Road Dreams « Thread Started on Mar 18, 2008, 9:28pm »
As this forum often highlights nostalgia about a lost, old-world America that is often of interest to Americans and non-Americans alike I thought I would draw attention to an upcoming DVD release.
I was living in London in 1990 and by sheer luck I taped the first episode of a six-part Channel 4 television program called 'Road Dreams'. It was, in essence, a travelogue of a twelve year road trip around America shot from 1968 to 1980 on Super 8 home movie stock by an English visitor named Elliott Bristow. A lot of the footage was shot out of a car window, looking at things that took his eye as he drove along. All the footage is silent and accompanied by some quite superb and little-known music. The author gives an occasional bit of narration and, on occasion, an actor reads excepts from Jack Kerouac's books. The whole effect is quite mesmerising, almost hypnotic. I taped the other five episodes but then made the error of giving them to a friend to concatenate onto one three-hour tape. He did as asked but, being now a copy of a copy, the quality had degraded somewhat. I still have the tape and still watch an episode now and again, after eighteen years.
A week or so ago I watched an episode then, on an impulse, tried Googling it. I was amazed to get over 4,600 hits, mainly from people pleading for copies of the series as it had never been repeated on television and was never commercially available. I had no idea that the series had been such a hit with so many people and, it turns out, nor had the maker, Elliott Bristow.
and he is close to releasing a DVD of a slightly altered version of the original series. Apparently, the passage of time and getting all the copyright permissions for the original music has made it virtually impossible to exactly recreate the original series. So I will hold onto my old VHS tape like gold.
There are two short clips from the original series on Youtube. This one is the opening credits and first couple of minutes of episode four:-
And this one is the 'epilogue' that was played at the end of each episode. For me at any rate, the epilogue was notable for a short sequence of a bone-achingly beautiful dark haired girl swimming in a lake. But I digress......
Anyhow - I recommend the upcoming DVD to anyone with a yen for American nostalgia and also that interested people should google 'elliott bristow road dreams' to see what others think of the original series.
Joined: Jun 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,824 Location: Atlanta
Re: Road Dreams « Reply #4 on Mar 23, 2008, 2:15pm »
Fantastic . . .
As one who has driven many many miles across this land, it brought back many memories of those times, trips, landscapes, and the mile after mile open road . . . and especially with the Super 8 movie ambiance - classic!
Beautiful - this will be a treasure! I just registered as well, thanks for the tip, Bruce.
The girl - reminds me of the 20' something brunette I met in Sicily . . .
Joined: Dec 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,586 Location: Canberra, Australia
Re: Road Dreams « Reply #5 on Mar 23, 2008, 3:07pm »
Quote:
The girl - reminds me of the 20' something brunette I met in Sicily . . . ....
Dan, I have noticed (with envy, I might add) a trend in that many occurrences, occasions and happenings mentioned in TOH remind you of girls whom you've met over the years.
The girl - reminds me of the 20' something brunette I met in Sicily . . . ....
Only in my dreams, Bruce!
The brunette girl I was referring to was the one I wrote about while flying the 150 into Sicily during the "Flying down to Capetown" flight in the 'Flights, Adventures, and Missions' episode.
Even though, that short swim by the brunette in the film did remind me of my wife (a brunette) swimming in a lake near Charleston, SC either just before we got married (1970) or right after - can't remember, but can remember the swim vividly . . .
Ah, the adventures of youth!
Dan
The 150 has been stuck in Africa somewhere - can't remember - as it seems trains is a popular mode of travel now-a-days . . .
Joined: Dec 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,586 Location: Canberra, Australia
Re: Road Dreams « Reply #7 on Mar 24, 2008, 3:21am »
Quote:
Only in my dreams, Bruce!
The brunette girl I was referring to was the one I wrote about while flying the 150 into Sicily during the "Flying down to Capetown" flight in the 'Flights, Adventures, and Missions' episode.....
Joined: Dec 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,586 Location: Canberra, Australia
Re: Road Dreams « Reply #10 on Nov 17, 2008, 2:03am »
Bought and delivered today and it - and the music - is just wonderful. I have never been to North America, let alone travelled the length and breadth of the country, but there are moments in this DVD when I felt goose-bumps on my arms, a choke in my throat and a prickling in the eyes. The music that accompanies the video has a lot to blame for. Beautiful, and I have placed an order for the full version (Codachrome).
Thank you immensely, Nige, for bringing this to our attention.
... "Kodachrome", Bruce - I haven't heard that word in years ..
He actually spells it with a 'C', Dan, and I'm thinking that he chose it because the word "coda" in a music context means a passage which brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation. Or, in general usage, it can mean the conclusion of a statement.
I think Elliot must have combined the two - the (no doubt) Kodachrome Super-8mm film that he used and, now that his work is done, it is the coda of the whole thing.
A little obscure but not a bad title.
Incidentally - that lovely lady pops up a couple of times in the pieces.
Re: Road Dreams « Reply #13 on Nov 19, 2008, 5:30am »
My discs arrived a couple of days ago and I am pleased to see that they are as good as I had hoped. The resolution is better than expected, very much better than my old VHS tapes, and the music is as good as ever.
I also find that the passage of time has given much of the footage the wistful, slightly melancholy, elegiac quality of a world gone forever.
... "Kodachrome", Bruce - I haven't heard that word in years ..
He actually spells it with a 'C', Dan, and I'm thinking that he chose it because the word "coda" in a music context means a passage which brings a movement or piece to a conclusion through prolongation. Or, in general usage, it can mean the conclusion of a statement.
I think Elliot must have combined the two - the (no doubt) Kodachrome Super-8mm film that he used and, now that his work is done, it is the coda of the whole thing.
A little obscure but not a bad title.
Incidentally - that lovely lady pops up a couple of times in the pieces.
Bruce
Thanks for clarifying that, Bruce! I checked out the site yesterday and realized your spelling - your right, excellent title!
I wanted to order, but the site is somewhat confusing in that it doesn't convert to USD, so I'm not sure what the conversion will be, but also the DVD formats - I thought all DVDs worked with all DVD players, apparently not. That being said, the site states that if using an American DVD player . . .
"The iPhone Data CD is suggested as an alternative for American viewers due to the current lack of an NTSC DVD."
. . . which, if I'm reading this correctly, it won't play in my DVD player connected to the TV and therefore I have to watch it on a computer - - am I reading that right.
I've never heard of this before . . .
I'll buy it anyway - just to remind me of that 'lovely' 20' something Brunette in Sicily. Shoot, I'd almost hop in the Cessna 150 again just to relive those memories . . .
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