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crawford-bd
Reviews
The Trip to Greece (2020)
Really boring and difficult to watch.
Had great expectations for this film and we managed to get through most of it before we decided that it was a complete waste of time. Nothing happens except for two middle-aged guys sitting around talking and making stupid sounds and lame jokes. To spice things up, there were a few phone calls though. Don't waste your time with this incredibly boring movie. If you like puerile banter with very little content, this is the film for you.
Klondike (2014)
Ridiculous
I usually love gold rush stories. However, this one is not one I would recommend watching if you want to get an accurate picture about what the Yukon gold rush was like. Inaccuracies abound. Actually it became fun to find them. The Discovery Channel powers-that-be mention that they are proud of the historical accuracy and their valuable educational service. This show illustrates quite the opposite of the type of programming they say they are proud to produce.
Having hiked up the Chilkoot Pass twice, it was interesting to see how they treated this part of the story. What was really laughable was the scene at Dyea where you can see the line of stampeders trudging up the "golden stairs". Impossible. You can't see the hill or the pass from Dyea; it's a three day hike to get to the pass. Seeing the ski hill in the background was a bit silly as well. The wolf scene was ridiculous. It seems that no show about the Canadian wilderness is complete without wolves (or bears) attacking the hero. Wolves do not behave like this.
Contrary to what is implied by the production, Dawson City was not a lawless town with gunslinging bullies, shootings and avenging Natives. Chaotic yes, but not lawless. The police were strict but fair. They were also lenient in that they allowed prostitution and gambling. Handguns were never permitted, however. Neither were disorderly conduct, obscenity, or cheating. The police did not hang folks or chase down and kill Natives. In general, both the police and the Natives were unfairly and incorrectly portrayed. And, by the way, the Tlingit did not inhabit the Dawson area.
The story was somewhat entertaining, and the acting wasn't half bad except for the mumbling in several places (I thought I was losing my hearing). Too bad and sad, however, that the majority of Canadian actors in this shot-in-Canada production about an event in Canadian history were only background actors.
Discovery Channel, you are doing a complete disservice to the public you say you are proud to be educating. Let's hope that future similar productions you are involved in are indeed educational and not fallacious fluff. I guess this is a good example of the famous saying " don't let the truth get in the way of a good story". I realize that some literary license is necessary to enable the flow of the story and keep the audience interested, but this shouldn't be to the point of doing a disservice to important aspects of Canada's history (in particular how the police and Natives were portrayed) or to the point where the story panders to the warped misconceptions or expectations of the target audience (e.g. the wolf scene and the wild west gunslingers).
Above and Beyond (2006)
Pretty bad
That this was definitely not a great production. Although I admit that the story was entertaining and the acting wasn't bad. The computer generated imaging was terrible, and in almost in every scene I could see historical inaccuracies. All in all, a very amateurish production. Here are some factual inaccuracies I found.
- The DC-3 shown was equipped with the wrong engines (modern turboprops), and of course sounded nothing like a DC-3.
- One scene shows a de Havilland Chipmunk trainer in a hangar. There were no Chipmunks in service in 1940; the first one flew in 1946.
- The RCAF ensign with maple leaf roundel was not in use in 1940. Use of the RCAF ensign with the leaf in the roundel wasn't used until 1941. If you saw a flag in 1940 it would have been the RAF ensign.
- The USAAF landed in Gander in a Lancaster bomber. The USAAF did not use Lancasters, and certainly couldn't have been using them in 1940 since they were not yet in active operational service.
- A modern dial tone could be heard during overseas telephone calls between Bennett and Lord Beaverbrook.