The Making of Liberty (1986)

The history of America's most famous symbol from its conception by her creator, August Bartholdi, through her construction in 1868 and the restoration for her re-dedication in New York harbor on the Fourth of July in 1986. The film documents an intimate view about the Statue of Liberty, from the dazzling heights of the tallest freestanding scaffold ever erected, to the gold leaf on her torch. It is the story of the building and rebuilding of a monument embodying the American experience, as seen through the eyes of artisans and laborers whose tasks are separated by a hundred years, but whose vision transcends time.---"Guggenheim's measured, eloquent study is...a visual essay, beautifully realized and movingly complete."---The Washington Post