Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip | 
 enlarge | Director: Ken Burns
Actors: Keith David, Tom Hanks, Adam Arkin, Tom Bodett, Philip Bosco
Studio: Pbs Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $7.99
You Save: $16.99 (68%)
New (5) from $7.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 52951
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 146
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0780641442
UPC: 794054881721
EAN: 9780780641440
ASIN: B0000A02Y3
Theatrical Release Date: October 6, 2003
Release Date: September 30, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new, factory sealed. Fast shipping!
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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
Description
Horatio's Drive recounts the simultaneously inspirational and hilarious saga of Horatio Nelson Jackson, an eccentric Vermont doctor, who in 1903 - on a visionary whim and a 50-dollar bet - became the first person to drive an automobile across the continent, heralding the future of the "horseless carriage" as a vehicle destined for more than inner-city travel and as a machine that would transform American life.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 The original off roader July 27, 2006
2 out of 2 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 6, 2005
2 out of 2 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
15 out of 15 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
5 out of 5 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?"
 I LOVE KEN BURNS' STUFF January 31, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
lots of fun following their voyage, hard for us to visualize 100 years ago what our country looked like and what was happening in the average persons life. no long distance travel in a matter of hours. every trip took days. you either stayed within a few miles of home, or you were gone for weeks. We memorialize rt. 66 and the Lincoln Highway, but Horatio didn't even have the ole 2 lane blacktop. no motels, no koa's with electrical hook-ups. this is roughing it to the max. Just like traveling back roads today and meeting "the People" he was saved time and again, by the good ole common man of this u.s.a. the folks who still pull over to help stranded motorists, or pitch in to rescue someone caught in natural disasters, car accidents etc. our pioneer spirit is still alive and working, and watching a movie like this shows all of us, where Yankee ingenuity, american initative, pioneer spirit, and all the rest comes from. Just like Lewis and Clark, Horatio led the way to something we all take for granted today, and most of us can not imagine ever doing without.....OUR BELOVED WHEELS...... A++
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