New England: A Tribute

This quick-sweep historical/touristy portrait of New England grows on you, despite smarmy music and narration that begins, "You cradled us, you nourished us.... Shining upon a hill, Oh New England, rekindle our dreams!" Gack. Fortunately, it gets better, deftly combining geographical and historical insights (though it does uncritically depict New Hampshire stone structures as "inhabited by an ancient race thousands of years ago," even though most archeologists think they are colonial root cellars) with crisp, truly beautiful camerawork, even if it does dwell on the stereotypical foliage and covered bridges of New England. The program offers goofy but charming interviews with regular folks from Boston, Bar Harbor, or Providence, while curators of museums/homes tell the stories of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Robert Frost. The narration also improves as it quotes salient passages from Emerson, Thoreau, Longfellow, Whitman, and Melville, and the film doesn't gloss over the dark side of the region's history, including segments on both religious intolerance and the Salem Witch Trials. While the documentary lacks focus--it tries to do too much--it could serve as a nice introduction to New England and its history, particularly at the middle school or high school level. Optional. Aud: I, J, H, P. (M. Pendergrast)