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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > Architecture > Ancient Civilization > History > Cities Of The Underworld – The Complete Season One (History Channel DVD)

Cities Of The Underworld – The Complete Season One (History Channel DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Episodes: B+

 

 

In the 1973 TV movie The Night Strangler (reviewed elsewhere on this site), Kolchak (Darren McGavin) is in Seattle and when he has to stop a super-powerful killer, finds himself going into the underground city of Old Seattle from a century ago.  It makes for some great suspense.  However, it turns out many current major cities are built over older ones, enough to make a hit series out of Cities Of The Underworld – The Complete Season One.  This surprisingly good series produced by The History Channel stars Eric Geller (shows 1 - 8) and Don Wildman (shows 9 – 13) as the men who dare to go underground.

 

The shows include trips to Scotland, Hitler’s underground lair in Germany, old Rome, catacombs in Paris, caves in Budapest, secret areas of New York, underground the Underground of London, beneath Vesuvius in Greece, the secrets of the Freemason’s America, the genocidal sites in Romania of Vlad the Impaler (who inspired Dracula), secret pagan cities buried in Turkey, the prohibition in Portland, Oregon and more subterranean looks at the Roman Empire.

 

Despite some complaints, the shows are compelling viewing, one of the best such shows the channel has produced lately and this DVD release could set off a while new interest on the subjects covered.  If you like any of the shows you may have caught on cable, you should really get this set.  Don’t be surprised if it becomes a favorite.

 

The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image includes what looks like early HD shooting, but all is consistent despite some motion blur.  The digital graphics constantly showing how the various ancient structures once looked have dated quickly, but are at least informative.  A repetitious editing style does not help either.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is good and clean, especially for location shooting, though the used of the same few pieces of music over and over again is annoying and works against the show.  The pilot from Ancient Marvels from Istanbul and outtakes from shows from this season are good extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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