Where can I find a copy of the 1978 movie "Northern Lights"?

April 2, 2019 2:33 PM

Where can I find a copy of Northern Lights (Wikipedia, NY Times Review, WorldCat). It's a movie about the origin of Nonpartisan League in North Dakota, which was responsible for setting up some of the more socialist aspects of the government of that state.

I've tried getting it by inter-library loan, but it appears the only copies in my local ILL system are unavailable. Google's full of people saying it's great but hard to find. I know DVDs of it exist (due to the library copies), but I can't find any place where I could buy, borrow, or stream it.

I'm also interested in finding a copy of the Prairie Trilogy (NYTimes Review, YouTube Trailer, WorldCat), which appears to be a set of related documentaries. I'm having the same problems as with Northern Lights, except that it seems to have been released on DVD more recently and Google yields more reviews (some quite recent) and web pages about showings in various locations.

posted by cosmic.osmo to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

Have you asked your local PBS station? They seem to be the kind of place that might have a copy in their possession, or know where to look.
posted by AzraelBrown at 3:11 PM on April 2, 2019

Sent you a MeMail.
posted by sacrifix at 3:34 PM on April 2, 2019

Best answer: Vidiots Try emailing them I bet they could direct you to a copy.
posted by effluvia at 3:36 PM on April 2, 2019

Best answer: John Hanson (one of the directors) has a contact form to facilitate purchasing DVDs of his work here.
posted by eschatfische at 3:50 PM on April 2, 2019

Response by poster: @AzraelBrown It'd never even crossed my mind that I could do something like that. Are PBS stations typically generous with giving the public access to their film archives? I guess I'd assumed they wouldn't be setup to deal with the public in that way.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 9:20 AM on April 3, 2019