Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.
Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
rbfordjw As current owner of two Harley's and also two Indians, I really enjoyed this mini-series. The only complaint that I have is how Indian builder, George Hendee, was portrayed as kind of a pompous jerk. The truth is that Art Davidson and Hendee were not enemies but were close friends who visited each other at their homes and bonded over common interests in motorcycles and other things. Also, before each sales season, representatives of both companies would meet for a big meal and discuss each companies new models and discuss what they should charge for each new model. (Would be illegal "price fixing" today!) In addition, when Indian got in financial trouble before DuPont bought the company, Harley founders even had discussions on how to help Indian financially. And when Indian finally died, there was mourning in Milwaukee. All the Indian vs Harley "war" was mainly at the dealer level. And of course on the race track! Again, I really enjoyed this series!
Richard Doss Great ..Seem pretty accurate to me. I'm sure they took certain liberties with the real story. Sometimes Myth and legends are difficult to separate. But as a Harley owner and a long time M/C rider I enjoyed the series. Harley Davidson is truly an American Icon, that has made over numerous adversities. Sits right up there with Ford, Chevy, G.E. etc.For over 100 years, Harley Davidson has earned a legacy among motorcycles. Loved the way the story line was written around the two families. Also thought the actors/actresses seem authentic. Plus the reproduction of motorcycles were believable.
mrvolvo When I noticed the ads for this three-part series it looked interesting so I decided to record the episodes on my DVR so as not to miss any. I was disappointed after watching all 6 hours (including about 2-1/2 hours of commercials).From the beginning, as one reviewer put it, it was one interpersonal conflict after another, with motorcycles sprinkled in keep the guys interested. If there had really been this much conflict throughout the early history of Harley-Davidson, their motorcycles would have been a brief footnote in history.To add to the tension, the writer injected more conflict with H-D being sued (by Indian and others) as the result of failing to patent their designs. H-D went out of business as a result, then they were suddenly back in business with no explanation as to how that happened. I tried to research this episode in H-D history and found no mention of this. Was it a complete fabrication? The same thing came to when H-D was ed by Ford to build the "Servicar" tricycles, but there is some historical record of H-D building these vehicles and in far greater numbers than the single prototype shown in the movie.Aside from the conflict and questionable "history" of Harley-Davidson presented, the worst part for me was the "racing". It was repeatedly stated they were racing at speeds around 80 to 90 mph, yet the motorcycles in the movie were screaming around the track at a blistering 25 to 30 mph, crashing and burning all over the place. I've seen bicycle races faster than this! It was ridiculous.
grizzledgeezer Conflict is the essence of drama, and "Harley and the Davidsons" is "balls to the wall" conflict. Hardly one issue is (perhaps) settled before another rears its head. Every combination of "conflictors" is explored: brother/brother; father/children; mother/children; capitalists/little guys; creeps/decent folk, etc, etc, etc. It's an absolute model of a conflict-driven story that will keep the script reader turning the pages, until he or she collapses, screaming "We've got to green-light this one!".To the extent I can unscramble things (I'm not an expert on the history of motorcycles), it seems that great liberties have been taken with the lives of Messrs. Harley and Davidson (such as introducing fictional characters and ignoring real ones (eg, Evinrude)). It's suggestive that there are separate credits for the story and the screenwriter.The production values are impressive, and the film is first-rate eye candy, on multiple levels. The shot of Walter Davidson riding the prototype * across the green, green hills of... Romania?... is beautiful. The period costumes must have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And best of all is the recreation of early motorcycles. One can imagine -- and applaud -- the work that went into it. (Who doesn't like motorcycles?)But the whole seems less than the sum of its parts. It just doesn't ring true. It comes off more as an example of how to write an exciting script that will get produced, than any veracious insight into what H and the Ds went through.I'm always critical of modern films projecting modern attitudes on historical events, so I was especially annoyed when Walter said he wanted their motorcycle to project an outlaw spirit. He might very well have said that, but bikers were not seen as "outlaws" until after WWII.----------------------------------------After watching the appalling episode 3, I've lowered my rating from seven stars to three stars.The episode's principal elements are Indian's lawsuit against H-D for patent infringement, and Walter's son's rebellion. Though H-D had infringed patents, they were actually Robert Keating's. (I've been unable to confirm the film's claim that Harley had neglected to patent several inventions, and another company had patented them, which Indian used to "destroy" H-D.)Walter Jr's rebellion might have occurred, but it's recounted as if the writer is running down a checklist of how one dramatizes such things. Walter Jr s a group of poverty-stricken bike lovers, one of whom is a young woman wearing designer rags, the other a black man. The latter appears to be in the story for political correctness, but it seems he was a real person who went on to own an H-D dealership. Of course, everything is so overblown that one doesn't know what to believe.The capper is Mrs Harley's bone cancer. Without telling anyone why, Harley takes increasing time off from work to go on picnics with her. Of course, it all ends semi-happily when the doctor discovers she actually has a treatable non-fatal disease.I was expecting a documentary on the history of Harley-Davidson. What I got was a hyperbolic drama with little regard for the facts. The best thing about this series is its strongly negative view of capitalists and businessmen.* It was actually the second prototype, as the first had to be pedaled to get uphill.
