Discovering Yellowstone

Customer Reviews:

so so video.......2003-10-21

It definitely does not live up to the standard set by National Geographics for scenery video.

A major disappointment.......2003-10-18

~This DVD has two major flaws.

First, it is like a collection of uncorrelated pieces of video segments, no central theme, just jump from one to another. And similar segments of the same scene will appear several times in different places with no reason.

Second, the view is really short-sighted. It gives the impression that someone is shooting his backyard, instead of the biggest national park. Always a few animals at a small place, or even one small dirty ugly broken tree with a deer. The~~ same non-exciting scenes you will encounter numerous times everyday and which you will never want to pay attention. But here it is used to represent the most beautiful park in the world.

After all, after watching this DVD, you will get the feeling that a small county park near your home is much more beautiful than yellowstone.~

Excellent Scenic Overview.......2002-06-05

This is an outstanding visual tour of Yellowstone National Park. The video presentation is superb, probably the best of any travel or nature video I've seen. It's easy to understand why Tom Murphy is an "award winning videographer".

Take note, however, that this is not really a "travel" video. There are no tips for planning lodging, tours, activities, etc. There are also no campy "reenactments" or kitschy nostalgia segments like I've encountered on other videos in this category. The DVD extra's are limited to Screensavers and a calendar that did not work on my WinME system.

The emphasis is obviously on the 35 minute visual presentation. The pace is modest, segueing gently from one beautiful view to the next, accompanied by a pleasant soundtrack mixed with ambient sounds. DISCOVERING YELLOWSTONE does a great job of showing the diversity of Yellowstone. While geysers and thermal pools are included the mountains, waters and wildlife of the park are better represented than is sometimes the case.

The audio commentary is quite sparse - there is dialogue for perhaps 15-20% of the total running time. Fortunately the editors also included quite a few captions identifying various landmarks, so it's possible to enjoy the view without those nagging "where IS that, I wonder" questions.

This DVD is probably best suited to those who have already visited Yellowstone and want to relive the experience. For those planning their first trip, or just curious about the world's first National Park, DISCOVERING YELOWSTONE does a excellent job of presenting the many visual wonders of Yellowstone.

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