Movie Review – Empire of th Air

Empire of the Air – The Men Who Made Radio (1991) – Ken Burns delves into the stories of the three men most central to the development of radio and eventually television – Lee de Forest, E.H. Armstrong and David Sarnoff.  The growth of Radio into the first electronic, broadcast medium and its dominance of the American media scene for fifty years requires the peculiar gifts and failings of each man.  de Forest was a genius at self promotion and adapting others work into something innovative.  He created the audion tube, which made broadcast radio possible.  Armstrong was the true inventive genius of the bunch.  Easily the least known of the trio, Armstrong had a greater impact on the technical end of radio than any other person.  Among his inventions was FM radio.  Finally there is the Russian immigrant David Sarnoff.  Sarnoff’s genius was the organizational and business vision the other two lacked.  The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and television are among his gifts to the world.  Their paths would cross and re-cross over the years, leading to a battle royal among their egos.

If there is one thing that these three men share beyond their individual geniuses, it is the enormous egos of each of them.  Because they would never compromise, because each of them held tenaciously to their belief in their unique place in history they would battle one another with quarter neither asked nor given.  In pure business terms it would be Sarnoff who would win.  Court battles that lasted for decades eventually drove Armstrong to suicide.  Lee de Forest became a figure of equal respect and disdain in history.  Even Sarnoff’s fame has faded more than he had hoped in the four decades or so since his death.

Burns does his usual wonderful job of bringing the story of the people involved to life.  Jason Robards narrates with the kind of gravitas we have also come to associate with a Ken Burns film. Close to a hundred years of history are covered in a concise two hours.

The audience for this documentary is probably a little limited.  For a “radio guy” like me this was a wonderful reminder of the glory days of the medium that still holds a special place in my heart. If you grew up with radio as domininant or at least influential medium, this would be very interesting.  For anyone who wants to understand where our current media world began this should be must viewing.

Rating – ***  Worth A Look