THE movie opens in 1923 and immediately reflects the sepia-tinted, ignorance-is-bliss tenor of that carefree era. There are the flappers doing their frenetic Charleston, the dastardly villains and wistful heroines of the silent screen. Soon a couple of European political upstarts make their appearance: A. Hitler and B. Mussolini. Moving through the Great Depression and World War II, the film traces the ever more sophisticated use of all communications formsradio, candid camera, wireless photos, TV to capture the substance and essence of the times.
Smce TIME Began is the title of a 23-minute...