Old and New in Three Southeast States

SOUTHEAST (American Automobile Assn., 60 minutes, 1992).

This tour of three of America’s southeastern states--North and South Carolina and Georgia--is beautifully photographed and crammed with information on major industrial, cultural and historic sites.

The video begins with scenes of North Carolina’s Outer Banks that include Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Roanoke Island, where the first British settlements were made (1585 and 1587), and Kill Devil Hills’ monument to the Wright Brothers.

Moving inland, the video explores North Carolina’s capital city of Raleigh, which, along with nearby Chapel Hill and Durham, constitutes the huge Research Triangle Institute, a well-known scientific research center.

The far western area of the state is a vacationland that includes the scenic Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway to the Great Smoky Mountains and the city of Asheville, home of author Thomas C. Wolfe and site of the elegant Biltmore Estate.

South Carolina features a tour of Charleston, with its regal old homes and numerous historic churches, cemeteries and museums. Also visited in the harbor area are Ft. Sumter, Ft. Moultrie, Patriots’ Point and the aircraft carrier, Yorktown. A visit to the capital city of Columbia offers views of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and lovely homes and gardens.

Along the coast, viewers get a look at the resort areas of Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island.

The tour of Georgia concentrates on the cities of Atlanta and Savannah, and the many sites related to the Civil War. Atlanta, rebuilt after the war, is the site of has numerous battlefields and museums. Also featured is a look at the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Carter Presidential Center. Farther south is Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Little White House at Warm Springs. There’s also a visit east of Atlanta to Stone Mountain, the world’s largest granite monolith.

The highway to Savannah from Atlanta passes through Macon and the Ocmulgee National Monument, site of vast excavations of indigenous settlements.

In Savannah, viewers hear about the role the city played in the Revolutionary and Civil wars, while the film shows scenes of the historic waterfront area, the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum and the beautiful residential area. Just east of Savannah is Ft. Pulaski National Monument, and, on the border with Florida, the video visits the Okefenokee Swamp and wildlife park.

Tapes are available from AAA Video Service, 200 Fillmore, Suite 106, Denver, Colo. 80206, (800) 875-5000cq. Price: $29.95 for members, $24.95 for non-members (plus tax and postage).

TOURING ITALY (Questar Video Inc., 60 minutes, 1993).

With maps, history-filled narration and a look at the wondrous works of art and architecture, this video offers viewers a wonderfully filmed tour of Italy, “the living museum.”

The tour of Naples includes the home of Enrico Caruso. Viewers see and hear old film and recordings of the tenor, tour the ghostly ruins of Pompeii, and drive the Amalfi Coast through Sorrento, overlooking the isle of Capri.

Off the toe of Italy there are scenes of the island of Sicily and a visit to the resort city of Syracuse.

In Northern Italy, the video tours Bologna, then visits Padua and Verona, both reflecting a Shakespearean connection. In Venice, scenes include the glittering bay, its many islands, canals, bridges, plus the opera house, Piazza San Marco and Rialto Bridge.

Viewers can see mountain climbers in the Italian Alps, visit beautiful Lake Como and the fashion and business center of Milan. Here, scenes and narration cover the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci. There’s also old film footage of Benito Mussolini, who was both born and executed in Milan.

Along the northwestern coast, scenes cover the Riviera resort towns, with stops at the sidewalk cafes of Portofino and at Christopher Columbus’ home in Genoa.

The video then heads south to the Chianti vineyards and the cultural attractions of Florence, including scenes of the Uffizi Gallery, the magnificent Duomo and Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia Gallery.

The video winds up with a tour of Rome and the nearby areas of Tivoli and Ostia. In Rome, viewers see many of the historical sites, shops, piazzas and fountains, and tour Vatican City, including the Basilica, Michelangelo’s Pieta and the Sistine Chapel.

Tapes are available from Questar Video, P.O. Box 11345, Chicago, Ill. 60611-0345, (800) 633-5633. Price: $29.95 (plus tax and postage).

EUROPE, THE GRAND TOUR (Rand McNally Video Traveler Collection, 38 minutes, 1993).

This is a beautifully illustrated, if conventional, travelogue that would appeal more to the first-time European traveler. It offers a preview of some of the most popular destinations from which to plan an itinerary.

With a narration that reflects the recent major political and geographic changes, of recent years, the journey includes such traditional scenes as an aerial view of London; the sidewalk cafes of Paris; the Alpine peaks of Switzerland; gondolas on the canals of Venice; the cobbled streets and beautiful gardens of Warsaw; the Acropolis of Athens; Gypsy music in Budapest; the chocolate shops of Brussels; the “Sound of Music” scenery of Austria; the exotic architecture of Istanbul, and folk dancing in the Czech and Slovakian republics.

The brief excursions into the Baltic countries include the capital cities of Vilnius, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia, and Tallinn, Estonia, where the peoples’ determination to restore and retain their national identities are emphasized. The stops in Russia include scenes of St. Petersburg and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, its famous circus and the Kremlin.

Tapes are available from International Video Network, 2242 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, Calif. 94583, (800) 669-4486. Price: $9.95 (plus tax and postage).

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