Customer Reviews

Legends of Ireland [VHS]

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

 

 

This set has a lot of interesting opinions on the famous myths of Ireland and has some beautiful aerial views of Tara but I found the narrator to be repetitive and redundant the only reason I gave the set such a high score is because the tapes are produced fairly well and I think that they would be wonderful videos to show in Literature classes(High School particularly) to emphasize Irish mythology (which sometimes gets glossed over... if it's even covered) The tape about The Warrior Queen Maeve retells rather quickly the story of Cuhulain and the cattle raid of Cooley a good way to introduce others to some of the less widely known Irish Myths.

This set is fantastic. There are 3 videos in the set. One follows spiritual leaders, with the legends of St. Patrick and Brian the Navigator an Irish monk who "discovered" America. Another looks at legends of Fairies and Leprechauns. The final video looks at the legend of Grace O'Malley the Pirate Queen, whose story would make such a fantastic miniseries. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed these videos. Highly recommended.

VHS TAPE 1 = Saint Patrick - Brendan the Navigator
VHS TAPE 2 = Fairies and Leprechauns
VHS TAPE 3 = The Warrior Queen - The Pirate Queen

"Legends of Ireland" is an enjoyable series, not of exceptional quality but the kind of thing you might find on cable television. In fact, I believe this series first debuted on The Learning Channel. The three tapes in the series each follow a theme of sort, with the first highlighting two Catholic heroes, Brendan the Navigator and St. Patrick, the second two warrior women, Queen Maeve and Grace O' Malley, and the third the famous fairies and leprechauns or Ireland.

Each of the episodes is about a half hour in length, and gives interesting details of the lives and legends of these folk heroes and myths of Ireland. Due to the short time, each story is given more of an overview than full coverage. However, one comes away feeling one has learned something about the figures. My favorite episodes were Brendan the Navigator and Queen Maeve, although all are interesting. The Fairy Shoe was a great story in itself.

There is not much to speak of by way of costumes or special effects, but Ireland is such a beautiful country that it isn't necessary. The cameras make full use of the visual splendor available.

The only drawback to the series is the narrator, who does a mediocre job. Unfortunately, with several fo the stories the choice was made to overdub Irish people telling stories with the narrator's interpretation. Personally, when hearing a fairy story, I would prefer to hear an Irish lilt than the bland tones of the narrator. The script also repeats itself often, especially with "of course it is just a legend. Or is it?" However, this is understandable when you realize the series was meant to be seen in individual episodes, not all at once.

All in all, people with an interest in Irish folklore and legends will enjoy this series.

I received this as a gift shortly after a trip to Ireland. It is enjoyable as well as educational. The time goes quickly and I wished there were more.

Even though I've never seen these movies, I think I would like them. But there is just one thing I'd like to know, What are the titles of the videos in this set? I hope you might enjoy Legends of Ireland, Boxed Set.