Aerial America – New England Collection, Blu-ray (2013)
Aerial views of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Connecticut Director: Richard Mervyn Voice-over: Jim Conrad Studio: Smithsonian Channel [7/9/13] Video: 16:9 1080i HD color Audio: English DD 5.1 Subtitles: English Length, Total: 276 minutes Rating: ****There have been VHS tapes, laserdiscs and DVDs consisting of aerial views of various places on earth, but with the latest non-shaky hi-def images and the perfect Blu-ray presentation this one really stands out. The camera soars over the six states of New England, where the sun first comes up each day, and where our country was founded hundreds of years ago. Breathtaking views occur as we sail over the scenic coastlines, beautiful mountains and various important points in each state.There are also some zoom-ins to the homes of important people of today and in history. For example, I learned that Stephen King has bats and spiders on the wrought-iron gate to his home.
Some of the flights occur in different seasons, and we see the lovely autumn foilage in some areas, and the winter wonderland in others. The narrator’s spiel is not annoying as with some such travelogues, and there is no jumpiness of the pans and flights over the lands below (which may have to do with the technologies of your particular display). There’s more here than one can really absorb in a single sitting; I only got thru two of the states on my first viewing.
—John Sunier
