. . . (that is, "U.S. Grant" and "W.G. Harding") now sport the most elaborate couple of Presidential Tombs in the nation. (To maintain this custom, it probably will take at least a couple small states to entomb the current POTUS in a vast mausoleum inversely proportionate to his Wisdom, Truth, Honor, and Virtue.) Therefore, it should not come as much of a shock that the founder of the International Blood Diamonds Cartel set up an elaborate Grecian Temple as Another Roadside Attraction in memory of himself. However, the uninformed narrator of PICTURESQUE SOUTH AFRICA gives viewers absolutely no clue as to why so many students of color turn down on principle this deleterious diamond dude's namesake scholarships. This miscreant's "legacy" was so nefarious that his namesake nation ditched its abhorrent designation like a hot potato, even declaring an "Open Season" upon all ladies with visual similarities to Mr. Blood Diamond (this is the Law of Guilt by Association). Though the handwriting was on the wall for all to read when PICTURESQUE SOUTH AFRICA was filmed, it's clueless narrator merely parrots back a platitude carved into the marble of this misbegotten Temple of Evil.
2 Reviews
TravelTalks
Michael_Elliott1 November 2012
Picturesque South Africa (1937)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Early entry in James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series takes us to South Africa where we start off learning about Cape Town, which connects the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. From here we learn about Table Mountain and how this portion of the world was first explored as a quicker way to India. From here we hear the history of Cecil John Rhodes who would die at the age of 49 but not before helping form the community. We see not only the Dutch styled house he lived in but also a memorial. Our final stop is a look at some of the locals and their small village. Overall this is another good entry in the series and it's clear that the main appeal is going to be seeing the various locations in the glorious Technicolor. Fans of the series will certainly be entertained by this one as we get some great bits of history and of course getting to see the locations is what made the series so special. FitzPatrick does his usual good job with the narration.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Early entry in James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series takes us to South Africa where we start off learning about Cape Town, which connects the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. From here we learn about Table Mountain and how this portion of the world was first explored as a quicker way to India. From here we hear the history of Cecil John Rhodes who would die at the age of 49 but not before helping form the community. We see not only the Dutch styled house he lived in but also a memorial. Our final stop is a look at some of the locals and their small village. Overall this is another good entry in the series and it's clear that the main appeal is going to be seeing the various locations in the glorious Technicolor. Fans of the series will certainly be entertained by this one as we get some great bits of history and of course getting to see the locations is what made the series so special. FitzPatrick does his usual good job with the narration.
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