Customer Reviews

Globe Trekker: Iran

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ian yells through most of the film. You watch eat him this and that and the other. His clothes are rumpled and he looks unclean. Very little is shown of the scenery of the country. In a beautiful tiled mosque, he focuses on the echo. He has studied little about the history of the country, the religion, or the geographic elements. You have heard the phrase, "Ugly American", well this guy is an "Ugly Brit".

Iran is a beautiful country with a long history. The people are extremely talented and express their art differently from western art. Their religious practices are different from Christian and Jewish practices. They are known for their tile work in the mosques and the beautiful Islamic architecture. There is so much to show and this video showed so very, very little; what a waste of time and money to buy it and to produce it.

I have watched this so many times on PBS. I think Ian could have done a better job and emphasize less on the Islamic part of Iran. I wish he had emphasized on things non-Islamic in Iran too. But given the probable budget and time and all the restrictions they might have had, this is a job well done. It helps you learn more about the Iranian society and takes you to places you have never heard before. I definitely liked it.

The worst video I have seen on Iran by a "reporter" totally ignorant about the country's culture, arts and history. Even in one location (Naghsh-e Rostam), where below the grave sites of the great Achaemenian kings (5th-4th BC) there is the tribute mountain-carved statue of Shapur I of the Sassanians (3-4 AD) on horseback with his two captured Roman Emperor slaves (the kneeling Valerian and arms-folded attending Philip), Ian looked angry and, worse, his cameraman never showed the head of Shapur by managing to keep it out of the camera frame. In another scene Ian was playing soccer with local kids on the ancient steps of a protected archaeological area, thus showing total disrespect for the registered World Heritage Site. Mr. Wright was wrong throughout his "honorable" tour, busy eating like an animal, making faces at an image of Darius the Great in Persepolis, ridiculing the hospitable nation, and disrespecting their historical monuments everywhere he went. And I wondered why he seemed thinking of himself as being funny. A total waste of my time, and your money!

Gives good overview of Iran. Ian is a very good at what he does.

He said he was a vegetarian before going there but then film showed him eating sheep brain (yuk) and meat. He said it is hard to be a vegetarian in Iran. This is not true. I've travelled in Iran and not eaten meat. Definitely do-able.