The film A Midwife's Tale

The Film A Midwife's Tale. Directed by Richard P. Rogers. Written and Produced by Laurie Kahn-Leavitt.

video box
the crew shoots "Martha" getting into her canoe. 2 min clip [11.4MB]

Video Clips (QuickTime)
Martha & the Young Doctor
[1 min 41 sec] 9.5MB
Rape of Rebecca Foster
[ 5 min] 27.6MB
Waking Up
[ 3 min 10 sec] 18.5MB
Martha's Death
[ 1 min 40 sec] 9.3MB
The Parade
[ 2 min 26 sec] 14.3MB

Buy the video
call PBS VIDEO at 1-800-344-3337, or
for home use order from Shop PBS
(public use* order from PBS Video)

When filmmakers put history on the screen, they make thousands of choices that shape what we see and hear and believe. They do research. They decide which details to include -- and which to exclude. And they also make interpretive choices that aren't required when writing a book: choices about casting, set design, camera angle, lighting, image sequences, music and sound effects. Read
Process of Making a Historical Film, by writer/producer Laurie Kahn-Leavitt for a behind-the-scenes tour of how A Midwife's Tale was made.
See also: Other Film and History Web sites
See also: Film and History Bibliography

*The public viewing copy has an on-screen index which makes it easy to find specific scenes in the film, and it comes with a teacher's guide which explores the topics of money and currency, textiles and female work, midwifery, and courtship, marriage and sexuality.


	the crew shoots "Martha" getting into her canoe. 2 min clip [11.4MB]
Video Clips (QuickTime) Martha & the Young Doctor [1 min 41 sec] 9.5MB Rape of Rebecca Foster [ 5 min] 27.6MB Waking Up [ 3 min 10 sec] 18.5MB Martha's Death [ 1 min 40 sec] 9.3MB The Parade [ 2 min 26 sec] 14.3MB Buy the video call PBS VIDEO at 1-800-344-3337, or for home use order from Shop PBS (public use* order from PBS Video)	When filmmakers put history on the screen, they make thousands of choices that shape what we see and hear and believe. They do research. They decide which details to include -- and which to exclude. And they also make interpretive choices that aren't required when writing a book: choices about casting, set design, camera angle, lighting, image sequences, music and sound effects. Read Process of Making a Historical Film, by writer/producer Laurie Kahn-Leavitt for a behind-the-scenes tour of how A Midwife's Tale was made. See also: Other Film and History Web sites See also: Film and History Bibliography
*The public viewing copy has an on-screen index which makes it easy to find specific scenes in the film, and it comes with a teacher's guide which explores the topics of money and currency, textiles and female work, midwifery, and courtship, marriage and sexuality.