Customer Reviews

The Best of On the Road With Charles Kuralt [VHS]

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I am an elementary art teacher & use this video while teaching Claude Monet. I never tire of watching it, & neither do the kids. I use it in my third grade curriculum, but kids in grades 4-6 request to see it again & again! I also use the book of the same name which is nearly identical to the video. It is 30 minutes long, just right for young attention spans, and allows time at the end of class to make lily pads & flowers "from Monet's Garden"! My favorite lesson. :o)

I use this video in an "Arts Alive" presentation I do for third graders. I have used it for 3 years and it is VERY well received by the classes. It really brings Monet's paintings alive and shows them that art still lives. It is a combo of cartoon story, still photos of Monet's works and live-action video of his home in Giverny. A perfect choice for any school arts program of a great video for kids of any age.

Charles Kuralt was the poet of small town America the way Vin Scully is the poet of Dodger Stadium. Relaxed, warm, folksy and deceptively insightful. He had a way of setting you at ease and somehow convincing you that the entire cosmos could be found in the minutia of this one fleeting moment. His beloved little program, 'ON THE ROAD' (1967-80) in which he traveled the backroads of America in a motorhome to show us the real heart of the country was eagerly anticipated by countless people every weekend - myself included.

Once every couple of years, when I need a little lift, I get out my boxed set of THE BEST OF 'ON THE ROAD' WITH CHARLES KURALT' and pop in one of the three 60 minute tapes. I invariably end up watching all three in one sitting. It's as if once I'm on the road, I can't quite convince myself to pull into a rest stop. Just a few days ago I created a new Amazon Listmania List called, 'EXPLORE THE U.S.A.' in which I included this set. And then I felt inspired to view the tapes again, and decided to review them since currently only two other people have.

Tape 1 - THE AMERICAN HERITAGE: We start out at the beginning (always a good place to start) when Kuralt takes us to the roaring wind-swept dunes on Roanoke Island, North Carolina and the site that John White and the early English settlers of 1587 decided to call "Home." We see where they lived and ponder the great mystery of their disappearance.

Then it's off to Independence Hall in Philadelphia where independence from England was first declared, and where the U.S. Constitution was later hammered out. Kuralt relives those tumultuous times and his sense of awe and admiration is evident. "There were great men in those days. Never from that time to this has so much greatness crowded onto the American stage", he informs us. I for one, agree with him. But then Kuralt nominates his choice for "greatest" and takes us to Monticello, the stately residence of Thomas Jefferson and shows us the very bed that Jefferson passed away on one Fourth of July!

Then we go "on the road" again to the survey site of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. It's funny to hear Kuralt close the segment with the statement that "the French don't talk about it much." In The American Heritage we also get to visit Wyoming's "Register Cliff" on the Oregon Trail; the place of Custer's Last Stand at Little Bighorn, Montana; the old Spanish Missions of California; horseback cowboys in Texas; Dearborn, Michigan and the Henry Ford museum; Tuskegee University and the inspiring story of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver; and then to the annual Town Meeting in tiny Stamford, Vermont where pure Democracy is practiced.

Kuralt closes tape one with the comment: "All these places that we have visited are waiting for you to visit them, too. You'll feel prouder of the country afterwards. We do."

Most of these segments were originally filmed for television in the 1970's and so the picture clarity is not all that we've come to expect, and once or twice a trace of political correctness may seep in (afterall, this was a CBS-sponsored program), but these are small prices to pay for such richness that can be enjoyed again and again.

Tape 2 - SEASONS OF AMERICA: This time we go on the road with Charles Kuralt to experience the seasons. In Spring it's the "romance" of tapping maple syrup from trees in Vermont; harvesting daffodils in Virginia; at Appomattox Courthouse, where Lee surrendered to Grant, we find the blooming of the pink and white Dogwood's and learn that this is "the most American of trees being native to 40 of our states and native nowhere else on Earth."; then there's the indescribably heartwarming story of the old man of Surry County, Virginia and his 13 acre garden planted simply for the pleasure of others, and the surprising twist at the story's conclusion.

In Summer we go tubing on a river in Wisconsin; we participate in the funny, but heartfelt 4th of July activities in the small towns of the midwest, and in the Tom Sawyer Days celebration in Mark Twain's, Hannibal, Missouri. It just doesn't get more "American" than this!

Autumn finds us in Pacific Grove, California for the mysterious butterfly migration; Colorado Springs for the pumpkin harvesting by countless school kids at the Venetucci Brothers farm; and of course, Kuralt takes us to New England for the "shower of scarlet, lemon and gold leaves" and wood pile constructing in preparation for Winter.

In Winter, the horse, "Babe" takes us for a ride in an 1890 sleigh in Connecticut; in Miller's Mills, New York, we follow the honored tradition of genrations past in cutting and storing pond ice for next July's ice cream social; and we finish the year with the inspiring story of the miraculous Juniper tree in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and its yearly Christmas message to everyone "on the road."

Tape 3 - UNFORGETTABLE PEOPLE: Kuralt introduces us to many types of people here, like Bill Patch, who converted his old Nash Rambler to run on corn cobs - gets 3 miles to the bushel. With the price of gas, I'm ready to buy one! But my favorites were from the Carolinas: Jethro Mann, an old black man in Belmont, North Carolina, and Agatha Burgess, an old white woman in Buffalo, South Carolina. Mann, entirely at his own expense, restores old bicycles and loans them out daily to the poor kids in town so that they can all experience the pleasure of having a bike and being on the road. Burgess spends all day, every day, cooking in her small kitchen so that anybody who wants to, can have a hot homecooked meal at a nominal price, and eat it in her own home. It's what she wants to do, and she tells us that she "always gets what she wants", and sagely adds, "But I know what to want."

And then there's the wonderful story of the formerly dirt-poor and cotton-picking Chandler family of Mississippi. There's parents Alex and Mary, and their nine children, all who helped one another to graduate from college. We join them for their Thanksgiving celebration and watch as they are all reduced to tears in thanking God for His goodness.

THE BEST OF 'ON THE ROAD' WITH CHARLES KURALT is a great set. It should be enjoyed by any viewer, and I think it would make an excellent additon to a homeschooler's library. If you can watch all 3 of these tapes and never once feel the moisture of joy welling up a little in your eyes, then there is simply no warmth left in you. This doesn't just mean that you're dead, of course, but that you've likely been dead for a good long while.

I bought this video after reading all of the reviews. My daughter grew up with Barney and other TV shows, loves Disney animated films and is generally an aficionado of the visual television/movie medium! I was worried that the pace of this might be too slow and that the criticism mentioned by one reviewer would apply in my daughter's situation. I wanted her to "learn" about Monet, however, so decided to try it out.

She's not an artist and loves action-packed videos, but still loved this video. She immediately identified with Linnea (but laughingly said Linnea is more polite than she!) and loved the interaction with the old man, Mr. Bloom. She was entranced with the glimpses of Monet from photographs and paintings intertwined with the video. Linnea helped her see how the paintings looked "splotchy" up close but were beautiful impressions when viewed from further back.

The only criticism I have is that the mouths don't quite move appropriately with the words being said! This is distracting (and is no doubt why some reviewers thought the video was poor quality). It didn't bother my six year old, however, and after a while, I didn't notice it either.

The video brings Monet to life by the appreciation of his work that it engenders. Its peaceful feeling and pace mesh with the subject and enhance understanding.

The book Linnea in Monet's Garden has been a favorite in our house for years, and when I found the DVD some time ago I bought it right away. Since then it has been played over and over again. By myself, but mostly by my six years old daughter. We have been to Monet's garden in Giverny, and watching the video brings back such good memories.

The vidoe is so creatively made, with the story of the small girl Linnea and her old friend and neighbour Mr. Bloom. They are both lovers of flowers and of painters, and Monet is one of their favorites. They both dream about going from Sweden where they live, to Giverny and Monet's garden outside Paris. And wonder over all wonders, one day their dream comes true. They travel together to Paris and to Giverny, and we are invited to go with them.

The story is told in a charming way, with alot of illustrations from their trip and we also get to know several of Monet's paintings. Both children and adults will learn alot about Monet and his life, and about the impressionist period in art.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

My 3 yo loves this movie and asks for it daily as "Mr. Bloom". It's a very peaceful movie, with nice human to human discussion about painting and Monet's life. My younger daughter isn't very interested in painting or viewing art, so the appeal for her likely goes beyond the obvious subject.

Thoughts I have on why (she hasn't told me why she loves it so), are because of the simple animation, and IME, young children love interacting with older people. This movie is a very nice conversation between two people who clearly respect each other. Maybe children don't see enough of that in our age-segregated society.

There some nice shots of a couple of Monet's paintings, but my daughter hasn't swung into painting in the Impressionist style as a result of viewing this. :-)

I teach elementary art and showed this video for the first time to my fourth grade students. They were very impressed with the story line and the little "tid-bits" of Monet trivia along the way. When we completed the video I had several students ask about a field trip to Monet's Garden! The ooh's and aah's that the children were giving pretty much sums it all up!!

As a fan of Impressionist art, I eyed the Linnea books and video before I had kids. Found it on sale and gave it to my 2.5-year-old for Christmas last year. Thought it would be a long time before he'd be interested. Wrong! He asks for this video EVERY day. Apparently it reaches him on some level, and it's a video I think he'll get more from as the years go by. I love the way they blend real photos of Monet, Giverny, and the art with the cartoon. Its low-key production is very refreshing in an age where children are bombarded with special effects from the earliest ages.

April 28, 2004

I first came upon this charming short in the Children's Room of the Donnell Library, part of the NYPL. I was intrigued by a film for children explaining Monet, one of the harder artists to explain in art appreciation terms for young people. I was not disappointed.

This short from Sweden with English-language dubbing has a number of subtle qualities: a mediation on a well-known but elusive artist and his life; the relationship between Linnea, a curious and sometimes feisty child of about 9 or 10, and her upstairs neighbor, the kindly Mr. Bloom (Blomquist in Swedish), just the right friend and mentor a young person should have to introduce them to art, and on the French countryside they encounter at Giverny, a character in itself. Unusual and charming, Linnea could be introduced to other artists in future films but then the style and content might become formulaic. Better to leave them both in Monet's Garden. The animation is quiet and unobstrusive and would be good to introduce American children to, accustomed to more fast-moving and louder styles.

My sons (3 & 6 years old) both like this movie and have watched it many times. They are active children, but do not watch much TV and are not comfortable with the violence on many videos such as many of the Disney ones. We have several of these movies which they call "scary" and refuse to watch unless a parent is right there. The boys prefer this movie (along with a few others like veggie tales) and both sit still for it. It has sparked some interesting conversations not only about art but also about travel, geography, and languages.

If you and your children prefer a bunch of bells and whistles (or fights and explosions) this is not the video for you. But if you want something different, something lovely without being too sweet or annoying, this is a good choice.