The first title takes viewers on a tour of Southern Florida's National Parks: the Everglades, Big Cypress, Biscayne Bay, and Fort Jefferson. The lion's share of the program is devoted to the flora and fauna of the Everglades, with excellent footage of the native Anhinga bird, the omnipresent alligators, and the colorful tree snails. In Big Cypress, the huge natural cypress domes are explored. Glass-bottom boats traverse the crystal blue water of Biscayne Bay, and the video winds up with a look at the largest 19th-century American coastal fort: historic Fort Jefferson. As per usual for the Finley-Holiday tapes, a substantial amount of animal information, local lore, and discussion of the environment is woven throughout the visual narrative. But unlike their better programs, the arrangement of the information here seems haphazard and unfocused--and some of the footage is clearly from older 16mm prints. Yellowstone Aflame, on the other hand, is much better organized; and, although it suffers from overly dramatic music and narration, it is still head and shoulders above (and much lower priced than) Inferno at Yellowstone (reviewed in the May issue). Using a computerized map overlay, the program points out the areas where the major fires swept Yellowstone during the summer of 1988. Arranged chronologically, the cameras follow the inexorable march of the fires across some one million acres, detailing the efforts of the men and women who fought the encroaching flames, and pointing out the ecological ramifications of the burning of Yellowstone. Everglades, Big Cypress, Biscayne, & Fort Jefferson is an optional purchase for most libraries; Yellowstone Aflame is recommended. (Available from most distributors.)
Everglades, Big Cypress, Biscayne, Fort Jefferson: Southern Florida's National Parks; Yellowstone Aflame: The Great Yellowstone Fires Of 1988
(1989) 56 m. $29.95. Finley-Holiday Film Corporation. Public performance rights included. Vol. 4, Issue 5
Everglades, Big Cypress, Biscayne, Fort Jefferson: Southern Florida's National Parks; Yellowstone Aflame: The Great Yellowstone Fires Of 1988
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