Product Description
2 Episodes on 1 DVD! Bordered by the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, Canada is the world’s second largest country. Influenced throughout history by a plethora of cultures and traditions, it has grown into a thriving, multicultural country full of confident and characterful cities. In contrast, it’s also home to some of the biggest mountains in North America and virtually unpopulated, spectacular wilderness. Traveler Ian Wright begins the journey in Montre… More >>
#1 by Anton Karidian on April 19, 2010 - 12:50 am
I had never seen any of the Globe Trekker programs before, but I found this one to be quite enjoyable. As is detailed in the product description above, this is actually two films combined on one DVD, one film being in eastern Canada, and one in western Canada. With a total 2-hour run time, you do get to see a good bit of Canada, and the guides of both films are easy-going and humorous. I liked too that both films were done in a “you are there” style, with a single host showing us the extraordinary as well as the mundane aspects of the journey. Generally, I like that better than I do films having an invisible narrator reciting general data about what we are seeing.
However, I agree with another reviewer here that even at 2 hours this DVD feels a bit rushed, since it IS covering a huge amount of territory. As, when one of the guides goes through Montreal, you don’t get much of a sense of that interesting city since he basically stays overnight there and goes through a mall, then on with his journey! So in addition to this DVD, you probably would also want to see more detailed films of the areas covered here. One mild objection I have is that on each program there are 1 or 2 segments that are quite offensive. In one segment, there is graphic filming of animals that have been killed to be eaten at a festival; in another, the guide cleans out horse stalls at a rodeo and makes crude jokes; and a few other instances. Of course, not everyone would be offended by these things, but still I felt like they were unnecessary and created moments of unease in the mixed company where I watched them.
But overall I found this DVD to be very enjoyable. You do get a general sense of various parts of Canada, and there’s a lot of great scenery here too.
Rating: 4 / 5
#2 by Manny Hernandez on April 19, 2010 - 1:29 am
It may be a bit too much to say that this DVD has all you can do outdoors in Canada, but it certainly shows a lot of things you can do along the way while you follow one of two paths (one for the summer -across the Rockies, heading to the west of the country- and one for the wintertime -heading towards Arctic Canada-) suggested in the DVD.
The landscapes and recommended trips are as amazing as Canada can be and each path has a different host with a great sense of humor. The one thing that bothered me about the overall package is that, in spite of the total of two hours of running time, it made me feel as if there was a rush to take the traveller through the adventure, which left me wanting some more footage and tips. I guess that can be obtained in the Canada book from the Eyewitness Guides series, but still I wouldn’t give it five stars because of this.
Rating: 4 / 5