1 comments about Paris: A Musical Tour of Paris, Chantilly, Versailles & Chartres.

1. Bad. There is no narrator; it is a film with classical music. Doesn't worth seeing it.

1 comments about Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown - Episode 14: Barcelona, Spain.

1. It is a nice general documentory of Barcelona, but I can not relay on it to plan my future visit to the spain city. Too much effort is placed to make the dvd interesting , but not detail data on tourist attractions are provided.

2 comments about Discovery Atlas: Australia Revealed.

1. This title will not play in my Toshiba HD-XA2 DVD player. It locks up the player and I have to turn it off and back on to get the player to function again.
   
   If you know why this might be, please do let me know. All other HD-DVD titles and movies I've tried play fine (have not tried another Discovery Channel title though).



2. Like virtually all of the Discover Channel productions this one is excellent. I have used it in my geography classes, and shared it with the other Geography teachers in my school who also liked it. It transports the students to a place they would not otherwise see, and makes the material relevant. Better yet I even enjoyed it.
   
   I still need to purchase the Brazil and Italy films in this series as well as the "Great Wall of China". I did purchase the China Film in this series and it is also excellent!

3 comments about Video Visits: Discovering France.

1. Before this DVD, I hated the others country. But right now, my only desire is to go to the France. It's the most wonderful country in Europe and i'm sure that the frenchs are very very cool ! Buy it !



2. I had watched the Paris and France videos by Rick Steves and Globe Trekker before I took the trip there. I found this video very informative, covering various cultural aspects as well as places not mentioned in the other videos.
   
   True, some portion of the video footage appears to be taken years ago, but the commentary is much better in depth than all the others. I wish I had this video before my trip. Highly recommend.



3. When I viewed "Video Visits: Discovering France," I wept, but not with nostalgic tears of joy. Rather, I was disappointed to see images of the France of yesteryear. The inclusion of the word "video" in the title should have been a clue.
   
   More than a few scenes smacked of mid-'80s glitz and early-'90s bohemia. Yes, I loved the '80s, too. Prince, Michael Jackson and Boy George were my demigods; Donna Summer, Madonna and Boy George my demigoddesses. However, when I spend my hard-earned money on a travel DVD in anticipation of a forthcoming trip to France, I expect to view a contemporary perspective on a constantly evolving nation, including controversial issues.
   
   It should come as no surprise, therefore, that I shuddered through a Paris fashion segment featuring early-'90s outfits. Why stop with the '80s and '90s? Why not reach back to '50s Paris and show Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir at Cafe Flore, decked out in their bourgeois-best duds while engrossed in an intense, caffeine-induced dialogue?
   
   I was so annoyed with the "Video Visits" DVD, that I gave up on reminiscing my own trip to France and settled for fiction: the Hepburn-Astaire classic "Funny Face." Now, in THAT film, I never mind watching the fabulous fashion parade of yore.
   
   Thank heaven for the Travel Channel.

1 comments about Maui: Island of the Sun.

1. What an amazing DVD! The best of the best on Maui. Restaurants, activities, best beaches, tours and more. Everything you need to know about Maui before you travel or after you've returned to re-live an amazing vacation.
   
   Absolutely stunning photography in this DVD as well as one of their other tiles, Seascapes & Sunsets.
   
   I highly recommend both.

5 comments about Restless Spirits.

1. Aviation Buffs will enjoy this story of 2 aviators trying to make first Transatlantic flight from France to USA. After crash landing in Newfoundland the deceased aviators spirits are seen by a girl with *The Gift* of being able to see them. The girls deceased father, a test pilot, had same insight. When they tell her there story she decides to help them retrieve their crashed plane from lake and help them to assemble plane to so they can continue their journey. Superb storyline that whole family can enjoy. Excellent ending, Don't miss this one. AAAAAAA+++++++



2. David Wellington's award winning "Restless Spirits" is a family film much on the order of "The Boy Who Could Fly". The restless spirits belong to an actual pair of 1927 French aviators who aviation historians believe made a successful transatlantic flight two weeks before Charles Lindbergh did in May, 1927. Their names were Charles Nungesser & Francois Coli (humorously played by Lothaire Bluteau & Michel Monty) and the prevailing theory is that they crashed in a isolated area of Newfoundland.
   
   These two ghosts are tangible and approachable, even friendly although Nungesser works hard to give an unpleasant impression. Adults looking for gore, scares, and atmosphere will be disappointed although the film does succeed at developing a decent amount of tension.
   
   Juliana Wimbles does a nice job as Katie, a twelve-year-old who has not yet accepted the death of her test pilot father and whose mother has parked her and her younger brother at their paternal grandmothers while playing around in Europe with a new romantic interest. Marsha Mason plays the grandmother who has had little contact with the two children prior to this visit. She happens to live near a haunted pond and in the tradition of "Sixth Sense" Katie soon discovers that only she and her brother can see the ghosts.
   
   Because of her father's occupation Katie has a natural bond with the two French aviators and figures out why they have not passed on. In 1927 they became lost in the fog and crashed into the pond, on foggy days they must repeat the events that led to their deaths. Katie enlists the help of Andy (Ben Cook), a young neighbor who has a crush on her. They work to restore the wrecked plane so the ghost's can finally escape the pond. Suspense is generated by the interference of Andy's nasty sister, and by the competition of two archaeologists who are trying to unravel the unsolved mystery of the doomed flight.
   
   In the process Katie is able to finally come to terms with the loss of her father. She gains an understanding of death from the disparate reactions of the two aviators to their ghostly situation. Nungesser, the pilot, is upset about losing out on the fame of the first transatlantic crossing and embarrassed at crashing. Coli, the navigator/mechanic is crushed by the realization that he will never see his family again. Katie begins to understand that her father was a mix of these two sets of motivations. Pay attention to Katie's interactions with the two aviators because it is in this substitute father/daughter dynamic that the film transcends the ordinary ghost story.
   
   This is a well scripted and pleasant film with a very original premise that the whole family should enjoy, but don't expect shock and horror.
   
   Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.



3. This Showtime movie is available on video and we rented it from Blockbuster. The story is well-written and wraps up nicely at the end...just what the kids are looking for. I was intrigued by the overlap of time periods and weaving the father's interest in aviation and the impact of his death on his daughter. My kids watched it twice and were moved both times.



4. Restless Spirits is a nice Canadian movie, but it did not have an enormous budget or well-known cast (apart from Oscar-nominee Marsha Mason.)
   
   Basically, a girl in 1997 discovers crash-landed French aviators from 1927 on a foggy night, and is the only one who can see them. She helps them recover and repair their airplane so they can continue the quest to be the first men to cross the Atlantic in a plane (their attempt was 2 weeks before Lindbergh's).
   
   The actors playing the historical characters of French aviators Nungesser and Coli were very good and entertaining, and frankly, their interaction was the best part of the movie.
   
   The other plot aspects of the movie (girl not getting along with mother, etc, and rocky friendship with a local boy) were OK. The lead actress, who was quite good as well, seemed a couple years older than her character's 12 years, but that is typical movie casting.
   
   This is like a low-budget Disney movie (but not too sweet), so it is pretty safe for family viewing, though a young girl slips in one "S" word off camera, and a tee-shirt has an "E" logo and the word "Egotesticle" on it - which I found amusing.
   
   My only "problems" were with the reality parts (such as 2 men lifting an engine weighing at least 350 lbs, etc, and some other "convenient" circumstances), but not the fantasy parts.
   
   The movie is an interesting blend of drama, fantasy, and aviation history. Though I'm way past the Disney age group, I enjoyed it for what it was.



5. This is a paste from my IMDB review of the VHS tape. I am *so* happy that this is now on DVD. After publication of my review I was contacted by a French fellow who was researching the flight:
   
   Shown on Showtime as "Restless Spirits," this is a fine tale of a pair of aviators flying from France to Newfoundland trying to be the first to cross the Atlantic. They crash in an odd fog and every time that fog reappears they crash again with no memory of the previous crashes.
   
   At the time of the story it is sixty years later and they don't know that Lindbergh won the prize for the first crossing and they don't know they are ghosts.
   
   The protagonist is the 12-year-old Juliana Wimbles playing Katie who finds them and figures out both their problem and the solution while they help her come to terms with her father's death in a test plane crash and with her mother's new romance.
   
   I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and expect to view it over and over just as I see such similar movies as "Groundhog Day," "Somewhere in Time," and "Time at the Top" over and over.

No comments about Globe Trekker: South America Box Set.

2 comments about Video Visits: Discovering Egypt.

1. I enjoyed this trip around modern Egypt as well as the ancient Egyptian cities that they recolored. It gives a feeling that your really there. DVD extras -Great Pyramids at Giza this area of the extras show how many men it took to build the great pyramids at Giza. They also show you what the pyramids looked like 4,000 years ago. -Ancient Egyptian Cities, this area of the extras gives you a close look into ancient times of these cities. This will take you through the Nile, the longest river in the world today.

   The most fascinating thing in this DVD is the fact that they took modern looking cities and covered them with computer imagery to make it as if it were the time of ancient Egypt. It looked more realistic than I would expect from a computer image.

   I was not expecting to see nudity though it was quite mild and related to artwork and paintings not live persons.

   The DVD is broken into three portions, the main part and two extras. All added together, it was a 2 hour program.




2. The dvd id well done and informative. Anyone desiring to go to Egypt should make the investment and take the time to see this presentation.

No comments about Nature: The Gorilla King.

4 comments about Venice: A Musical Journey - A Musical Tour of the City's Past and Present.

1. I watched this right after the awful "A Travelers Guide To Italy" DVD, and this prodution shines by comparison. The music is taseful, and the camera-work is professional, giving good views of Venice. It does get a bit repetitive. There are too many shots of small side canals in overcast weather, and not enough panoramic views to help orient the viewer. Very little of the video was shot on sunny days, whic may reflect the budget of the production as much as it does the local weather. Some brighter scenes might have brought out the beauty of the city more. All the camera angles are simple ones on the ground or a boat, much as one could get with a decent 3-chip camera and a tripod. I realize crane and helicopter shots are expensive, but one feels the lack of budget when trying to get an overview of an entire city.
   
   As a mood piece it is OK. As a preview for a visitor (my intended use), it is lacking.



2. I was unexpectedly pleased with this DVD. It can be used as a calming relaxation DVD or for more informational purposes. It comes with a descriptive booklet, but the same information is provided on the DVD. You can look up information about the places in each section and the musical pieces that accompany them, either in the booklet or on the DVD. There is a brief descriptive title indicating the general locale at the beginning of each section as the film is viewed, but the main menu indicates where the more detailed information can be found. The scenery of Venice is beautiful and relaxing. The music is equally gorgeous.



3. In preparation for our first visit to Venice, we watched this DVD and were totally entranced by the scenes and the music. It captures the romance and mystique of the city, in all the seasons and even takes you out to the surrounding islands. Now that we are home, we watch it to bring back all the wonderful memories of our visit.



4. This sumptuous musical tour of Venice and outlying islands is fabulous! The scenes of preparation for carnival and the scenes of the little known islands of Torcello and Burano are worth the DVD alone. I've bought three copies: one for myself and two for friends. I can't recommend the DVD for lovers of Venice enough.