<i> Video Reviews and News</i> : **** Excellent *** Good ** Ordinary * Poor : <i> Recent videocassette releases, reviewed by Times critics.</i> : Documentary
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* * 1/2”The History of the Indianapolis 500.”
JCI. $19.95.
This look at the famous auto race whizzes by like those supercharged mechanical beasts that have competed on Memorial Day since 1911. There are just too many races to cover (including the ’88 edition) in one 111-minute tape; the combination of a few narrated facts and brief film footage--no TV videotape was used--cannot convey the drama of each event. Also, the overall approach seems disjointed: Coverage up to the ‘60s is a mixture of interviews and illustrations (both film and stills), and we frequently see the narrator talking to us from a race-car museum. But the ‘60s-on portion contains no interviews, and we never see the narrator again. Despite the way it glosses over events, this history, put together by the track itself, should please fans of the sport.
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