2/5 Don't be fooled
  by Peter Bridge (San Diego CA)
I can't figure out how Rudy has gotten the mileage he's gotten. I've watched many of his videos (heck, at some point, you've seen everything else), and I have found him to be consistently, extraordinarily, shallow in his research and understanding of his subject countries and locales. Please understand, I say that in the context of knowing many of his destinations, in some cases quite well.

If you want a light, fluffy, skim of the region, Rudy is your man -- he never covers anything that you wouldn't know about if you gave nine minutes to absent-mindledly flipping through a competent guidebook... and in the same depth. Think of Rudy as a tour bus, passing through at twenty miles an hour, giving you a glimpse, but never quite stopping to let you smell the roses. Or the horse manure. Lite, cheerful, sanitized, smooth, and lo-cal.

For a basic introduction to a country or region, Rick Steves is a better resource, whether or not you are seeking bargain travel -- look especially to Rick for help with building and prioritizing a trip around available time, and for help finding nice little spots the big books may overlook. If you want more than Rick offers, you'll have to start working your way through more serious volumes. Rudy ain't it.

On a positive note, the pictures aren't ugly. If your library has nothing else, and if you've seen everything else on Netflix, you probably won't regret the money invested, unless you've already been to the destination, in which case you may well be asking, "Why, Rudy, why? It would have been so easy to do a much better job."

5/5 A "First Class" Tour Of Italy
  by G. L. Hagen
This is one of the best quality travel DVD's on Italy. We own most of the other similar DVD's offered on Amazon. The production and narration quality sets this DVD apart from the pack. Regardless of the travel DVD that you select I must recommend purchasing a high quality travel guide to drill down to the specific details required for planning a visit to Italy.

3/5 Enchanted Italy
  by Jeane Rhodes (Lakewood, CO United States)
While a bit dated, these segments on travel in Italy with Rudy Maxa are enjoyable. The selection of sites is a bit limited, although Mr. Maxa does tend to cover a lot of territory in a short time. His visit to the Chique Terre was brief and focused on the villages, so those interested in the beautiful walking trail between the villages will be disappointed. The "extras" included are very brief and provide little additional information, so if you are a regular viewer of Rudy Maxa's public television series, you will find nothing new here. His discussion of air travel consolidators is good and, if you are interested in this topic, may be worth the purchase of the DVD.