Wednesday, May 2, 2007

VISIONS OF ENGLAND-DOCUMENTARY DVD REVIEW


A short blurb from Acorn Media about Visions Of England- See the natural beauty and man-made wonders of England from a stunning vantage point! A helicopter-mounted camera surveys this land of history and mysteries, literature and fairy tales, castles and conquerors.

I had first seen this documentary on PBS a year or two ago and was totally mesmerized and in awe of this aerial view of England! It is a wonderful idea and job that photographer Roy Hammond did with simply filming from the underbelly of a helicopter and pointing out the countryside and cites of England while being wonderfully narrated by Franca Barchiesi. What I personally enjoy about the program is its eclectic soundtrack and with easy, nice pans and swoops over the countryside that many places in England you would never see. The disc also has 19 minutes of bonus footage not seen on TV which gives you even more depth to this country. It is also filmed in Widescreen that gives you a movie theater feel.

VIDEO

The video quality is stunning! The documentary is done on video but looks fabulous! It is also in Widescreen. The documentary runs approx with bonus footage 94 minutes.


Audio

Was originally recorded in Mono. It is also Mono on this disc.

Disc 1- 1. Opening, Dover, Martello Tower, Town of Battle, Bodiam Castle

2. Eastbourne, Palace Pier, Royal Pavilion, Isle of Wight, Carisbrooke Castle, Osborne House, Southampton, Salisbury Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, Stonehenge

3. Stourhead, Uffington White Horse, Hadrian’s Wall, Fountains Abbey, Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough Lighthouse, Hunber Bridge, York, Castle Howard

4. Blackpool, Liverpool, Queen Square, Severn Road Bridge, Exmoor National Park, Dunster Castle, Cheddar, Wells Cathedral, Bath

5. Newmarket, Cotswolds, Cambridge, Kings College, Stratford-upon-Avon, Royal Shakespeare Theater, Blenheim Palace, Oxford, London

6. Thames River, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Marble Arch, British Museum, Admiralty Arch, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Baker Street

7. Price Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall, Covent Garden, Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, Kew Gardens, Regent’s Park, Tower Bridge, Tower Of London, Globe Theatre, Westminster Abbey, Harrods

8. Royal Naval College, Royal Observatory, Thames Flood Barrier, Canterbury, Channel Tunnel

9. Credits



Extras

Disc 1: 19 minutes of bonus footage that was not shown on PBS.

Verdict

What a wonderful DVD this is! I cannot say enough about this program. Please buy and experience the other DVDs in the “Visions Of” series. You’ll be glad you did!


Rating; *****!

No comments: