches", the program retraces his more than 40-year career and his extraordinary journey, featuring cult interviews, testimonials, and archive footage. Numerous guests will pay tribute to him and share their memories and anecdotes on set. Thierry Ardisson, "the man in black," shook up the French audiovisual landscape and left his mark on his era. The program is broadcast on all TV5 Monde channels and on TV5 Québec/Canada.

6.8

La face cachée de l'homme en noir

Jul 16, 2025

You've seen him interview Mikhail Gorbachev, Angelina Jolie, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Brad Pitt, Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro... You know him, but you don't really know him. Everyone has talked about Ardisson without ever getting close to the truth about him. My ambition: to reveal the man behind the costume of "The Man in Black." I thought to myself: if anyone can figure him out, it's me, a journalist and portraitist who has lived with him for 15 years. Who is the private Thierry behind the spectacular Ardisson? What we discover is how much Ardisson's personal history reflects the eras he has lived through, their contradictions, their utopias, their excesses, their violence. Like so many facets of a man and of society at the turn of the century.

6.0

Bicycling Group

Jan 1, 1896

A staged film where over 100 cyclists cycle towards the camera.

5.7

The Photo-Drama of Creation

Jan 11, 1914

The film presents the Bible's account of God's plan from the creation of the earth through to the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ.

No Image Available

0.0

The Philosopher's Stone: The True Story

Apr 24, 2007

Documentary examining the medieval myth of the Philosopher's Stone, a Holy Grail-type relic which supposedly held the key to alchemy and immortality. Many noted alchemists and adventurers searched obsessively for the artifact hoping to learn its powerful secrets, a quest which allegedly drove some to madness and others to celestial encounters.

0.0

in the name of tradition

Jan 1, 2013

The destiny of women is irrevocably linked to blood. Between tradition and modernity, the female body has been marketed, honored, and mutilated.