its really amazing to have the chance to witness chains of events that happened in the past. i really cant imagine how it was like before, so after watching this i gained more vision about the past and the history.

I'll say it again - fascinating. Even at its least interesting, the footage remains an invaluable document of time and place. Thanks to the reviewer who provided some exact (I assume) info on what we are viewing. It would be great if anyone could add more specific info. Great credit must go to Deane Dickason, a native of Colorado in the U.S. who was responsible for producing 13 shorts, directing 7 others and writing two of the 20 - not including "Coveted East India Parts I and II" (IMDb, which does not mention the two "Coveted East India" shorts). Kudos to Deane Dickason. If you liked this one, it is imperative you view "The Coveted East Indies" in the Prelinger Archives. There you will find parts 1 & 2 along with the timings and descriptions of the various scenes.

The Dutch were very prominent in the East Indies for 300 years before this film was shot. Note the contributions in terms of architecture, engineering, social programs and defense. It's obvious, though, that little of that European knowhow - and the wealth that it engendered - was passed to the "poor" native peoples. However, the film does show some East Indians occupying some official positions, based on their suits. The class system, undoubtedly, suppressed (or, at least, did not aid) the advancement of the locals, but in the face of the engineering advances brought by the Dutch over the preceeding 300 years, it's notable that the locals seemed content to remain "poor" natives and wash their clothes in the river.

WWII was the turning point for Dutch ascendancy - the Japanese quickly took control of all Dutch-controlled areas. A Japanese promise of independence fomented a ground swell of nationalism that prevented the Dutch from reclaiming its territories after the Japanese defeat, even though Great Britain, the U.S. and, yes, Japan tried to help calm the rising nationalistic surge in favor of the Dutch.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Revolution for a mind-boggling look at the complex political history of the area.

The unique 'home' footage of this film shows the private and public life of Van Starkenborg Stachouwer, the viceroy of the Dutch East Indies until 1942. This man was the highest civil servant, representing the Dutch queen. Pomp & circumstance came with the job. In his palace formal receptions of the great princes of Indonesia and other high dignitaries took place. The abode of the ruling power had to be at least as grand as those of the subordinate powers, in a country like indonesia where appearance was all-important. By contrast, showing off personal riches was completely unacceptable among the Dutch upper class in those days.
The 'ridiculous meal' is a 'rijsttafel' or rice table, a traditional East Indian feast which in the film is served at the chic Hotel des Indes and which is still served in Indonesian restaurants.
Although the contrast between the colonials and the child laborers in this film is glaring, this was considered normal at the time.

Extraordinary footage!

The film itself is interesting, it shows kinda a past time, only it's in colour this in this case, black and white is so distancing, colour makes things really come to life. About the film... it was 99.999% surely shot silent, in those days the amateur camera didn't have any sound recording possibilities... I'd also say it was a mechanical camera, so it didn't even have an electrical motor. And I suppose that back then it was kinda OK to show these "look how rich we are" (that description hits the nail on its head) scenes, it's logical, only upper class people could afford filming, even more if in colour. Anyway interesting stuff...

The Coveted East Indies (Part II)

This gorgeously colorful (silent) film seems to be split in two. The first part seems to of be the "Oh look how rich we are" variety. We see many rich (white) people frolucking around, sitting sown, reading, getting served this ridiculous meal, servants waiting to serve them, and in one awesome scene, a white boy is compared to a Indonesian worker boy. It's an unnerving scene. The 2nd half, except for a rather bunch of naval scenes (woo! Mine laying!) seems to get off it's rich kick, and more focus on the people and the industry. Some gorgeous photography is shown here, with some fascinating shots of fabric designing and the people who make it. Quite interesting, it does take a little time to start picking up, but aside from a few scenes, quite fascinating, historical and reccomended.

This late 30s color travelogue is missing its soundtrack, or maybe it was silent to begin withÂÂit's hard to tell. Anyway, it's about the Dutch East Indies and it gives an interesting snapshot of what the islands were like on the eve of WWII. There's lots of class differences apparent here, with lots of footage of rich upper-class white people contrasted with the poor, hardworking natives. There's lots of military footage, too, as the island gear up for war. And there's lots of ordinary travelogue stuff, such as scenery and the locals showng us their culture. I sure wish there was a soundtrack to explain some of this stuff, but even without it there are some striking images, such as a bizarre poster of a political cartoon with the caption in Dutch, the sad face of a child peddlar who carries a huge yoke of stuff on his shoulders, and local women demonstrating various native crafts related to fabric dying. A great historical snapshot of a single place at a single time.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: ****.