The March (1963, restored)

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On August 10th, 1963 The U.S. Government, under the auspices of the United States Information Agency (USIA), tasked Hearst Metrotone News with crafting a documentary covering The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To undertake the direction of this momentous film, Hearst and the USIA enlisted James Blue.

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James Blue’s The March (1964) is a humanistic and poetic 33-minute film of the August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, produced and distributed to 83 foreign countries by the United States Information Agency (USIA).

James Blue’s “director’s cut” (late November or early December 1963) is the original version of the documentary. The director’s cut was viewed in January and February by President Johnson, several members of his cabinet, key senators, and the USIA Advisory Committee, and it was sent to US ambassadors for their judgments.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and to create an updated print of The March in recognition of its selection to the National Film Registry, the National Archives and Records Administration’s Division of Motion Pictures repaired the minor technical distortions in the original print.

James Blue’s minimal narration in The March disguises the fact that the film represents a rich array of people, places, and songs associated with the Civil Rights Movement. On this page, you can learn more about the sights and sounds of The March.

President Johnson decided the film needed a framing that celebrated the Kennedy and Johnson administrations’ support of the March and of civil rights. The vast majority of US ambassadors affirmed the quality of the film, with several expressing country-specific reservations. Carl Rowan, the Director of the United States Information Agency, created a one-minute introduction, which was added to Blue’s film in April 1964. The film was then re-distributed by the USIA to US embassies throughout the world.

There are three versions of The March, reflecting the film’s complicated history.

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March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom