Hearst Castle: Building the Dream
by Bruce Neibaur
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DVD details
Actor: John GaviganDirector: Bruce Neibaur
Brand: Ryko Distribution
Composer: Sam Cardon
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 40 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Vista Point Ent
DVD Reviews of Hearst Castle: Building the Dream
DVD Review: Excellent Overview!
Summary: 5 Stars
Recently, my wife and I took a short vacation break and visited the central California coast staying in San Simeon. Unfortunately, the road to the north was closed due to a wildfire near Big Sur. Cambria was open and raking in the tourist dollars. The highlight of the trip was our visit to the Hearst Castle where we took tour #1 (deemed best for first-time visitors).
I had heard of the Hearst Castle, of course, but I was still overwhelmed by the scale and magnitude of the place. The architecture, art and landscaping all overpowered my senses. No matter what you might have read or heard or seen, you just have to visit this place to experience the awesome magnitude. Our basic tour was only the beginning. Four other tours were available for those who can't get enough or those who want to come back for repeat visits. The State Park management, by the way, was absolutely first rate, so a return visit is a pleasant thought.
As a part of the tour, visitors could view a movie (this DVD) in a
large-screen theater and the DVD was for sale as a remembrance. The movie was quite interesting and very well done, as I would expect of things associated with the National Geographic Society. It outlined something of the history of the Hearst family and especially of William Randolf Hearst's boyhood experiences of visiting Europe with his mother. The movie also chronicled Hearst's collaboration with architect/artist/civil engineer Julia Morgan as they attempted to construct something to rival the magnificent architectural wonders of Europe placed in a central California setting. Old photographic and movie clippings, including shots of celebrity visitors, were added to the presentation, as were some magnificent aerial shots of the Castle and the surrounding California countryside.
The film was short (about 45 minutes), but was exceptionally well done and very informative. If you're interested in the Hearst Castle it would be an excellent place to start whether you visit the castle of not. We were introduced to the wonder of the castle first, and then viewed the film. It added greatly to the tour experience. However, We could have viewed the film first and then gone on the tour. It would work equally well either way. The DVD is an excellent documentary and would be of interest in itself.
Gary Peterson
DVD Review: A Brief History of the Inspiration, Ingenuity and Megalomania That Made Hearst Castle
Summary: 4 Stars
If you can't make the trek to San Simeon in the middle of the California coastline, you may find this 2006 DVD the next best thing to being there. Running 40 minutes, this 1996 IMAX documentary was produced specifically for the National Geographic Theater at the Hearst Castle Visitors Center with the intent of providing tourists the history and cultural context for publishing magnate William Randolph Heart's palatial weekend home. Directed by Bruce Neibaur, a specialist in IMAX documentaries (Mysteries of Egypt), the feature is a condensed dramatization of the genesis and construction of the undeniably magnificent estate that rests in splendor five miles up the hills. You will learn that Hearst Castle was built on what started as a 40,000-acre ranch that Hearst's father, George Hearst, originally purchased in 1865 after he struck it rich in silver. During periodic camping trips in the area during his childhood, young William became fond of this site. His mother Phoebe, a former schoolteacher, also took him on holiday to various European castles, museums and other important attractions, all of which made a vivid impression on him.
When Hearst inherited the ranch in 1919 upon his mother's death, the property had grown to an astounding 250,000 acres, and construction on the estate began that same year. It continued unabated through 1947, when Hearst stopped living there due to ill health. San Francisco architect Julia Morgan was the pivotal figure who designed most of the buildings and kept Hearst in check for his excesses (for example, building him a private zoo) and his impulsiveness in tearing down structures and having them rebuilt at a whim. Dominated by John Gavigan's reassuring narration, unknown actors play the key roles, including Hearst as well as a fictional starlet who was invited to one of Hearst's typically elaborate weekends when he would invite a plethora of Hollywood stars and world-famous dignitaries to have fun. Although that sounds like a lot of ground for this film to cover, the abbreviated length of the movie feels just right for covering the history of the subject. Production values are first-rate, and the DVD captures the IMAX experience to a surprising degree.
DVD Review: A brief comment
Summary: 4 Stars
At only 45 minutes (at least the version I saw of it), this is a brief but enjoyable and informative documentary on the castle. The collaboration between Hearst and Julia Morgan, the first woman to graduate from U.C. Berkeley in civil engineering, and also from the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was a fruitful one, and continued for 28 years. Hearst built the castle to house his Mediterannean art exhibits (he built six other domiciles, such as the one in Long Island that houses his FRench artifacts). Morgan designed everything from the major structures down to individual tiles for the rooms, and also designed the water system, a gravity feed system that uses no pumps.
The architectural style is a mix of southern Italian, Moorish, and Spanish, which was popular around the turn of the last century as a result of several international exhibitions which revived it, and which Hearst attended and was inspired by them to build the castle. Overall, a fine movie on the Hearst mansion and worth viewing for anyone who likes fine art or architecture. On a personal note, I've taken tours of the castle five times and found the movie helpful even though I've toured the grounds in person a number of times, and the movie also is shown at the visitor's center down the hill from the castle itself as part of the price of Tour 1. If you ever go to see the castle, Tour 1 is probably the best place to start.
Description of Hearst Castle: Building the Dream
Inspired by the majesty of the architecture of Europe's castles newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst built his dream house high above the California coast. Explore this palatial estate filled with priceless works of art and its gardens terraces pools and walkways spanning 127 acres.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating:?UNRATED UPC:?063390097906 Manufacturer No:?9790General DVDs
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