No Gamble to See Variety of Las Vegas Culture

“Las Vegas” (International Video network, Video Visits, 52 minutes, 1990).

“Put a monorail around the city and you’ve got a Disneyland,” the narrator says. The words might be a fitting description for the Las Vegas that most tourists envision, but, as the video details, there’s a lot more to this city than its “Strip” and “Glitter Gulch.”

Starting with Las Vegas’ early history and rapid development after 1931, when gambling was legalized, the video goes to the Clark County Historic Museum, where relics from Las Vegas’ early days are featured, and continues with Howard Hughes’ role in the city’s growth and development.

Following some views of glittery Fremont Street, the main drag of downtown Las Vegas, the film also visits a manufacturer of some of the elaborate, eye-catching neon signs, Strip hotels and casinos, stage shows and other nightlife, offers an interview with a showgirl and a gaming instructor, tours the wedding chapels and interviews a minister who conducts weddings.

A segment shows the city as a family vacation spot. It reviews the Liberace Museum, a water park, child-care facilities and entertainment for children at hotels. Side trips include Hoover Dam and Lake Mead; the Mt. Charleston resort area, where there’s skiing in the winter; the petroglyphs at Red Rock Canyon, and some of the area’s ghost towns such as Rhyolite and Searchlight.

The video also goes into a remodeled and expanded McCarran International Airport, the convention center and looks briefly at many of the city’s recreational, professional and amateur sports facilities.

Viewers also get to see Las Vegas regulars as they go about their daily activities--working, shopping and at home--plus some of the new subdivisions and retirement parks as well.

Such cultural activities as the ballet, symphony, opera and theater are part of the picture, as are visits to the Clark County Library with its cultural exhibits, and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Future plans for the city are discussed, along with interviews and illustrations, including a new residential and commercial development that features a lake and theme park.

The video provides an entertaining and informative hour of viewing for the armchair traveler. There are no travel tips or recommendations.

A tape is available from International Video Network, Video Visits, 2242 Camino Ramon, San Ramon, Calif. 94583, (800) 443-0100, Ext. 561. Price: $24.95.

“Aruba” (Rand McNally Video Trips, 45 minutes, 1990).

Located 18 miles off the Venezuelan coast, Aruba strongly reflects a Dutch heritage spiced with the cultures of more than 40 other nationalities.

A tour of Oranjestad, the capital, takes viewers on a journey along its “hotel row,” showing shops and restaurants, and lovely beach scenes such as Eagle Beach, Fisherman’s Hut Beach and reef-protected Baby Beach, which is ideal for swimming and snorkeling. The city’s colorful marketplace and some of the typical pastel-painted buildings and brilliant gardens of Oleander, hibiscus and bougainvillea are also visited.

Recreational activities available include horseback riding, windsurfing, deep-sea excursions, scuba diving, tennis and golf, with a course created of sand and artificial turf and dinner cruises.

While traveling around the island, the film passes Hooiberg (Haystack Mountain), Aruba’s highest peak at 541 feet; the gold-mining ghost town of Balashi, and Spanish Lagoon, an early pirate haven.

Although the narration gives some of the island’s history, viewers are also shown Canoshito, where the Arawak Indian caves are lined with ancient markings, and Andicouri on the windward side of the island, where there’s a natural bridge created by the sea. At Casibari and Ayo, there are huge, building-size boulders that appear to have been tossed on the moonlike landscape.

The interior of the island, which is similar to the American Southwest with its sand and cactus, is the home for the strange divi-divi trees, whose branches point permanently away from the wind. Bird sanctuaries, goats and grazing sheep also receive attention.

This is a well-photographed video that will be helpful for those people planning to visit. Sprinkled throughout are suggestions on such things as care in the sun, currency, climate and church services. And compiled at the end is information on transportation and tours to and on the island, food and drinking water.

Tapes are available from VCRI, P.O Box 1179, Gillette, Wyo. 82717, (800) 248-7477. Price: $19.95.

“The Seven Wonders of the World” (Questar Video, 60 minutes, 1989).

Only one of the “Seven Wonders” of the ancient world still remain--the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The video, however, films all of the sites, showing the wonders as they appear today, with drawings and narration depicting them as they’re believed to have been.

In Egypt, scenes are shown of modern Cairo in contrast to the ancient pyramids and the Sphinx, plus the Nile River and the surrounding desert.

The narration explains how the pyramids were built, and there’s a display of some of the artifacts and tools used in their construction. There also is film of the interior of the pyramids, a sarcophagus and a description of the ancient burial customs.

There are many legends about curses threatening those who disturb the tombs. An example is given in film clips that show archeologist Howard Carter as he discovered the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amon while the narration tells the story of Carter’s subsequent mysterious death.

Little remains of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, along the Euphrates River in Iraq, but the video handles the ruins and provides illustrations of how it must have looked. There’s a description of its construction and the amazing method used in irrigating the legendary desert oasis.

Viewers are given some of the history of Babylon, a city of “lavish splendor and moral decadence,” and are shown sites including the reconstructed Ishtar Gate and the site of what may have been the Tower of Babel.

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia is re-created in narration and illustrations, as is Zeus’s role in Greek mythology. Also shown is Mt. Olympus, “the home of the Gods,” where Zeus reigned supreme.

At Olympia, Zeus’ “second home,” viewers see depictions of his temple and elaborate throne as they’re supposed to have been, and listen to legends and view old film related to the origin of the Olympic Games.

On the way to Ehesus and site of the Statue of Artemis, are the historic cities of Smyrna, Priene and Miletus in western Turkey. Along with history and legends, there are drawings of the statue and film of some of the archeological sites of the area.

Also in western Turkey is the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Bodrum). The city of Bodrum is shown as it is today with artists’ renderings of how it used to be. There are few signs of those ancient times remaining except for the early theater and a later castle built by the knights of St. John that was constructed from the ruins of the tomb.

A visit to Rhodes shows the island as it is today, including some of its ancient ruins. No one knows for sure where the Colossus stood, but some theories are given. The statue is said to have stood for only 25 years, and legend has it that it was destroyed by an earthquake and sold as scrap to a merchant who hauled it to Asia.

The final wonder is the Phoros (lighthouse) of Alexandria, Egypt, that eroded into the sea in AD 641. At 460 feet, it was believed to be the tallest building of its time. The narration describes how it operated, and there are illustrations of how it must have appeared. Located on a nearby site is a fort said to have been built with stone from the Phoros.

A tape is available from Questar Travel Network, P.O. Box 11345, Chicago, Ill. 60611, (800) 544-8422. Price: $29.95.