On the Trail of Mark Twain with Sir Peter Ustinov

Intended as a video tour to parallel and, ostensibly, duplicate Mark Twain's world tour (reported in his 1897 book, Following the Equator), the first of two hour long segments on the opening tape begins in Oceania (Fiji, Kiribati, Hawaii), before moving on to Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Ustinov and the video producers seem to be preoccupied with the ravages of colonization upon the native societies, a sort of meditation on the glorious past and the miserable present, if you will. Unfortunately, in the first two hours, little direct reference or correlation is made to Twain's book, and rather than capture the extraordinary beauty of the lands and indigenous cultures they visited, the crew seems more intent on turning up any elusive pukka sahibs. The third and fourth segments improve considerably, so much so that one wonders if these were conceived and planned first--while excitement for the project was fresh--with the above-mentioned segments tacked on as an afterthought. While it is impossible to do more than scratch the surface of the variety of cultures and societies in India, the third hour not only offers breathtaking scenery and camerawork, mysterious peoples and customs, and vibrant colors everywhere, there's also a concerted effort to correlate Sir Peter's experiences with Mr. Twain's reported findings. Likewise, in the fourth--and final--hour, we are treated to an all-too-brief visit to Mauritius--an island of extraordinary beauty, little-known in the West--and a fascinating journey to South Africa. Neither pure travelogue, nor an entirely effective exercise in literary re-creation, this uneven production has much to recommend, but little that is essential. An optional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (M. Rechel)