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"Over California: A Public Television Presentation" (1994)
A humble documentary overlooking the beautiful spots in California...back in 1994.
Kris Caballero • Feb 16, 2024 • 0 comments • VHS Reviews



"California—it is a nation in itself."
— Jim Cissell, Narrator
It's the thirty-year anniversary for the release of this VHS tape, Over California, and given all that has changed and is currently going on in this golden state, perhaps it's time we look at how this state was documented and portrayed back in 1994. A lot of us, especially current residents, would look and laugh while a few of us yearn to see the state it was, not seeing how it is. Anyway, let's take a look.
As you may have guessed, it's aerial shots and views of the lush areas in California. Many landscapes and areas have changed by now, but this showcases areas seen and seldom seen. This visual tour is broken down into parts and they are as follows:
- The Natural North: St. George Reef Lighthouse, Humboldt State University, Ferndale, Mendocino, Crescent City, Redwood National Park, Lassen Park, Alturas, Lava Beds National Monument, Glass Mountain, Shasta Lake, Anderson Valley
- The Bay Area: Palace of Fine Arts, City Hall, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Oakland, San Jose, University of California-Berkeley, Candlestick Park
- The Sierra Nevada: Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Mono Lake, Sequoia National Park
- The Central Valley: Merced, Sacramento, Redding, Chico, Fresno, Bakersfield, Tehachapi-Mojave
- The Los Angeles Area: Santa Monica, Malibu, Newport Beach, UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, Pepperdine University, University of Southern California, St. Mary's College, Corona Del Mar, Long Beach, Venice Beach, Pacific Palisades, Universal City, Pasadena, Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland
- The Desert: Lone Pine, Ubehebe Crater, Scotty's Castle, Furnace Creek, Artist's Palette
- The Central Coast: Morro Bay, Hearst Castle Pigeon Point, Pismo Beach, Santa Cruz, Pebble Beach, Carmel, Monterey, Santa Barbara, The Mission of Santa Barbara
- Southern California: Palm Springs, Salton Sea, San Diego, North Island Naval Air Station, Mission Beach, Sea World, Balboa Park








That's the best thing about films like this: Not only is the cinematography neat but you get a brief little history on the development and discovery of these places. Let's all admit: We take our city, or wherever you currently reside, for granted. There truly is many pretty places to see and explore. Once again, this film was released 30 years ago and some places have changed by then, but this VHS is a good companion to look back and see places as ideas to visit and bask in. We're sure YouTubers specializing in travel, along with those who drive and find food places to eat and review, will take note of films like this.
As for the cinematography, this was obviously before the days of drones and shot via helicopters. We're sure if they made a 30th anniversary updated edition of this, drones will be implemented and likely be shot and released in 4K. Speaking of resolution, according to the VHS description, this was originally shot in high definition but letterboxed for this presentation. Why not standard definition widescreen? Anyway, the musical scores fit nicely with the shots and the narration; They're nice to listen to.
I'd say this is one of those tapes shown in classrooms teaching California History, Geology or one of those films playing on loop at a small convenient stores selling these niche VHS tapes (DVDs didn't come until later).
Looking at the credits, it seems this movie was shot using both Sony and Canon cameras. I make mention of that because both the cinematography and photography communities make baseless, and time-wasting, arguments about which brand and their cameras are better—"Sony vs Canon." Seriously, how uptight and how low is one's self-esteem in order to make such arguments? Are these "content creators" unhappy about their purchases? I could go on but it's great this film gave credits to both brands and used their cameras indiscriminately. Also, big credits to the [online] video editors for color-matching the footage using different-branded cameras! The film then credited Pinnacle Systems which I believe was the software they edited this on. I was expecting Avid, or even Edius, but hey, the editing still looked good regardless.
I could make time to talk about the scenic views but they are better seen than read. We'll let you enjoy that part.
I'd say this was a great one-hour documentary looking at California back in the days when it was the place to live. Given the current social, economic and political situation, let alone the high costs, it's either relocating somewhere else or taking back the beauty this state was known for. I'm no expert in social and political commentary so we'll leave that to those who know. I mean, look at this:
"San Francisco has one drawback: It's hard to leave."
— Jim Cissell, Narrator
Oh Jim, if only you knew...thirty years later. I wish all the best and extreme safety to those residing in San Francisco, given the goings-on right now.
Another thing Narrator Jim said bares quoting, and this was near the end of the movie:
"One Californian simply put it this way: 'California IS America.'"
— Jim Cissell, Narrator
You be the judge of that.
Given that this film was in dedication to Chas C. Pingry, I'd say this movie was well done. Well edited, and the presentation stuck with its goal. This is one of those movies you'd watch and cozy up to on a Friday night, while everyone is out partying and getting in trouble with the law. We rather have peace and quiet, and this movie fits the bill. Given that this was originally shot in HD, we're sure this was released on Blu-ray. If that's the case, we will watch and review it here on KCU Network!
Thank you Jeff Gentes, Tak Yamada, KCTS Television and the rest of the crew! Highly recommended!
(Click image above to watch the full documentary here at KCU + Plus!)
FEATURE PRESENTATION5/5
ARTWORK5/5
CONTENTS5/5
QUALITY5/5
- An underrated documentary showcasing the beauty of California.
- Released and previously aired on public television.
- Amazing aerial shots via helicopter.
- Great narration with a brief history about some cities.
- Beautifully crafted—editing, musical score, voiceover and cinematography.
- Despite being originally shot in HD, the presentation is in letterbox format, not true widescreen.
PROFILE |
|
---|---|
Title | Over California: A Public Television Presentation |
Description | "All scenery in Californa requires distance to give it its highest charm." - Mark Twain, Roughing It OVER CALIFORNIA is an exhilarating journey above a landscape of contrast. Photographed entirely from the air over the course of a year, powerful high-altitude images reveal the special beauty and magic of the mountains, deserts, vineyards, coastline and cities that are the state of California. The intimate sense of place is enhanced by the original stereo soundtrack. OVER CALIFORNIA was originally shot in High Definition Television. To retain its panoramic perspective, it is presented in letterbox format for home television use. |
ISBN / Bar Code number | 1-882949-28-5 / 7 51601 90063 2 |
Video Format | 1.33:1 (4:3) / Letterboxed |
Audio Format | Stereo |
Tape Count | One (1) |
Genre | Documentary / Travel / Special |
Length | 58 minutes. Actual time: 1:02:59 |
Language(s) | English |
Subtitles | -- |
Closed Captioning | ??? |
Rated | -- |
VHS Release | 1994 |
Specification | Color |
Executive Producer | Jeff Gentes |
Director of Photography/Producer | Marc Pingry |
Music Director | Denny Gore |
Photograph | ©Reg Morrison/Wingstock/Comstock. |
Production / Company | KCTS Television in affiliation with Weldon Owen Publishing, San Francisco |
Product / Item Number | ??? |
Copyright | © 1994 KCTS Television, 401 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109. 1-800-937-5387. All Rights Reserved. |
Other Formats | DVD, Blu-ray (???) |
Quoted Reviews | -- |
Other | The OVER CALIFORNIA television special was produced by KCTS Television in affiliation with Weldon Owen Publishing, San Francisco. Other programs in the series include OVER WASHINGTON, OVER NEW ENGLAND, OVER FLORIDA and WASHINGTON, D.C.: OUR NATION'S CAPITAL. Major funding for OVER CALIFORNIA was provided by Kendall-Jackson Vineyards and Winery. Additional funding was provided by public television viewers. |
JEFF GENTES
Director of Photography/Producer
MARC C. PINGRY
Music Director
DENNY GORE
Narrator
JIM CISSELL
Field Producer
LESLIE RUGABER
Video Engineers:
CLIFF HILLHOUSE
C.R. CAILLOUET
TAKUYA OKADA
Helicopter Pilots:
GLEN BELL
RICHARD WHITBECK
WAYNE RICHARDSON
Fixed-Wing Pilot
ROBERT CAMPBELL
Helio-Vision
Composer/Arrangers:
ARMANDO COMPEAN
MICHAEL LYNCH
JEFF TASSIN
JIM COILE
SCOTT MacGOUGAN
TOM KELLOCK
JAMES VARLEY
Additional Musicians:
TOM HOPKINS
ROBERT PUFF
JAY ROBERTS
MATT HARRIS
Audio Post & Mixing
BILL FAST
Graphic Designers:
ELLEN DITMANSON
TAMAKI SHIMURA
For NHK Hi-Vision/Tokyo:
Executive Producer
TAK YAMADA
Senior Producer
NOBUO ISOBE
Producer
ELKE TITUS
NHK Enterprises Post Producer
USHIO OTSUYAMA
NHK On-Line Editors:
DAISUKE MAENO
TAKURO AKAIDA
KATSUHIKO ITO
Special Thanks to:
HD VISION / JON McDONALD
TYLER CAMERA SYSTEMS / CHRIS TYLER
PUGET SOUND HELICOPTERS
LAS VEGAS HELICOPTERS
JETCOPTERS
SONY HDTV / MARC DAIGLE
CANON USA / JOE PATTON
PINNACLE POST PRODUCTION
LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
HEARST SAN SIMEON
STATE HISTORICAL MONUMENT
ST. FRANCIS YACHT CLUB
NAOKO TAKEDA / TOMOKO YAMANE
Dedicated to
CHAS C. PINGRY
A Production of
KCTS Television/Seattle
in association with
NHK Broadcasting/Tokyo
© KCTS Television 1994
All Rights Reserved
Kris Caballero
Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.
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