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Perseus | 2000-2010 | 210 min | Not rated | Aug 17, 2010
Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (less)
Subtitles
Discs
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Price
List price: $19.95 
Not available to order
Price
List price: $14.99 Best Buy: $14.99
Playback
Region A (B, C untested)
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, September 11, 2010
Rick Steves often gives his viewers little surprises sprinkled in with his various travel adventures, and we get one right off the bat at the beginning of this new Blu-ray compilation featuring episodes dealing with the Celtic Charms of Europe: Steve in a kilt! He may in fact be an unwitting fashion victim, at least in this prelude to several picturesque episodes, but at least he seems to have a sense of humor about it. Steves' travel program has been a mainstay on Public Television for decades now, and his understated, often wryly humorous style has made him the closest thing to a superstar that PBS offers. Entering into the Blu-ray arena with four volumes culled from his long running series, fans can now experience these gorgeous locales in high definition. This third volume offers some of the most jaw dropping scenery imaginable, as Steves explores the nooks and crannies of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in seven episodes.
Rick Steves goes native.
Edinburgh takes us on a whirlwind journey through Scotland's signature city, one which classic film lovers will recognize from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The city has one of the most iconic structures of Europe, the huge fortified castle which is over one thousand years old. To the semi-soothing strains of bagpipe music, Steves then takes us down the Royal Mile, a close quartered boulevard which unites the castle with the Royal Palace. St. Giles Cathedral is also featured, a huge gothic structure which is topped by a distinctive spire made to resemble the Crown of Thorns. The Cathedral makes a natural segue to a discussion of the Reformation and John Knox, the founder of Presbyterianism.
North Wales: Feisty and Poetic lives up to its title, with an emphasis on the iconoclastic Welsh spirit. This episode made me laugh a time or two as I longed for subtitles as Steves ripped through one vowel-challenged Welsh place name after another. Luckily, there are occasional titles superimposed alerting us to the biggest locales he visits, places like Llandudno, a gorgeous coastal town with a lovely long pier jutting out into the water. Wales' tempestuous relationship with England is also examined. Once seen as invaders and usurpers, some Welsh towns now exist largely due to English tourists. One of the best place names Steves visits is the impossible to pronounce (at least for neophytes like I am) Blaenauffestiniog, where Steves looks at the slate mining industry which once supported Wales' economy. Steves skips over the border to Liverpool for a nice look at the Beatles' home turf.
Dublin. Ireland is described here by Steves as "the friendliest and youngest country in the EU." That youth and vigor shows up in some unusual ways. While Dublin is the very model of a symmetrically organized Georgian city, the rascally side of the Irish character comes out in the panoply of wildly colored painted doors which spice up the city's visual splendor. Steves then visits some of the ancient burial mounds which dot the Irish landscape, including two very interesting sites at Br? na B?inne, where Steves goes inside a 5,000 year old tunnel tomb which was engineered to receive sunlight at both the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.
The Best of South Ireland. Steves gets his hands dirty digging peat in this episode, which also spends a peaceful stop by Glendalough, which translates roughly to "valley of two lakes." A really interesting side trip journeys to St. Kevin's Church, a sixth century structure which actually withstood repeated Viking raids. Steves then drops by the Waterford Crystal factory, where we get to see that iconic glass being fired in historic kilns. The Rock of Castel is an impressive structure which housed Irish kings for seven centuries, and is so ancient that St. Patrick himself actually baptized a King there.
The Best of West Ireland. From the south, Steves journeys west, in fact so far west?to the Aran Islands?that the locals joke that "the next parish over is Boston." Starting at Inishmore, Steves takes us on a really captivating journey that includes the remarkable D?n Aengus, a 2,000 year old fortress which clings impressively to a stark and frankly scary cliff edge. We also visit Galway, a town whose name reveals its history. "Gal" means "foreigner," and the town was actually a refuge for invaders, who actually kicked the native Irish out and then built a fortress wall around their enclave. Next comes the Dingle Peninsula, a lovely and spectacular locale which is filled with over 2,000 monuments dating back to 4,000 B.C.
Belfast and the Best of Northern Ireland. Belfast may (perhaps unfairly) be best known as the seat of "the Troubles," but Steves emphasizes a happier history here, taking us through the town's industrial past. Belfast was nicknamed "Old Smoke" due to its burgeoning industrial activity, activity which saw such icons as the Titanic being built there. (Steves elicits a nice chuckle when he states that Belfast also built many ships which didn't sink). We also journey even further north to the "Coney Island of Ulster," the family playground of Portrush. Steves gets to enjoy a whiskey distillery, and the viewer gets to enjoy some of the most amazingly green coastal water imaginable.
Scotland's Islands and Highlands. As in the other Steves compendium I recently reviewed for Blu-ray.com, the final episode of this set is considerably older (circa 2000 in this instance) and predates HDTVs. It's therefore in its original standard def-looking "glory" of 1.33:1 and does not compare very favorably from an image standpoint with the newer, more glamorous, episodes which precede it on this Blu-ray. That said, Steves takes on a lovely enough trip through several Scottish islands and the very beautiful Scottish highlands, vistas filled with valleys full of wildflowers surrounded by towering mountains. Because of the remoteness of some of these locations, and the lack of public transit, officials allow travelers (including tourists) to hitchhike with the local postman, and Steves gets a one on one travel guide that way to some of Scotland's back roads and byways.
Celtic Charms of Europe is offered on Blu-ray with an AVC encode, in 1080i and (for all but the last episode, which is 1.33:1) 1.78:1. As in the first volume of these new releases, the image is often breathtakingly beautiful, with excellent sharpness and some especially lovely and well saturated color. In fact it's the color that may stand out for most viewers of this particular volume. Some of the reds, blues and especially greens (fitting, perhaps, for the "Emerald Isle") are gorgeous and virtually pop off the screen. Depth of field is also extraordinary in several of the outdoor shots. As with most interlaced video presentations, there are occasional bugaboos which pop up from time to time, notably some minor shimmer and moir? issues. There's nothing bad enough that is ultimately going to detract from the beauty of at least six of these seven episodes. That final episode, in 1.33:1 and from the now distant video age of 2000, looks noticeably soft and desaturated when compared to its forebears. But the bulk of this presentation is top notch television fare.
Steves' outings are largely narrative and onscreen voice driven, so while some audiophiles may lament the lack of a lossless audio option here, the fact is the standard Dolby Digital 2.0 track does just fine. In fact, there are actually relatively few uses of ambient sounds throughout this series. Instead we get Steves, either on screen or via voiceover, and the occasional well chosen source music underscore. Fidelity here is just fine, if unremarkable, with good enough dynamic range to support this almost exclusively voice driven piece.
No supplements are offered on the disc.
These new Blu-rays from Steves are proving to be immensely enjoyable and at times spectacularly beautiful to watch in high definition. The evocative locales of Ireland, Scotland and Wales may be particularly well suited to the world of hi-def imagery, because the first six episodes featured here look "mah-velous." Steves is his usual affable self, even in a kilt, and any armchair traveler should get a wealth of information, and some beautiful sights, out of this excellent compilation.
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