Best of Europe: Italy [Blu-ray]

I have to admit, I didn't know who Rudy Maxa was before I bought this video. My wife and I are heading out on a Mediterranean cruise soon, and I was looking for videos the help prep us and inspire us. This video hits Florence, Rome, Naples/Amalfi & Venice...and we're visiting all those places, so for the low price, I couldn't see a downside.Each episode is about 27 minutes, and therefore, there is little depth. But for quality of content, it's about the same as an episode of Rick Steves' show or Samantha Brown. I believe it falls somewhere between the two. Brown, to me, is a bit shrill and she tries too hard to be "cutesy." Steves just has better written narration, IMO. Maxa is an engaging enough guide, I suppose...just a little low energy.The quality overall, is excellent, at least on the blu-ray. You really get a good sense of the area. The best episode is the one set in Venice. I got several excellent ideas and jotted down a number of places to visit. Rome feels the most insubstantial...he tries to cover too many places and once. But honestly, that's actually a fairly minor quibble. This video provides nearly two hours of excellent "tour prep" in a solid, workmanlike fashion. If you're planning a trip, then this becomes a 5-star must-buy.

I have researched and researched for our upcoming trip to Italy. I bought this blu ray for more of a visual of what I had read so much about. I really enjoyed it. It's a good value and it gave me a few new ideas. Ca'Macana, the mask store in Venice is now on our list of must sees. Of course in this short of time it's impossible to cover everything, but's still pretty concise. It was nice to see St. Clemente, The Bargello, and the mask shop, which are not Must Sees compared to the Colosseum and St Marks. I also enjoyed the tips such as how to ride a bus in Rome and a vaperetto in Venice. It is a bit older since the money used is Lira, but the information presented is still relavent and only the lira gives away the age. More then anything it makes me more excited for my trip.

This is a great disc to own, It has amazing picture & sound quality. Something we all expect from Blu Ray discs. Rudy Maxa is a great Host & gives us several tips which include even where to buy bus tickets, what to look for at a bus stop etc. there are maps of the location..all this & more, which should be helpfull to all foregin travellers who can sometimes get confused in places like these.The photography & music are first grade & this is the next best thing to being there.now for the drawbacks : There is just not enough of Italy shown, considering the storage capacity of Blu Ray discs a lot more could have been included. plus some extra features like interactive maps, best & worst seasons to visit, List of festivals & local Holidays, Important Italian phrases or words & their english translation etc should also have been included.

Probably better for potential tourist or returnees, but as far as showing panoramic scenery? Not enough sweeping views outside, way to much indoor footage and conversations about museums and cultural specifics.These types of Travel Documentaries will get better once high flying Camera Drones are utilized, but hopefully a new type of Cultural Blu-Ray will emerge, one with few words, sweeping views, and engaging footage of what life is like at ground zero in these story book villages.The Blu-Ray really could barely pass for Blu-Ray. If I didn't know what was in the slot, I really could tell for sure if it were a Blu-Ray, or DVD.IMHO, Anthony Bourdain, though his documentaries are geared at cuisine, does a much better job at capturing the magic than Rick Steves. After watching the raw style of Bourdain, one comes away with what life is actually like in these locales.

We enjoy Rudy's programmes...the only way we can see them is via the Amazon DVD's....no HD TV here in Indonesia....Rudy if you are reading this review...please come and do some programmes on Indonesia....there's lots to see and do, and where we live Bandung with 3 five star hotels is rapidly becoming a lure to travellers from all over Asia...Rudy with your blessing it would be even better...

This is a truly enjoyable programme, which shows in a nutshell -if that's posible- the glory of great italian cities.Something I really missed was the close caption facility, which would have made the programme much more accesibleto then non native english community. However, in spite of the above this is a must who love Italy and for those who would like to travel there.

The images are stunning. It is in 1080i but still looks fantastic. Very informative. Rudy Maxa is interesting to listen to and he gives good tips for travelling in the areas he documents. I felt I had to review this blu-ray when I saw one of three reviews from someone who apparantly did not update their firmware and had problems watching the disk and rated this one star. There are other titles in this series including France and Italy which are also filmed beautifully and are interesting. Also video is 16:9 and not 1:33. Beautiful widescreen.

- Outstanding - the pictur quality was great - did not expect much - was pleasantly surprised - the tour was alwright but the photography was exceptional - hopefully - the other Rudy Maxa series will be just as good - looking forward to more travelogus and interesting documentaries - trust this review benifits someone else!

Purchased this DVD (Blu-Ray on Italy as we are planning a trip to Italy and England, Rome & London to be precise...Thei disc was a catalogue of things to see....Was a great price and wonderful quick and speedy service...Would not hesitate in buying from this Market Place Seller again...Thanks for the great product and service...

Excellent DVD!!!

quite good