Subway: The Empire Beneath New York's Streets (1994)

August Belmont, the Trump of his day, liked to transport friends from the Belmont Hotel in Manhattan to Belmont Park on Long Island in his personal subway car, which was done up in mahogany, velvet, and stained glass. More startling, perhaps, is that in 1904 construction of New York City's Interborough Rapid Transit was completed on time and on budget. Despite such rich factoids, the bland narration and lackluster archival footage of Subway: The Empire Beneath New York's Streets barely skim the surface of a groundbreaking technical and sociological phenomenon. For a truly educational experience, take the A train. B-