The Champagne Safari
July 2006 Reviewed by: Marc Mickelson Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

History is scattered with the stories of mysterious figures whose existence changed the world in some way. Charles Bedaux was just such a person. Bedaux's Horatio-Alger-like life began in poverty in Paris and ended in suicide while he awaited trial for treason. In between, Bedaux became a wealthy businessman whose methods for improving worker efficiency earned him powerful clients around the world. His hunger for adventure led him to travel the globe and eventually arrange a posh expedition through the Canadian Rockies in 1934 -- the "champagne safari" that gives this movie its name, complete with limousines, Citroen half-tracks, and over 100 horses. All of this was necessary to haul the expedition's luxuries -- its gourmet food and kegs of liquor, its cooks and many handlers -- from Edmonton to Telegraph Creek, over 1200 miles of harsh territory.

The film juxtaposes Bedaux's life and business dealings with his Canadian excursion, underscoring the fact that an expedition is a worthy metaphor for such a complex life. On the one hand Bedaux was a free-spirited adventurer with friends in high places, and on the other a businessman for whom money had no nationality or political cause attached to it. During the polarizing time in which Bedaux lived, such a combination could only lead to ruin. He publicly backed the allies but included the Nazis among his clients. His trek over the Rockies was no more successful. The half-tracks broke down, and the horses became walking provisions.

Understandably, much of The Champagne Safari is told through period film footage. Floyd Crosby, who is best known as the cinematographer of High Noon, accompanied Bedaux through Canada, and his film record, which director George Ungar found in a Paris basement 50 years after it was shot, is important documentation of not only the expedition but the back country through which it traveled. The DVD's image quality is adequate given the materials used for the movie, while the extras are nothing special: a biography of the director, an essay on the expedition, and a photo gallery. Unused portions of Floyd Crosby's footage are conspicuous by their absence.

It is impossible to watch The Champagne Safari and not consider the connection between war and commerce in our world today. Bedaux was by no means a pioneer in this regard, and his dealings may be mild compared to those of former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney. The more things change, the more they stay the same, especially where money and power are concerned.

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