It received positive reviews from critics, and won a Blue Ribbon at the 1975 American Film Festival.
The Shakers opens with the Narrator, Tom Davenport, reading a quote Benson John Lossing from an 1857 edition of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, speaking of the order, neatness, and beauty of a Shaker community.
[1] Shots of Shaker sisters sweeping, cooking, filling bird feeders, and washing clothes are shown, with numerous cuts to show historical images of the Shakers accompanied by the Narrator discussing their growth and decline.
[1] Sister Mildred Barker is heard singing while the Narrator speaks about Shaker worship and music.
[1] Sister Mildred was then shown singing "With a New Tongue", before switching to the Narrator's reading of the Shakers' Millennial Laws of 1845 regarding church leadership.
[1] Eldress Marguerite Frost of the Canterbury community is then shown singing, and speaking of the humility the hymns brings.
[1] The film ends with the Sabbathday Lake Shakers singing the hymn "O, Brighter than the Morning Star".
I'm sure that I basically felt that I'd better stay out of it, because, you know, you can't go around telling an editor what to do if he's a co-filmmaker with you.
[2][6] The relationship between the communities was so damaged that the members of the two refused to even see each other, even on the bicentennial celebration of the Shakers' arrival in the United States.
[6] This posed a challenge for Davenport, as he had already filmed at both locations, and now had to account for the portrayal of each community and its views on Shaker administration and theology in relation to the other.
[2] He decided not to include any mention on the controversy in the film, focusing on Shaker life before the issue arose.
Which was another dilemma, because the story was breaking in the press... Of course, when it was over, both of us felt disappointed that the film couldn't please the Shakers.
[4][7] It was produced by Davenport Films and the Curriculum in Folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"[8] Richard Harrington in a March 1989 article in The Washington Post called it a "definitive portrait [of the Shakers].
"[9] Merrill Sheils of Newsweek called it “a touching, and probably final, glimpse of the Shakers,” underscoring the importance of the film.
"[11] The Shakers is available on VHS, sold by PBS as part of their "The American Traditional Culture Series".