Customer Reviews

Riding Route 66 - New Mexico [VHS]

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

 

 

Once again, veteran videographer Kirk Woodward has scored a hit with "Riding Route 66, New Mexico." Beginning--where else--but in the fascinating ghost town of Glen Rio, Texas (or New Mexico, depending on which end of town you are standing in), we move across the land of mesas at a comfortable, measured pace. Aside from the beautiful scenery (including a great moving shot of a locomotive) and carefully selected points of interest, we get to poke our noses into some corners that might otherwise go unnoticed. But the real highlight is joining Kirk ringside for the annual Albuquerque Balloon Festival. His coverage of this dazzling (and dizzying) event is as close as you can get to being there. As with his other videos, you don't have to be a motorcyclist to get your kicks with "Riding Route 66, New Mexico." Buy it, experience it, then tell your friends about it.

This video is not a documentary of Route 66 in New Mexico. Instead, it is a travel video that covers the producer's trip through New Mexico. It misses entirely the old and historic section of Route 66 through Santa Fe. It ignores and does not cover the excellent portion of Route 66 going from Grants to the Arizona border (including all of Route 66 in colorful Gallup). It does show some nice shots of the Albuquerque balloon festival, along with a nice view of the City of Albuquerque from Sandia. I rate this video one star as a documentary of Route 66 in New Mexico and perhaps two stars if you're looking for a travel documentary. If you're looking for a motercycle travel documentary, then you might even give it three to four stars. However, don't expect to get an accurate or complete overview of Route 66 in New Mexico.

This video covers a portion of route 66 in New Mexico. It also spends a lot of time on other things, like the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. I was very disappointed that more of route 66 was not covered. All of the old portion of route 66 to Santa Fe is excluded. There is a small amount of coverage about Highway 14, but only up to Sandia Peak for a view of Albuquerque. For some reason, the coverage of route 66 stops in Grants, eventhough Gallup and beyond provides some of the best route 66 views available. All in all, this video is like someone's home movie in both style and quality. You get to see where the producer had time to go, but you don't get the full picture of route 66. If you have never been to New Mexico and you have not traveled route 66, you might think this to be an informative video. If you want a true documentary video with a full overview of route 66 in New Mexico, this is certainly not it!

Having seen all of Kirk Woodward's video treatments of Router 66, I'm delighted to report his segment on New Mexico is a 5-star plus. Up to his usual standards of perfection. His intimate knowledge of this historic road uncovers many landmarks one would unlikely find on their own. Experiencing the video can only enhance the spirits of exploring 66 as it should be explored. A definite "must" for any video library. Not just a motorcycle documentary, but an experience any "arm chair" traveler would enjoy.