Director Bob Smeaton
This is a documentary (rockumentary?) covering a tour of a number of American bands across Canada in 1970. Post-Woodstock and a couple of other large free-loving and living festivals of the late 1960s; this tour was something different, in that the artists didn?t fly in and out of the venues ? they […]

This is a ?monster? package of over 12 hours duration that contains 15 separate (yet seamless) episodes. It is a series I loved (and found was required viewing) on Sunday evenings on the ABC, upon its initial release in the 1970’s and early 1980s.
The program features the exploits of James Onedin, an ambitious young […]

Based on the celebrated work of the same name by Geoffrey Chaucer; this series presents adaptations of segments of his book, but set in the late 20th Century. The series comprises six episodes each of 50-odd minutes. At this point I will have to indicate this series has ?told? me that I am […]

Directed by Nick Cassavetes
Based on a best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks adapted by Jan Sardi, with a screenplay by Jeremy Leven, and touted by various reviewers as a ?love story by formula?, and ?the best ?weepie? in years?; The Notebook is to me a fairly predictable and basic love story that owes its quality to […]

The Map Makers is a three part series that explores three landmark cases in the field of cartography (or mapmaking). The three documentaries are quite independent of each other and can be viewed according to one?s interest. Subjects covered are:
The Waldseemulller Map of 1507 ? the main claim to fame of this particular […]

Directed by Roger Michell
NOTE: before I start this review, I have to point out that this was a preview disc and did not have all the features that would be available on the final release.
The Mother is a beautifully crafted film with a generally minimalist storyline, sparing with dialogue, very simple musical score, but with […]

Directed by John Carpenter;
The film opens with an old salt scaring the life out of a group of children beside a campfire - telling them of a ghastly vengeance that will beset the local area on a strange foggy night. The night of this storytelling just happens to coincide with the eve of […]

Directed by Paul Seed (the first two series) and Mike Vardy (final series
Note: Do not confuse this series with the movie of the same name with Tommy Lee Jones and Kathleen Turner!
I?ve been fortunate enough to be the reviewer of a couple of ?magic? series recently ? notably Frontline and The Seven Wonders of […]

Directed by Roger Young;
Force Video has provided Augustus as a ?preview screening release? (with a rather pervasive graphic reminding of this throughout!) ? it is a program that I cannot find any detail about concerning its origin, though clearly from the opening credits and end titles, it is largely an Italian production.
It would seem […]

Narrated by Robert Lindsay
A surprising ratings winner for the ABC when it was televised earlier this year; it is an evocative and magnificent coverage of seven 19th and 20th Century engineering projects that were to improve our modern way of life and promote a greater understanding of the built environment.
That the developed world now moves […]