Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Over America Blu-ray Movie Review

A pompous infomercial for the United States, replete with birds-eye imagery.

Reviewed by Lindsay Mayer July 1, 2008

Most Region A showcase Blu-rays readily available in the United States have unsurprisingly been centered around U.S. locales. Sunrise Earth's initial volume was comprised entirely of dawning in national parks, coastlines, and picturesque countrysides, for example. None of these titles have been nearly as nationalistic as Over America, however. From the improper use of the term "America" to the less-than-cursory overview of the country's many regions, the whole affair feels rather silly all around.

The disc itself is composed of a rather odd hodgepodge of eight chapters; most focus on single states like Alaska, Hawaiʻi, California, and Texas. In the case of New York, it naturally hones in on New York City alone. Also included are the Midwest, the Southwest, and the Mid Atlantic. This results in an incomplete picture of the United States; even the Midwest segment covers mainly industrial states like Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, with Iowa being the sole exception. These sections depict aerial flyover shots of various natural wonders, as well as artificial landmarks and sprawling urban centers. The chapters - which can be played individually or all together - are brief, ranging from 3 to 11 minutes long each, marking a total runtime of 54 minutes.

An aerial shot of la misión San José in San Antonio, Texas - part of a complex of Spanish missions established in the area in the 1700's.

The content, though random, is interesting - especially at the bird's eye view that they are presented. Alaska includes shots of amphibious aircraft over lakes, coniferous forests and mountain ranges, while Hawaiʻi consists of rainforest flyovers and volcanic activity. Texas has mostly urban centers shown, but symbols such as longhorn cattle and cowboys on horseback are included as well. California is largely the same, with shots of San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Los Angeles. The Midwest has iconic imagery like rural family farmhouses and sprawling crop fields, as well as large cities such as Chicago and St. Louis. The Mid Atlantic focuses mostly on the District of Columbia and its historical monuments and universities. The Southwest segment has desert landscapes and locales like Monument Valley shown, as well as some cityscapes such as Las Vegas.

For the most part, the visual content is quite pleasing to the eye, especially when captured from above - a mostly novel angle only achieved with aeronautic technology. Captions identify landmarks as they sweep by the viewer. The chief deficit of this title lies squarely in the narration. The puffy-chested voice of Tom Skerritt presides over the playback, spouting an atrocious blend of "God bless the U.S.A." clichés and platitudes, which only help to further the current national paradigm of how supposedly "great" this country is, with a rich history and a bright future.

Over America Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1.85:1 and encoded in MPEG-2 video at 60Hz, averaging around 35 Mbps, Over America's picture quality is spotty at best. Although the bitrate remains satisfactorily high throughout, the video is all too often plagued with macroblocking and an interlaced picture. Some of the camerawork is too distant, brief, or unsteady to really appreciate the featured sites.

Of course, one can't be too harsh on the production when it was essentially an early experiment in HD filming. Shot and broadcast on PBS in 1995 as a tech demonstration, the video artifacts are part and parcel on the master itself. Colors are captured nicely on this title, and most hues have a "real" feel to them. Bathed in the intense golden light of sunrise, monuments like the Golden Gate bridge and Ellis Island literally glow with warm tones. The brilliance of the waters at the Havasu Falls shine through; even the neon glow of cityscapes at nightfall is depicted well. Blacks are adequately deep, and no blooming was apparent in whites.

Over America Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Over America comes with the sole audio option of a Dolby Digital 2.0 presentation. As the scoring is somewhat cheesy and the discussed dialogue is just silly, the stereo option is adequate enough. What would have been far superior, and certainly an easy enough compromise, would be a lossless PCM 2.0 track with ambient sounds of wind and rustling to replace the roar of the helicopters. Again, though - the segments were part of primitive HD trials on a low budget, and as such, a stereo track was utilized for the audio.

With the material given, one would be better off playing the Blu-ray for its visuals, and utilizing a different audio channel via their receivers to play their own music over it.

Over America Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No extras are featured on this release. As a note, Topics Entertainment made the curious choice of distributing this title with a cardboard slipcover - and nothing but a clear, naked Blu-ray keep case underneath. It lends something of a "bootleg" feel to the title, which feels oddly appropriate given its quality. I'm sure it will annoy some packaging aficionados, however.

Over America Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is not a whole heck of a lot to say on eye candy releases like Over America. The abundance of such titles is to be expected early on in a format's life - especially one that touts superior picture and, to a less important extent, sound. The picture quality on this title is middling, however, and not quite worth the purchase price. Nothing can be said of its dialogue, either - there is little to no substance, and the "yay for the U.S.!" attitude gets a bit obnoxious after a little.

If world landscapes were captured on HD cameras with the caliber of BBC productions like Planet Earth or Galápagos, it would certainly be worth a look. Despite its history, its low budget, and the fact that it was an early tech demo for HD capabilities, Over America has too little going for it.