Films

This page introduces videos, documentaries and full-length movies about Pocahontas and the Jamestown story.

Pocahontas: Beyond the Myth (2017)

Pocahontas: Beyond the Myth (2017)
Smithsonian Channel documentary

This hour-long video is new in 2017 and appeared on the Smithsonian Channel. A few minutes of it can be seen on the Smithsonian Channel website. It provides a nice introduction to Pocahontas with quality visuals and an array of experts on Pocahontas. This video is interesting to me because I've met some of the people who appeared in it, including Camilla Townsend and Chief Robert Gray, when I attended the Pocahontas And After conference in London, England in March 2017. There are some factual inaccuracies though, which is unfortunate in a Smithsonian documentary... - Beyond the Myth clip -

Pocahontas: The Myth and Mystery of an Icon (2016)

Pocahontas: The Myth and Mystery of an Icon (2016)
Henrico County Government

This is one of the better documentaries on Pocahontas, and it even has some things that I would characterize as 'new', like the timeline of her (non) conversion. I think it's interesting that (Pamunkey) Ashley Atkins Spivey says that Pocahontas was Pamunkey. She also repeats the misinformation about Smith having told stories of being rescued by other women. A narrator's voice says that Pocahontas's mother may have died at childbirth, a factoid for which there is zero evidence. But these are quibbles, and the talking heads are pretty knowledgeable and reliable. The production budget may have been low for this, but it's really one of the best in terms of the information. - Myth & Mystery

Pocahontas Revealed (2007)

Pocahontas Revealed (2007)
Nova - PBS

A Nova documentary show on PBS, this film was directed by Kirk and Lisa Wolfinger. It tells the Pocahontas story pretty well and has a lot of input from both academics and Native Americans. The historical story is told, and a lot of attention is given to the archaeology of Jamestown and Werowocomoco. There are many versions of this video on YouTube. The one I've linked has the best quality, but inexplicably, it contains repeated footage after the 53:00 minute mark. Basically, it's a decent 50-minute documentary. - Pocahontas Revealed

Pocahontas: Ambassador of the New World (2005)

Pocahontas: Ambassador of the New World (2005)
A&E Biography

The best thing I can say about this 'documentary' is that the makers have mastered the Ken Burns technique of zooming still images to give a sense of movement. Other than that, this one is pretty bad. Some of the actual Pocahontas story remains intact, but this video is full of factual errors, fictional dialog, imagined motivations, and there are so many omissions, I can't recommend it to anyone. I've said this before, but when I see an account like this, I totally get why Linwood Custalow would feel compelled to put out a completely opposite, but equally fictional narrative (link) just to try and balance the scales. Hopefully, not many school kids today are watching this, but to all teachers out there, please give this one a miss. The Disney movie is probably more accurate. You've been warned, but here's the link.

The New World (2005)

The New World (2005)
Terrence Malick film; New Line Cinema

This historical drama about Pocahontas and the founding of Jamestown stars Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, and newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas. The movie is most notable for its beautiful cinematography. Unfortunately, the fictional romance with John Smith is featured in this film. While not historically accurate in some ways, it is visually impressive. - Links to articles - Trailer - Final Scene - Interview w/Colin Farrell

Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas (1995)
Disney

This controversial full-length animated feature is a fictional account of the Pocahontas story that depicts a romance between the adult Pocahontas and a handsome,, blond John Smith. While successful at the box office, it has been widely criticized for its promotion of a false Pocahontas story. Numerous articles have been written about it, and many of them are linked here: Links to articles - Trailer - "Colors of the Wind" - Emerson Goes to the Movies

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)
Disney; DVD

This is a straight to DVD sequel to Pocahontas and deals with her trip to England with John Rolfe and her raccoon. Once again, the movie is heavily fictionalized, and with far poorer production values compared to the original. Happily for sensitive children and concerned mothers, Pocahontas survives her trip (with the exception of Bambi's mom, Disney characters typically don't die). See this one if you want to join Pocahontas on a "fun-filled adventure" in England. - Trailer -

The New World: Nightmare in Jamestown (2005)

The New World: Nightmare in Jamestown (2005)
National Geographic Channel

This is a 50-minute documentary of the Jamestown story. As it can't cover everything in such a short time, it focuses on three aspects of the story: 1) recent archaeological findings, 2) the 'nightmare' aspects of the colony's early years, i.e., famine, disease, Indian attacks, and in-fighting, and 3) the contributions of John Smith. Except for a couple of brief mentions, Pocahontas is nearly absent from this video, though the makers compensate, in a way, by giving her credit for single handedly saving the colony. The most prominent talking head in this documentary is William Kelso, who led the project to dig up historical artifacts and bones on the Jamestown fort site. The budget for historical recreations must have been low for this film, as the production quality is not great. Too, when they cast the actors for colonists and Powhatan Indians, they presumably had no requirement for being slim or muscular. Most actors appear to be more expert at conquering the buffet table than each other. If you're OK with the topics this video focuses on, it's fairly interesting. However, don't expect the Powhatan Indians (other than Pocahontas) to get any credit for keeping the colonists alive. In this video, they spend most of their time shooting arrows into the colonists' backs. - Nightmare in Jamestown -

Jamestown (2017 ~ TV series)
Sky One

This British television period drama is not about Pocahontas, and arguably not even about Jamestown. It's a typical TV soap opera with lots of love, intrigue and back-stabbing, that is set in a fictionalized 1619 Jamestown. The producers went to the trouble of bringing in historical consultants (Buck Woodard, James Horn and Linda Heywood) as well as hiring actual Native Americans to play the Powhatan parts, though in the first season, at least, the Indians didn't have much to do. Don't look to this show for actual historical information on what happened in the years following Pocahontas's death. But if you need help visualizing what Jamestown or Pamunkey might have looked like back in the day, this program (which is filmed in Hungary!) might give you a vague hint. (Somehow I doubt the real settlers were as attractive as this cast though..) As for whether the series is any good or not, let's just say I recommend "Vikings." Edit 3/27/2019: Pocahontas is mentioned briefly in Season 2, episode 3. A settler baby had disappeared, and when the English went to Pamunkey to inquire about its whereabouts, Opechancanough pointed out that many Powhatans, including Pocahontas, had also disappeared at the hands of the Englishmen.

Jamestown Review - Jul. 14, 2017
Article: Hungarian Location Doubles for Colonial Virginia in PBS Series ‘Jamestown - Nov. 22, 2018

Redundant, but ...