PAN AM AIRLINES BELGIUM HOLLAND LUXEMBOURG 1960s TRAVELOGUE 86644

This short promotional film by Pan American is one in a series called New Horizons produced during the 1960s. New Horizons promotes the different destinations Pan American Airlines flies to. This film, The Low Countries: Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, was produced by Henry Strauss Communications and gives viewers a glimpse into the three countries. The film provides footage of rural and urban life, traditional and modern activities, and includes a narration that provides more of an elusive feel than an informational one. Lowlanders built their home on the water, and use the omnipresent water for agriculture, transportation, and more. The fertile lands are perfect for cultivating flowers (01:50), including tulips. In the canal-adorned cities (02:29), flowers are bought and sold (02:47). The region is a major hub of European trade, evidenced by the beautiful guildhouses of Brussels (03:00). The Lowlanders cherish their heritage and what they’ve built, and many old buildings (03:50) still dominate the cities and towns that are crisscrossed by rivers and canals (04:21). And signs of the flower industry are present all over as boutonnieres (04:58) adorn buildings, cars and bikes (05:17), and even a royal family (05:39), where people celebrate the Queen’s birthday with the flower arrangements, as well as traditional dances (06:05). While Lowlanders cherish their traditions, they embrace modernity as well, demonstrating it with their dress, cars (06:42), buses and new buildings, like the ones in Brussels (06:49). Modernity exists with, rather than replaces, tradition. Children still love traditional entertainment, like the Dutch street organ (07:11). Water is everywhere in the Lowlands, and people take advantage of it to make their communities thrive. Water canals are used to easily move around both people and cargo (08:07); river travel is free, but a toll must be paid at the locks (08:28). The waterways provide visitors an easy way to see the countryside, with its horse-drawn carts (09:06), and meet other sailors (09:18). A canal in Holland (10:00) connects the Waal and Rhine rivers. Beautiful homes line the canals (10:30; 10:56) throughout the Lowlands. Despite the abundance of water, Lowlanders use reed thatch (12:12) to create more farmland by sinking the thatch into the sea, weighing it down with rocks, then building a dyke on top of the rocks. This provides additional land for growing crops, raising livestock, and milking cows (12:36). Windmills (14:00) are a common sight throughout the region, and they continue to be a source of inspiration for artists, just as in centuries before (14:43). Many of the great artists paintings captured the vivacious social life of Lowlanders which is still present today—a film montage (15:25) goes back and forth between modern neon signs and old paintings of revelers. Rottardam boasts the world’s second largest port (17:38), while Madurodam (18:30)—in The Hague—claims title to the smallest village in the world and Belgium’s Durbuy (19:21) is known as one of the smallest chartered cities in the world. Other sights captured in the film include a parade of butcher apprentices (20:10), sledges hauling cheese (20:43), and Lowlanders kayaking, canoeing, and rowing (21:40). Beaches in Holland and Belgium provide work for farmers harvesting fish (22:12) and a place to relax for beachgoers (22:38). Ostend in Belgium and Zandvoort in Holland are two popular beaches. Old castles and fortifications (24:02) stand as a testament to those who came to conqueror the Lowlands, but poppy fields (24:45), rural landscapes, and the water shows that while “Caesars come and Caesars go,” the Lowlander remains, making their land out of the sea.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com