Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy

The subject of Commanding Heights is the globalization of world trade in the 20th century. It does so in three-two hour installments. Part 1 shows how the world moved from market economies to planned economies and back to market economies in a century. Part 2 shows the impact, sometimes painful, of moving to market economies. Part 3 addresses the current and future problems of a globalized world. That's the structure. The brilliance here, and there is much, is how clearly, thoroughly, and excitingly the stories are told. This is not an economics lesson; this is high drama that impacts peoples lives. Commanding Heights shows that it is people who create the ideas, it is people who accept or reject them, it is people who profit or suffer by them. The series travels to the locations where events happened, and in many cases, interviews the people who made them happen, from Bill Clinton to Milton Friedman to workers in various countries. The pacing of the series is also excellent. It is amazing how many topics are covered in little time, yet, the pace does not seem rushed. Even if you have no interest in business, Commanding Heights is still fascinating to watch. There is also an accompanying website with background information on the history, people, and ideas presented. Commanding Heights is a triumph.

This movie is a prescribed study material in one of the courses at my b-school. Even though I was aware of general macro and micro-economic principles, I never thought much about the Economy in the political sense. This documentary drives home an important point: Economic policy is slave to politics.

I was totally taken aback by the number of examples and the extent of re-creating the scenarios that takes place. The soundtrack is really superb, which helps in no small measure. Inspired by Commanding Heights, I just finished reading Hayek's Road to Serfdom and it was a treat and an eye-opener to the thought-processes more than half a century back!

If you want to understand the world better, this movie comes a 10/10 recommended!

This should be required viewing for everyone; freely, of course. As an economist, this was pure unadulterated pleasure. The professionalism, photography, music, editing, and storytelling were so superb I'm stunned at its quality and power to rivet everyone to their seats. If this is the only documentary you ever see, please see this series, you'll bless the day you did and you'll stun everyone at cocktail parties with your grasp of the most important ideas and the history of the last century.

This series was especially powerful after having just returned from a tour of Eastern Europe and seeing the Museum of Communism in Prague, and the physical ravages of Communism in the Eastern Block which are still very evident even after 14 years of freedom. We, as Americans, have no idea how incredibly lucky we are. This series will help you understand.

I feel that this is one of, if not the, best documentary I have watched. As an introduction to the political economy, poverty and globalisation, it is a must-watch for anyone who is interested in current events, or is entering university/college doing anything in economics, international affairs or politics. The reason why this documentary is so good - apart from the production quality, huge amount of interviewees - is that it takes at times complex economic arguments and policies and boils them down in such a way that anyone can understand the concepts. While it is a rather large documentary, it is well-worth the look for anyone who has an interest in contemporary affairs.

This was probably the best documentary I have ever seen.

Commanding Heights is a paced and exciting look at historical events of the last century with glasses of economic policy. The soundtrack and film clips are very good and really improves the experience. I was also very impressed with the quality of the interviewed (Bill Clinton, Margaret Tatcher, Jeffrey Sachs, Milton Friedman etc.) The film takes a close look at various nuances within a planned and market economy. And for those commenting that this is too pro-market - you must have missed the first two hours. The first episode made me more prone to Keynesian ideas than I was before.

Nevertheless, It is an excellent and fun documentary. You wont regret watching it and you will perhaps even feel slightly smarter.