Michael Chin

Documentary filmmakers offer a fascinating look at one of the most spectacular engineering feats of the 19th Century as the story of the Transcontinental Railroad comes to life in a film that's sure to appeal to historians and railroad enthusiasts alike. As legions of tireless workers toiled for six years to realize the vision of shady entrepreneurs and imaginative engineers, the remarkable railway dream slowly became a reality. But not everyone was so pleased with the remarkable achievement. Despite the devastating effect that the tremendous transportation breakthrough would have on the Native American population, the lasting impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on the politics and culture of a rapidly expanding country would forever mark it as an invaluable component of the American success story.

On September 13, 1900, thirty-four-year-old physician Jesse Lazear believed he was on the brink of a scientific breakthrough that would put an end to yellow fever, the worst epidemic scourge of nineteenth-century America. Dr. Jesse Lazear, a member of the US Yellow Fever Board working in Havana, was working on a radical theory of transmission, which placed the lowly mosquito at the center of one science's most elusive riddles. Shortly after being bitten by a lab mosquito known to be infected with yellow fever, two of Lazear's co-workers had fallen ill. Encouraged by this success, the ambitious young surgeon put himself at risk, allowing an infected mosquito to bite him. In less than two weeks, after several days of delirium and black vomit, Jesse Lazear was dead. This film documents the research of intrepid Cuban scientist Carlos Finlay and the efforts of Major Walter Reed and his medical team, some of whom put their own lives on the line to eradicate yellow fever.

Two thousand years ago, in the Roman province of Judea, Jesus was crucified by imperial troops. Thousands before him had suffered the same fate. But unlike his predecessors on the cross, Jesus did not disappear from history. Instead, his memory was kept alive by a small band of Jews - men and women who held fast to their conviction that Jesus was the Messiah.

Documentary filmmakers offer a fascinating look at one of the most spectacular engineering feats of the 19th Century as the story of the Transcontinental Railroad comes to life in a film that's sure to appeal to historians and railroad enthusiasts alike. As legions of tireless workers toiled for six years to realize the vision of shady entrepreneurs and imaginative engineers, the remarkable railway dream slowly became a reality. But not everyone was so pleased with the remarkable achievement. Despite the devastating effect that the tremendous transportation breakthrough would have on the Native American population, the lasting impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on the politics and culture of a rapidly expanding country would forever mark it as an invaluable component of the American success story.

On September 13, 1900, thirty-four-year-old physician Jesse Lazear believed he was on the brink of a scientific breakthrough that would put an end to yellow fever, the worst epidemic scourge of nineteenth-century America. Dr. Jesse Lazear, a member of the US Yellow Fever Board working in Havana, was working on a radical theory of transmission, which placed the lowly mosquito at the center of one science's most elusive riddles. Shortly after being bitten by a lab mosquito known to be infected with yellow fever, two of Lazear's co-workers had fallen ill. Encouraged by this success, the ambitious young surgeon put himself at risk, allowing an infected mosquito to bite him. In less than two weeks, after several days of delirium and black vomit, Jesse Lazear was dead. This film documents the research of intrepid Cuban scientist Carlos Finlay and the efforts of Major Walter Reed and his medical team, some of whom put their own lives on the line to eradicate yellow fever.

Two thousand years ago, in the Roman province of Judea, Jesus was crucified by imperial troops. Thousands before him had suffered the same fate. But unlike his predecessors on the cross, Jesus did not disappear from history. Instead, his memory was kept alive by a small band of Jews - men and women who held fast to their conviction that Jesus was the Messiah.