Visions Of Greece (Special Interest)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B- Episodes: B-
Many of the tour/travelogue pieces that get made for home
video and TV, can at least look good, but can be even more involving when the
producers, camera operators and director(s) have good taste. Initially made for public TV, Visions Of
Greece (2002) is a two-part program that shoots every possible name
location in the ancient world survivor with what was then the best High
Definition digital video they could get their hands on. The result is comprehensive and has its
moments.
All on one DVD, the first episode bears the title of this
DVD and features al the major name locations, while the second Off The
Beaten Path installment goes out of its way to build on the first show and
get into the “nooks and crannies” of the country. This is as interesting but has almost the same camera
approach. The advantage is that we see
all the lands, but I wonder if it is a problem that we eventually do not get
more up close. From these distances, we
cannot see enough people or get more personally involved, and that is
especially an issue when all the material runs 167 minutes total. Greece can be argued as the character, but
nearly three hours is still a long time.
However, the more you get into either of the programs, the
better it gets. One will either enjoy
this as I did for the most part, or not be able to find entry into the almost
non-stop journey. For those viewers in
the latter category, try to be in the mood before you watch and you will find
this enjoyable as intended.
The anamorphically enhanced 16 X 9/1.78 X 1 image has some
detail troubles for whatever reason, but the color is very nice
throughout. On the non-anamorphic,
similarly framed extra footage, detail is a larger issue and it is odd that it
would not get the same treatment. The
sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo throughout and has no surround information,
despite a really pleasant music score. For a recent production, that is
odd. Outside of the extra footage for
both segments, there are no other extras, but anyone interested in even seeing
some of Greece cannot go wrong with Visions Of Greece. The Acorn Media-release for WLIW is at least
thorough.
- Nicholas Sheffo
