CNN's "THE SIXTIES" to DVD in February via PBS Distribution

PBS Distribution announced today it will be releasing “THE SIXTIES” on DVD. Executive produced by Emmy Award-winning producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (HBO’s “John Adams” and “The Pacific”), and Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Herzog (History’s “Gettysburg”), “THE SIXTIES” explores the most turbulent decade of the modern era in America.  "The Sixties premiered on CNN in May 2014 and ran through August.

From the Cold War to the War in Vietnam, from the Space Race to the Long March to Freedom and Civil Rights, the events of the 1960’s were both dramatic and transformative.  The Beatles invaded America, Man landed on the Moon and the Women’s, Environmental, Conservative and Gay movements were all born.  It was a decade of assassinations and urban riots but also of Woodstock and Haight Ashbury.  Television sets were tuned to The Twilight Zone, The Andy Griffith Show and Rown and Martin’s Laugh-In while record players spun the songs of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.  In its examination and portrayal of this most consequential time, this CNN Original Series reveals why it was truly “The Decade that Changed the World.”

“THE SIXTIES” will be available on DVD February 17, 2015. With a run time of approximately 511 minutes on 3 discs , it will have a  SRP of $69.99. Episodes included are listed below.


“Television Comes of Age”
Television came of age in the 1960s and became the dominant factor in American culture. When Americans wanted to be entertained or follow their favorite sport they turned on the tube. Whether the fare was highbrow or low, we spent more time watching television than any other waking activity. Look back at the sitcoms, dramas, news programs and sporting events that shaped and reflected who we were as a nation.

“The World on the Brink”
The early 1960s were the tensest years of the Cold War. Examine the early Kennedy presidency through the prism of the Cold War as reflected in the Bay of Pigs invasion, the building of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis and its aftermath.

“The Assassination of President Kennedy”
The Warren Commission Report, the only official investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy, has engendered controversy since its release in 1964. Explore the assassination by reliving those tragic events and by examining many of the Warren Report’s key conclusions.

“The War in Vietnam”
Vietnam changed America in ways that reverberate even today. Under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, our involvement escalated from a handful of advisors to over 500,000 troops during the course of the decade. And yet, there never seemed to be “a light at the end of the tunnel.”  Casualties mounted and domestic opposition to the war grew.  Political careers were ruined, and thousands of lives were lost. This episode explores one of the great tragedies in American history.

“A Long March to Freedom”
The lunch counter sit-ins and the Freedom Rides, the integration of the Universities of Mississippi and Alabama, the Children’s Crusade in Birmingham, the March on Washington and the march from Selma to Montgomery were events that altered America and changed the world.  This special two-hour episode looks at those events as well as the people behind one of the most important social movements in world history.

 “The British Invasion”
After Ed Sullivan uttered the five simple words, “Ladies and gentleman, The Beatles” in February 1964, nothing would be the same again. Examine how American culture and social mores were forever altered by the lads from Liverpool and their British and American musical counterparts.

“The Space Race”
With the Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union as the catalyst, America launched the most ambitious program for exploration the world had ever seen – the race to the moon.  There was triumph, tragedy and unprecedented scientific achievement.  And it all led to the extraordinary moment when the world held its breath as Neil Armstrong took that one small step that signalled such a giant leap for mankind.

“1968”
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, the Democratic convention in Chicago, the presidential candidacy of Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace and the election of President Richard Nixon are only some of the events portrayed in one of the most dramatic years in American history.

“The Times They are A-Changin’”
The 1960s were the genesis of many of the social and political currents that dominate today’s headlines. In this episode, explore the beginnings of the women’s, environmental, conservative, farm/labor and gay movements. “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan, Barry Goldwater, Cesar Chavez, the Stonewall riots will all be examined.

“Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘N’ Roll”
The 1960’s ushered in more fundamental change than any other decade in American history.  Well-established social norms and conventional modes of thought and behavior were shoved aside as first the so-called “Beats” and then the ill-defined but highly influential “Hippie Movement” began to sway the culture.  Everything from music and fashion to morals, manners and customs felt the effect.  The Woodstock Generation was born.