Product Details

• Actors: Adam Arkin, Philip Bosco, Kevin Conway, Peter Coyote, Andy Garcia
• Directors: Ken Burns
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish, English
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: October 6, 2009
• Run Time: 720 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (237 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002BO2R4K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,426 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #100 in Movies & TV > DVD > Special Interests
• Learn more about "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...A strong candidate for the most beautiful program ever to air on American television. It's the Burns effort that most closely rivals "The Civil War," his masterpiece." --Orlando Sentinel

"Ten years in the making, the new film, while not a travelogue, is an unabashed love letter, with its backdrop of spectacular vistas filmed in 52 national parks" --The New York Times

"It may be safe to say that The National Parks is Burns' best work." --True West

Product Description

THE NATIONAL PARKS is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved for everyone. The series traces the birth of the national park idea in the mid-1800s and follows its evolution for nearly 150 years, chronicling the addition of new parks through the stories of the people who helped create them.

Special Features:

Disc One - The Making of The National Parks (Includes Spanish Audio and Subtitles);

Disc Two - Capturing the Parks (A behind-the-scenes look at filming of The National Parks: America s Best Idea);

Disc Three - Musical Journeys through the National Parks (National Parks Timeline, Peace at Last/ Across the Ocean, Horizons, Green Groves of Erin, The Shores of Ogygia, Teddy Bears' Picnic);

Disc Four - Outtakes (An Interview with Nevada Barr, author and former National Park Service ranger; and The Boss, the story of Frank Pinkley and Casa Grande. Narrated by Ken Burns);

Disc Five - The National Parks: This Is America (Mini Documentary, Includes Spanish Audio and Subtitles)

Disc Six - Contemporary Stories from America s National Parks (San Antonio Missions: Keeping History Alive, Yosemite's Buffalo Soldiers, Mount Rushmore: Telling America's Stories, Manzanar: "Never Again," City Kids in National Parks, Includes Spanish Audio and Subtitles).

This film is presented in "widescreen" format. Enchanced for 16x9 televisions.

Audio: English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Stereo, Spanish 2.0 Stereo, Described Video for the Visualy Impaired

Subtitles: English & Spanish

Region: NTSC 1

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 145 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A VISION REALIZED September 29, 2009

By Randy Ingersoll

Format:DVD

I live in Gardiner, Montana (location of the Roosevelt Arch) and work in Yellowstone, and I experienced firsthand the genuine passion and forthright efforts of Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan and their staff as they took their vision and turned it into a poetic masterpiece. Their years of hard work not only in Yellowstone but throughout the entire national park system have paid off, and we are the lucky beneficiaries of their skillful and spirited tenacity.

This film speaks gently and lovingly of the National Parks idea. The majestic vistas, the enlightening interviews, the background music -- woven together they demonstrate the power of "place", and fill us with a desire to further protect and honor these sacred sites.

We cannot live without the land, and we cannot live well without understanding our past. "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" is an authentic rendering of those very truths, and like all things good and beautiful, will be experienced and revered for ages to come, just as will the national parks themselves.

138 of 153 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good-enough content, poor HD December 10, 2009

By D. DEGEORGE VINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray

Although the series suffers somewhat from repetitiveness occasioned by the need to keep re-orienting viewers as multiple story sequences are interrupted for long periods of time while first one, then another, thread is begun, I am glad that I was patient enough to view the entire collection. If you like Ken Burns's thorough and somewhat laid-back style, you will find it agreeable here as in his other series, even if this is not quite his best effort. One should bear in mind that this is primarily an historical documentary, not a travelogue or guide to the parks.

In terms of content, I'd probably give the series four stars; but I was disappointed in the video quality of the new motion-picture footage that Burns's photographers accumulated over six years of hard and dedicated work. I believe that a fundamentally wrong decision was made in the choice of medium. Burns has a love of old-style photography, and the many stunning examples of still photos were a joy to behold. I also agree with him that film is a more pleasing medium than direct-to-video. Unfortunately, it would appear that budget limitations (and perhaps portability considerations as well, as photographers were slogging through wilderness) precluded the use of 35mm film, which would have been ideal. Instead, a decision was made (by whom I have no idea) that 16mm film would be the next best thing. This is the point at which I would have decided to use direct video. Even though it may be a little lacking in warmth compared with film, there is only so much grain that I am willing to put up with in a hi-def production. My consumer-grade HD camcorder makes much clearer and cleaner video than is seen in this series.

There are a couple of points to be made in favor of the Blu-ray version, however. First, those who may be basing their purchase decision on what they saw on PBS's HD telecast should know that the Blu-ray disc is somewhat better; the graininess of the 16mm film really messed up the compression algorithms used in the distribution of the telecast. Also, the stunning still photos, both the old B&W's that were probably shot on 4x5 negatives, and the modern color photos, benefit from Blu-ray versus DVD, if you're willing to pay the price.

None of this criticism of the video is relevant to the DVD; nor will it matter to those with poor eyesight or who watch on less than full-resolution HDTVs or who view from a distance greater than recommended for a given screen size. I for one was hoping for something visually splendid, something like "Planet Earth" or the BBC's "Yellowstone," something, quite frankly, that would help to justify my investment in home theater. The National Parks doesn't do it.

84 of 92 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars America's Best *IDEA* September 29, 2009

By Jon

Format:DVD

Not sure why people are complaining about not getting more geological data or wildlife info. This documentary is about the IDEA of our National Park systems which includes inspirations and motivations. As history lover's review says...its how (and why) our National Parks came to be. I'm sure Burns included the term "idea" for good reason. The idea that Burns goes after seems to be a philosophy against commercialism and greed which makes sense after seeing the first episode. Who cares if spirituality was one of the inspirations though? For many, appreciating nature is a spiritual or at least meditative experience regardless of what they do or don't believe. So far this documentary is organized much the same as Burns' other films. Nice music, nice scenery captured in nice camera work with nice photographs- all interwoven with Park Rangers, historians, writers and other experts on the people and places mentioned. So far so good! Leave it to Burns to use National Parks to provide another reminder that not everything in this country is money motivated. If the rest of the episodes are as good as what I've seen it'll be worth a purchase.

e: Now that the series is over I can say I really enjoyed it. I feel pretty much the same as my initial review above. I do agree with some of the other reviews that this series didn't feel as cohesive as some of Burns' other films but it was still a really good one. I thought the narration and interviews had a more "scripted feel" to them. Another small gripe was that although I enjoyed the music (especially the guitar-work) I wish there was more variety. I wish they had recorded more music for this specific film so that songs weren't reused as much. It didn't detract from the film all that much though. And there is still quite a bit. When it was all said and done, not only did I learn about interesting things about interesting people and places, this film inspired more appreciation for our National Parks from me. That's enough for me to say its worth a watch and worth owning. Recommended.