PBS - Las Vegas An Unconventional History (2005) Part 1 Sin City

Las Vegas: An Unconventional History

From film-maker Stephen Ives and Emmy Award-winning writer Michelle Ferrari, this fascinating two-part documentary, chronicles the history of the city that has become synonymous with unbridled excess. From a dusty railroad town in the middle of nowhere, Las Vegas has grown into one of the world's premier tourist destinations. Once considered beyond the pale of respectable society, Las Vegas is now a cornerstone of mainstream leisure, attracting more visitors than the holy city of Mecca. Peopled with unlikely heroes and villains, the film looks at the figures that shaped the Las Vegas we know today, from gangsters such as Bugsy Siegel to top entertainers such as the Rat Pack, not forgetting the less well-known characters that have been drawn to this desert fantasyland in search of the American dream. The film also explores the forces that have kept the city a few paces ahead of mainstream America. Las Vegas was the first city to legalise gambling, one of the first to abolish racial segregation, the first city to make atomic testing a tourist attraction, and is perhaps the only city whose dazzling main street can be seen from outer space. Las Vegas has adapted its image to reflect the changing attitudes of the nation, consistently anticipating and fulfilling the needs and desires of Americans

Part 1: Sin City

Well-heeled mobsters, glamorous showgirls, fantastical mega-casinos, dazzling neon displays – it's the world's most famous monument to reckless abandon and unbridled excess. From a dusty railroad town in the middle of nowhere, Las Vegas has grown into one of the world's premier tourist destinations. Once shunned as “Sin City” and considered beyond the pale of respectable society, it is now the epicenter of mainstream leisure, attracting more visitors than the holy city of Mecca.American Experience steps into the world of bright lights and back-room deals to illuminate what makes Las Vegas perhaps the most American city in the country

Insigna Films