Horatio's Drive - America's First Road Trip | 
| Director: Ken Burns
Actors: Keith David, Tom Hanks, Adam Arkin, Tom Bodett, Philip Bosco
Studio: Pbs Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $18.94
You Save: $6.05 (24%)
New (8) Used (4) from $14.50
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 25866
Format: Color, Full Screen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 1415702519
UPC: 097368858640
EAN: 9781415702512
ASIN: B0002JP4XW
Theatrical Release Date: October 6, 2003
Release Date: September 28, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Subtitled "America's First Road Trip," Horatio's Drive captures the remarkable odyssey of Horatio Nelson Jackson, a doctor from Vermont who--accompanied by a former professional bicyclist and a bulldog named Bud--helmed the first trip from coast to coast in a car. In 1903, after making a $50 bet he could drive to New York City in 90 days, Nelson set off from San Francisco in a used Winton two-seater than he bought for $3000 and proceeded to cross a country where most roads, if they existed at all, were still made of dirt. Pulling together newspaper articles, period movies, and Jackson's own photographs and passionate love letters to his wife, famed documentarian Ken Burns crafts a love letter of his own to the automobile and the ways it has shaped American life. Horatio's Drive is both educational and completely entertaining. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Amazing January 15, 2009
David J. Grant (San Diego, CA)
I am using this film primarily for research for a novel, but I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to know a bit about our history. Or to anyone who would like to hear about a dramatic story that will be both riveting and uplifting.
The original off roader July 27, 2006
M. Anderson (Califonia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I can't say enough about this movie. It's a true story. It was made by the Legendary Ken Burns. It was tremendously inspiring. I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!! Horatio was a bit of an aristocrat, and based soley on a fifty dollar bet, he decides to drive across the United States from San Francisco to New York. Not much of an accomplishment today, but in Horatio's day there were no roads. Oh did I mention that Horatio was attempting to be the first person to cross the United States in a Car. With no experience, No roads, and a whole lot of optimisim; Horatio hires a driver, buys a car, and the two of them take a journey that I believe is as epic as that of Lewis and Clark. I think that anybody that enjoy's offroading would absolutely love this movie. If you are a fan of History, you'll love this movie. If you just enjoy a good movie, then you'll love this movie. I highly recommend this movie.
Total Enjoyment Documentary for the Whole Family November 5, 2005
Kenneth W. Kassen (Shawnee, KS)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Before tuning into PBS for this documentary, I thought, "Who cares about a rich kid with nothing better to do than make a $50.00 bet that he can go across the United States in 90 days or less?" Well, I had to retract that question after seeing it. I enjoyed it so much I bought it. This DVD was filled with the Old Yankee ingenuity and American spirit, ordinary people helping other people in times of need. Jackson and his mechanic found out more than just proving they could accomplish such a great feat. It wasn't easy. He had no highways, gas stations, Motel 6s or all of the other amenities we so take for granted today. This DVD has heart and makes one long for the good old days of America helping Americans in many ways. It also has the good old competitive American drive (no pun intended,) as there were others trying to be first to get across country at the same time. I won't tell you which team won, but this one is worth the watch. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
"My Darling Swipes...." February 18, 2005
I'm Serious (Galt, CA USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Horatio Nelson Jackson bet a group of men in San Francisco $50 he could drive an automobile coast to coast in three months or less, something which had never been done before.
"You're on," they told him, and the next day Jackson searched for a suitable vehicle. He spent $3,000 on a 1903 Winton Touring Car, hired a mechanic to accompany him on the drive, and three days later left the city by the Golden Gate heading for the Big Apple.
The duet became a trio when Horatio Jackson brought aboard a light-colored, good-natured bulldog named "Bud" in Caldwell, Idaho.
Jackson back-tracked the trails of westward migration. He introduced the dawn of a new age to a soon-to-be-passing way of life.
He encountered a wagon train heading for the last free land in the Great Northwest. He waited for a stage coach to bring him new tires. He had his automobile repaired at blacksmiths shops. He crossed mountain ranges, forded streams, and got the car stuck in buffalo wallows.
Horatio Nelson Jackson and his mechanic, Sewell Crocker, embodied the American ideal that you can accomplish the impossible with pluck, grit, and determination. They managed to cross the continent by automobile in just over two months and thus win the bet.
The story is superbly told by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. Jackson's letters home to his beloved wife, Bertha, or "Swipes", as he calls her, are read by the peerless Tom Hanks.
Behind the narration and the telling of the story is a very lively soundtrack which makes viewing the film most enjoyable!
The documentary, "Horatio's Drive," is Americana at its best.
Don't miss it!
Thank goodness it was only a two-seater! September 29, 2004
jimmy (out of this world)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I would never have imagined that a cross-country trip would have
been so hazardous as late as 1903. Mr Burns' film reminds the
viewer, though, that this trip was undertaken only a few years
after the West was officially considered settled.
As usual, the narrative is thoughtful, and the voice-overs are
superb. Tom Hanks was an excellent choice for Horatio Nelson.
The "two-seater" comment above? Watching this film, I was
actutely aware of what it might have felt like had there been
a couple of little voices in the back, asking "are we there
yet?"
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