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Imagine the world's most elegant tour guide, illuminating some of the world's most breathtaking vistas. The Emmy-winning PBS series Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn features the graceful film icon, in her last screen appearance before her death in 1993, as host of a tour of the world's most elegant and spectacular gardens. Hepburn herself was a gardening enthusiast (at least one rose and one tulip have been named for her), and her passion for the subject will entrance even those who struggle to keep a pot of herbs on the windowsill. The chapters are organized around type of garden (rose gardens, formal, country, etc.) as well as geography (Japanese gardens, tropical), and within each segment, Hepburn, and her co-narrator, Michael York, outline the history, details and art behind all manner of gorgeous spreads.
The "Formal Gardens" segment, for instance, spans nearly 3,000 years, with the original gardens of the pharaohs providing fruit, shade trees, even herbs for embalming. The Persians introduced the concept of pleasure gardens, influenced by Islamic belief of heaven as a vast, restorative garden. The classical Greeks and Romans added statuary to the formal ideal; the Italians, cascading fountains; the French, the idea, embodied at Versailles, of man's mastery over nature. Every garden is breathtaking in its own way, yet there are principles that even a novice gardener can absorb: the notion of architecture and structure, inside which the "furniture" of flowers and other plants, as suggested by the British garden expert Penelope Hobhouse, can be placed just so. Along the way, and around the world through history, Hepburn is a compelling guide whose obvious passion for the subject makes the series as riveting as any nature documentary. Extras in the Special Tribute Edition include a documentary, In Pursuit of Beauty, in which Hepburn visits more than 30 locations (including Giverny, known as Monet's flower garden). It also includes an interview with Hepburn and a splendid soundtrack featuring selections by Debussy, Vivaldi, and Berlioz. --A.T. Hurley
In Pursuit of Beauty offers an experience of remarkable authenticity, and a consummately incisive portrait of Audrey Hepburn: the bravura performer; the fine, collaborative artist; the delighted lover of gardens and nature, the life affirming humanitarian, and the truly gracious, incomparable star. Also featuring signature scenes from the acclaimed series, In Pursuit of Beauty serves up 17 spectacular garden locations with Audrey, in seven countries - Holland, Dominican Republic, USA, Japan, Italy, France and England.
Viewers can enjoy In Pursuit Of Beauty as one grand, al fresco world tour, or pause and breathe in the beauty of more than thirty scenes. Chapter access is provided for each of Audrey's five separate production itineraries. Two particularly captivating sequences include Audrey at the tulip naming ceremony in her honor at the Hepburn ancestral home in Apeldoorn - all in Dutch; and "One Fine Day", which includes on-location interviews with Audrey, the director, the producer, and with extensive behind-the-scenes footage of Audrey's memorable day of filming at Tintinhull House in Somerset, England.
Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn - Audrey's Emmy Award winning and final performance before the camera - has been recognized as the most accomplished, beautiful garden series ever produced. Audrey believed that the gardens, not she, were the real stars, and wrote: "After years of challenge and reward in my own garden, I greatly looked forward to spending time in some of the world's most beautiful gardens. I never imagined they would reveal the diverse range of expression they did."
The new Tribute Edition 3-disc DVD features the complete series of 8 programs, with narration by renowned actor Michael York: Roses & Roses Gardens, Formal Gardens, Country Gardens, Public Gardens & Trees, Flower Gardens, Tropical Gardens, Japanese Gardens, Tulips & Spring Bulbs. Also included are selections from the original music soundtrack featuring the works of Purcell, Debussy, Ravel, Rameau, Vivaldi, Copland and more.
BONUS FEATURE: Until now, the story of Audrey Hepburn's decided influence in Gardens Of The World has never really been told. who better to tell this enchanting story than Audrey herself? The newly produced 45-minute documentary reconstructs Audrey Hepburn's grand world tour for Gardens of the World - cinéma vérité, with intimate never-before-released footage of Audrey on location in the spring and summer of 1990 - and premiers on the Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn Tribute Edition 3-disc DVD . "I know that for Audrey the making of Gardens of the World was not only a marvelous adventure, but also one of the most rewarding experiences of her life and career", noted Audrey's life partner, Robert Wolders. "The new documentary so wonderfully captures her heart and spirit. It confirms those personal qualities of Audrey the public somehow instinctively imagines to be true, but otherwise would NEVER be able to know."
