In The Christmas Spirit

Nativity scenes? You've never seen so many--you'd think this was a casting call for the many incarnations of the infant Jesus. (We particularly like the ones lit from within, as if to simulate His divine illumination.) And because no scenic holiday tour would be complete without yuletide Muzak--er, music--the visuals are accompanied by easy-listening renditions of just about every carol in the repertoire. Whether this is engaging or dull will depend on your tolerance for ubiquitous holiday atmosphere, but if you play this DVD while decorating your tree or opening gifts, only a Grinch would dare to complain. --Jeff Shannon

Description
Travel around the country in the snowy month of December to witness the festive Holiday light displays. The most elaborate and vibrant hues of people's houses and retail stores are captured and play out to the sounds of the season.

I feel Sights and Sounds of Christmas FAR exceeds this DVD on every level.


Where's the snow????   September 3, 2002
T.W. (Los Angeles)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Maybe it's because I'm from New England, where we actually see snow during the Winter months, that I really hated this DVD. Sure, there were plenty of Christmas lights to see, and some fairly decent music to listen to (Willie Nelson should have been left off this disc) but there is NO snow!! No SNOW!!! I saw maybe 2 seconds of snow falling beside I street light, and that was it. No kidding! All the yards and ocean scenes and everything had NO SNOW...just grass and brown leaves! It did NOT feel like Christmas at all!

The only Christmas DVD I've really enjoyed, that truly captures the feel of Christmas, is "The Sights and Sounds of Christmas."


Perfect for Christmas parties   November 12, 2000
S. Fennell (Somewhere out there.....beneath the pale moon light...)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

At first this may seem like a silly idea for a video, and to be honest, I bought a copy mainly out of curiosity. After giving it a chance, though, I found it to be very enjoyable, and a lovely tape to have running in the background for Christmas parties, or anytime you'd like to add some holiday cheer to your living room. I disagree with the former reviewer who seemed to think that the same 4 houses were being shown over and over again. Yes, there is SOME repetition of images, but c'mon, the video is an HOUR long, and I don't think most people are going to sit down and devote their complete attention to something of this nature. My only complaint of this production is the inclusion of a Willie Nelson vocal on the soundtrack to an otherwise almost-instrumental score,(except for Mahalia Jackson's classic vocals on "Silent Night"), but this is more a personal preference than anything else. It just seems a little out of place of me. The orchestrations are very well done too, much better than other tapes of this kind that I have seen on the market. Yeah, this will most likley go back on the shelf come January 1st, but in the meantime, it's a nice mood-enhancer.