Four Died Trying — Feature Documentary Series

UPDATE: We are hopeful that our legal issues will soon be resolved, so we can release the second film in the @FourDiedTrying franchise. In the meantime, we want to tell you about two other film projects we've had up our sleeve:

Our critically acclaimed new 9/11 documentary "The Responders: Breaking the Silence," which presents the previously unseen interviews of six first responders who were at Ground Zero in 2001, and

"The American Ruling Class," our award-winning 2005 documentary-musical starring our late, great friend Lewis Lapham (of @Harpers and @laphamsquart fame), which is now streaming on the @criterionchannl and many other platforms.

The golden thread that runs through all of our work—our prime creative motivation—is shining a spotlight on how America's power elite gain and protect their dominance, no matter the human cost.

Visit our websites for more info:
https://www.americanrulingclass (dot) com
therespondersfilm.com

How Wall Street won: A quick 40-year history of American capitalism

This remarkable clip from Lewis Lapham's 2005 documentary The American Ruling Class traces the transformation of American capitalism from the inflationary turmoil of the 1970s to the Wall Street bull market that began in August 1982. It's a remarkably concise history of how America's elites reclaimed control — and launched a "very successful class war from above."

Thatcher and Reagan. Union-busting. The dismantling of the welfare state. Shareholders demanding ever-higher profits. Corporate profitability soaring. And then..."the madness and irrationality took over." ENRON was waiting at the other end.

Made in 2005. Still hugely relevant in 2026. Watch THE AMERICAN RULING CLASS tonight on the Criterion Channel: criterionchannel.com/films/1OQR0SwJ…

@laphamsquart @criterionchannl

WHO GETS TO JOIN THE RULING CLASS — AND WHO DECIDES? In this remarkable exchange from The American Ruling Class (2005), a young Ivy League grad asked renowned newsman Walter Cronkite how to gain entry into America’s ruling class.

Cronkite's answer was brief, but its implications are enormous, then and now. “The ruling class will invite you in," he said.

Boomers remember Cronkite as comforting Uncle Walter, "The Most Trusted Man in America." But younger generations should get to know him and listen to his words, too, because the question of who really runs America has never been more relevant.

🎬 The American Ruling Class is now streaming on The Criterion Channel. It features Lewis Lapham and Walter Cronkite, who were both also interviewed for Four Died Trying.

Watch it now: criterionchannel.com/films/1OQR0SwJ…

@laphamsquart @criterionchannl

Thanks again for a great conversation. We just recorded the first episode of our own podcast. It features a high-ranking first responder telling his true story about 9/11 for the first time. Stay tuned! —John Kirby, director, @respondersfilm

When Four Died Trying returns, you'll hear @RogerJStoneJr tell us about LBJ's involvement in the assassination of JFK