Customer Reviews

The 1964 World's Fair

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For those who remember the 1964 World's Fair with great fondness will be enjoy this DVD while being greatly disappointed at the same time. While it's great to see the Fair again in these vintage films, there is too much time spent on the personal recollections of a small group of Fair-goers (filmed in the 1990s) and not enough good-quality footage of the exhibits themselves. I remember the Fair as a great, exciting, colorful experience - here it comes across a bit as a grainy, pastel, pleasantly-remembered weekend.

Half of the 52 minutes of this DVD is spent on aging baby boomers reminiscing in their living rooms about their experiences at the fair. Then there's the obligatory fair "expert and social commentator". (This guy really needs to find a job). By the time we get to the actual sights and sounds of the fair -- all that's left is the construction of the Unisphere, a shot of a middle-aged couple eating the famed Belgian Waffles, and finally...a few minutes spent inside the GM pavillion. We might have seen more of the fair if those aforementioned baby boomers had showed us their scrapbooks. This video just has no soul. Should be in the dollar bin next to the checkout counter.

I'd have to give this video a C minus- for anyone who cherishes the '64 World's Fair the way that I do, it's a severe disappointment. There were SO many sights and sounds to relive, they could have filled the entire video with glorified home movies and still photographs for 2 hours, and it would have satisfied fair buffs better than this. (Too much time was spent on the history of the fair's planning, interviews with fair attendees, etc..) Apparently, the "filmakers" were obsessed with only using actual "moving film footage" and had to hedge the rest with the interviews, etc. (Perhaps they should have taken a cue from Ken Burns, since there is a MOUNTAIN of still photographs from this memorable event that could have been used.) If you want to relive the fair, try to only rent this video if you can, and supplement it by finding old "Viewmaster" reels and collectible fair photo books- this video brings back a few memories, but not enough.

Instead of alot of video of the Fair itself, this DVD depended upon the recollections of many visitors, who were interviewed.

While it was nice to hear their stories, it would have been nicer to actually see video of what they were talking about. Perhaps more audio of the Fair would have been good as well.

Albeit was 1964/65, I'm sure this PBS Special could have gone back to the News Archives of the time and showed what type of coverage the World's Fair had been getting.

I'll give it 1 star, because it brought back some nice memories, but is was not quite worth the price.

A great documentary catching the essence of the fair. Living in Queens and visiting the park where the fair once was, but being too young to have attended left me curious about the 1964 events for years. This film satisfied most of my curiousity. The political background, the cronologic presentation, the highlights of the shows, and especially the interviews were insightful. This film would have been more complete with an extra chapter at the end showing what happened to the pavilions since. Maybe a future part two could include that. The DVD picture and sound quality is very good.

Despite the previous post, I find this DVD is a must-see for anyone who lived through the era of the 1964-65 World's Fair. Relive the nostalgia through newsclips, film and interviews. Several interesting things are brought to light - such as the little-remembered lobby against the fair. The footage (probably filmed in 8mm color) is not slick by today's standards, but still serves as a window to the past. The interviews are touching as just plain people relate their magical experiences at the fair during that bygone era. One kid actually lived in the park for several days until he was caught. If you visited the fair as a kid, you will find certain footage jogging pleasant memories long buried.

The photography, both black and white as well as color was of a very poor quality to say the least. The content deviates from the purpose of purchasing the DVD. Much too much time is spent on waving crowds, people recalling childhood memories and so many trials and tribulations in starting and finishing the project. All of this could have been compressed and could have been more meaningful. I could not sit thru the complete film. All in all it was a big disappointment.

I was very pleased and interested in this video. As a world's fair collector, I found the content, footage and the fairgoers' recollections very compelling and a joy to watch. I couldn't get enough and wanted more. I learned some interesting facts about this fair I did not know before viewing this video. I own the "World of Tomorrow" video about the 1939 New York World's Fair and consider 1964 World's Fair "Part II" of the other video. The only improvement I can see is losing the "90s" background music which I found extremely annoying and out of place with the time this fair took place. Judd Hirsch did a wonderful job narrating the video. If you are interested in World's Fairs or are just curious, this DVD is a must. By the way, I had an awful hankering for a Belgian Waffle when this videw was finished--can't explain why, just did.