Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1983 - 65

prospective travelers (bona fide or armchair), or the public at large, the presentation is unsatisfactory and uneven,
assuming either too much or not enough
knowledge on the part of the viewer.The
film wavers between being a travelogue
and an incomplete introduction to various aspects of the fields ostensibly
covered. It opens, for example, with a
brief sequence touching on different
periods from the Palaeolithic to Roman
and then, when one expects a discussion
of historic times, it reverts to the Palaeolithic before moving on again.
In general, the treatment is superficial and, in many instances, an additional sentence or two in the narrative or
a five to ten-second illustration would
have clarified matters enormously. For
example, the entrance to the cave at Font
de Gaume is shown while the narrator
tells the audience that beautiful engravings and paintings are found within; a
quick shot of visitors passing through
the entrance then ends this sequence.
While it may have been impossible to
make a direct photograph within the cave
at the time, there are many good reproductions and even a five-second focus on
one, perhaps the scene of the battling
reindeer, would have "lent verisimilitude
to a bald and unconvincing narrative."
Similarly, the term Pleistocene is used
once as a geologic period, but with no
reference to glaciations or the Ice Age,
nor to the fluctuations of the fauna. The
terms Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic are used without explanation, and
the only element attributed to the Neolithic is a dolmen which appears for only
a few seconds without comment. Two
transitory pro forma shots of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon skulls are too brief,
and the accompanying sentence or so in
each case is unenlightening. A few good
views of some of the Lascaux paintings
are described with the usual clichéd reference to a Palaeolithic Sistine Chapel.
TVeatmentof the historical periods also
leaves things hanging. One is told that
villages with names ending in -ac are of
Roman origin, but no further derivation
is given. A certain type of village or
town is attributed to the English, with
no explanation as to when or why they
were there. A section of the river where
an iron chain could be stretched across
to impede the Vikings is shown, but with
neither date nor circumstances given.
Well-chosen views of the very lovely
landscape and of the charming and
interesting villages, towns, ruined
castles, and churches flicker and wobble
as though from a hand-held camera. A
truly excellent demonstration of flint
chipping and the reproduction of Stone
Age tools does not adequately indicate
the ecological advantages of the changing industries. The section is marred by
a much too long sequence showing a
local Frenchman using one of the newly
produced blades to carve a roast lamb.

The sound track is often intrusive,
and two comments are distinctly out of
place, lb say that Romanesque churches
occur "all over hell" in this region is
inappropriate at the very least, and to
say that Aquitaine desired independence
"and all that jazz" is jarring and vague.
The map of the area shown at the
beginning of the film is particularly good,
but the role of the two rivers is never
really well tied to geography, cultural
history or historical events. The occasional dreamy view of flowing water and
water lilies to a musical accompaniment
is no substitute.
There is no question that better editing, cutting and rearranging, perhaps
with some restoration of frames from the
cutting room floor, and a better script
could have markedly improved this film.
I found it incoherent, amateurish and
relatively uninformative. Although its
aim is good, in my opinion it is poorly
executed.
Robert W. Ehrich is a Research Associate
of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and Prof essor Emeritus of Brooklyn College. He edited Chronologies in
Old World Archaeology, and is currently
preparing a third edition. His specialty
is East Central Europe and the Balkans,
with major fieldwork in Czechoslovakia
and Yugoslavia.

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1983 65
September/October

Archaeology Magazine - September/October 1983

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