Vatican Museum DVD Series Scores Favorable Review

The Janson Media DVD three-disc set The Vatican Museums was recommended in a recent review by Video Librarian. The set visually chronicles the history of Christianity, offering a complete overview of the museums, views of the Vatican City artwork and the origins of Christian art. Produced by the Edizioni Musei Vaticani, this historic collection features seven hours of magnificent documentary film that illuminates and chronicles the great journey of the human spirit.

&'Although a visit to Vatican City would be a wonderful experience, this ambitious and handsomely packaged 8-volume roam through the city"s museums and buildings is a) much less expensive than a real trip, b) offers a guided tour, and c) uses supporting contextual footage not found in your Fodor (print) handbook. We watched the sixth volume, &'The Ethnological Museum & The Picture Gallery,&' which featured a host of well-known (and lesser known) artworks chronicling, in essence, the pictorial history of Christianity, as well as a fascinating overview of religion in non-European cultures (examining death rites, conceptions of deities, and worship habits). As the program traces the early seeds of Christianity in these colonized countries, the artistic artifacts shown (initially, copies of European Christian symbolism) gradually give way to indigenous interpretations of Christianity. In one notable and symbolically complex example, we see a beautifully carved crucifix which depicts Christ bound to a cross comprised of African slaves. A thought-provoking series, this is sure to be quite popular in both academic and general collections. Three Stars.&' - Video Librarian

Video Librarian is the video review magazine for public, school, academic, and special libraries, as well as video fans who are interested in a wider variety of titles than what"s found in the average video store. Written by staff, librarians, teachers, and film critics, Video Librarian offers over 225 critical reviews per issue, alerting readers to upcoming new releases of special-interest, documentary, and video movie titles.