Customer Reviews

The Wonders of the Vatican Library

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

 

 

I was quite moved by this DVD. Catholics and Art lovers will love the wonderful camera work that shows the exceptional artwork that many viewers would not otherwise see. While watching the DVD, I felt like I was at the Vatican itself! The 2 1/2 hour DVD is packed with wonderful footage. I highly recommend it!

I enjoyed this production immensively. It is a rich cultural treasury of great art. It has an Italian audio track as well as an English audio track. I would enjoy very much listening to the Italian audio track while looking at the English subtitles if there were any. I find this to be a minor but unfortunate defect in an otherwise excellent DVD.

I have a very good collection of DVDs centered on the Vatican, Rome, Pope John Paul II and many of them focus on the art and artistry of the city and of the Vatican. I found this particular DVD a bit disappointing. There was relatively no new information. The text was a bit heavy handed in the direction of Catholic dogma, rather than focusing on the art. The camera work was not as good as it could have been, nor was the lighting top notch. It simply could have been better in all arenas. Plus the DVD says it is 135 minutes long - that is not correct. The first DVD runs about 45 minutes and the second DVD on the Rosary runs about 25 minutes....The second DVD on the Rosary again is a bit heavy in dogma and doesn't portray the artwork in what could have been a thrilling manner. There are many other DVDs to choose from if you are interested in the art of Rome and the Vatican. The information on the DVD case itself also is a bit misleading.

How enlightening that the artwork in the Vatican Library has so much to do with alphabets! Its not what I expected.

From the meager info provided by this website regarding this Vatican Library documentary, I decided to take a chance and purchase it, with the hope of using some of the images to visually enhance some of my art history lectures. (college classes)
What a disappointment! This tape is far from an informative documentary. Rather than specific focus on individual artists, craftsmen, and their work, this is a sentimental overview of the "glories" of the various popes, complete with backround music of heavenly choirs. A Waste of time and money!