Reviews (9)

The Best!
For those that need a pick-me-up that are past "the age" when Muppets are supposed to be entertaining, or for your young ones that have missed out on the hey-day of Sesame Street when it was even greater than it is now, this is one of the best movies to watch! With a passion for Egyptology and history in general, this was one of my favorite PBS specials growing up--even more so than 'Follow that Bird!'. It's truly educational and heart-warming. Can not go wrong with this movie.

You'll laugh, you'll cry---it's better than "Cats"!!
Sesame Street specials are always wonderful, but this hour long movie, filmed when Sesame Street was in its prime, is just spectacular. It remains one of my favorite ways to cheer myself up (I'm 27). When Big Bird wanders off near closing time to meet Snuffleupagus, and the rest of the Sesame Street monsters and humans try frantically to find him, they all get locked overnight in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The rest of the video, which amounts to the bulk of the story, revolves around three main storylines: 1.) everyone trying to find Big Bird while avoiding the suspicious but clueless mustachio-ed museum security guard, 2.) everyone discovering and enjoying the museum in the process, and 3.) Big Bird and Snuffleupagus helping a little Egyptian boy named Sahu prove his inner worth in a yearly "test", so that the god Osiris will let him join his parents as stars in the sky. There is enough of a storyline to ensnare even those with the shortest of attention spans, children and adults alike, and quite a bit of comic relief to lighten the way. Watching straight-arrow Bob as he runs around trying to keep Cookie Monster from scarfing down the Still Lives, while a group of dancing Monster-ettes sings the doo-wop title tune: "Don't eat the pictures, no, no, no!", is particularly amusing; as are the scenes where Sahu's invisible cat, who still meows audibly, befuddles that poor hapless security guard. The many many shots of the Museum interior are gorgeous, and a magical exposure/introduction to art and museums, in particular the paintings, sculpture, and medieval artifacts of the Met. The video of course has a happy ending, but one that will bring tears to your eyes. I watched this tape for the first time when I was 7 years old, and I must say that when as an adult I had my first opportunity to go to the Met in person, it was a truly awesome visit. Another friend who had watched the movie as a child led me on what we called the Don't Eat the Pictures Tour, and she showed me every piece of art showcased in the movie. Her tour ended at the Temple of Dendur itself, and as it was near closing time, it was dark outside with stars in the sky--just like the penultimate scene of DETP. A memorable day, and a memorable movie. It's a true gift from the Sesame Street gang to us, the viewing public. You and your kids will love it.

Don't Eat The Pictures (1987)
Parents,
In this rare Sesame Street video they go to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art. My 8 year old boy loves Coookie Monster so I tried to find a tape that included him. Big Bird goes gets Suffy to leave the museum but when he comes back to all his friend they were stuck in the museum. Cookie Monster sees a picture but Cookie Monster sings a song to don't eat the pictures.

This is Great
I first saw this when I was in the second grade and my parents taped it on BETA for me. The story line is great for this age group. Since I like Egyptian history, Prince Sahu and his story is really sweet. Just like the other Special features that Sesame Street has done, this is golden. Just like all the other ones. Christmas on Sesame Street (with Mr. Hooper) Big Bird in China and Big Bird in Japan.

I should be able to give it a higher number
Because it certainly desrves it. Unlike today's emphasis on dumbing down programing ala Barney, this video tape was made in a time when children were actually respected and given enormous respect.

Granted some of the acting seems weird because of the programing shift, but I seriously doubt that it would scare today's little kids. I watched it as a little girl, and keep hoping that it will be released.

One of the unexpected side effects of this non-condescending treatment is that young adults such as myself still fondly remember this movie and are not at all bored by the pace. Whatever your chronological age, you will find this program timeless in it's appeal and beloved by all.

That is what indicates real staying power, not how many toys one can invent, market and make profit from. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Trillion Dollar Bet
This is really a great video. If you have a passion for finance, you do have to watch it. It's an excellent opportunity to see the smartest people in the world of derivatives both "practitioners" and academics from top Universities. It is very clear and easy to understand even for those who have just entered the world of derivative evaluation using Black, Scholes and Merton formula. The opinions of all the protagonists are really inspiring and will give you a real feeling of this world, where advanced math, economics and practice are all melted together.

The Trillion Dollar Bet worth a bundle
In 1998 the largest ever financial collapse, the failure of Long Term Capital Management, risked pulling the world economy down with it until the Federal Reserve Board intervened and saved the day. Trillion Dollar Bet is the story of that rescue and the Nobel Prize-winning economists whose theories of hedge funds and risk management made LTCM possible. The film traces the evolution of theories of tracking the stock market by following minute variations in prices over time and the purported ability of the stock trackers to predict movement in the markets. Such a theory, if accurate, would permit investors to profit from such fluctuations at practically no risk, an exciting possibility. And for LTCM in its first years in the 1990s, the theory seemed to yield astonishing results, until the collapse of the Russian ruble in the summer of 1998 threw a monkey wrench into the works and threated the stability of stock markets around the world. This is an exciting story for those with an interest in investing and a modicum of economics background. The target audience is certainly the well informed and interested general public and not specialists. Difficult concepts are explained with crystal clarity and common sense examples. Members of the failed firm and the Nobel laureates contribute their views on the short term success and long term failure. I found myself riveted by explanations offered and the possibilities of "money for nothing." This may be the best Nova episode I have ever seen, and for an audience interested in stock markets, economics, finance and investing the film will stimulate your mind, entertain you, and make you smile at the arrogance of those who thought they had it all figured out. ... Read more

Description

A documentary, combining real footage and scenes played out by actors, following the life of Elvis Presley. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

King of Rock & Roll
This is a moving documentary of the life of the greatest entertainer of all time. I was completely satisfied when I watched it, though I can hardly make it through the ending without shedding alot of tears. It depicts the high and low points of his life, from being on the Ed Sullivan Show to marrying Priscilla, then going off to Vegas for his most famous concert tour EVER! Seeing the real footage of his funeral at the end was extremely sad, and the different clips from home movies and hollywood movies was great, but I gotta tell ya, the clip from his concert just 6 weeks before his untimely death is heart-wrenching. He struggled with his weight, but as Joe Esposito said his voice never failed him even to the end. I recommend this video to any Elvis fan.

And for once, it really is
Love him or loathe him, regard him as a genius or a joke, Elvis Presley was the single most influential performer of the second half of the 20th century, and "This is Elvis" does an excellent job of depicting the rise and fall of this immensely gifted and controversial performer. Plenty of film clips and classic performances from "The Ed Sullivan Show" and Presley's own TV specials track the singer's explosive assault on the consciousness of his times, and the tragic end that, with hindsight, seemed almost inevitable. The film is marred a bit by an unnecessary narration with singer Ronnie McDowell as a less than convincing Elvis, and by the inclusion of some dramatic reenactments of key events in Presley's life. None of these embellishments contribute much to this otherwise superb documentary, nor do they detract from the miles of authentic footage of the King in all his glory, and, sadly, in his decline.

Good Documentary
This video has Elvis singing 2 songs from his last tour when he was fat from the CBS TV special done 2 weeks or so before he died. This is rare footage. He actually does an inspired performance of "My Way". He was truly "facing the final curtain" as the words to that song say. This is probably one of the best documentaries available. It's interesting though. I saw this movie when it came out in the theatre in 1981. This movie has been edited to cut out dirty words Elvis used during the filming of some of the concert tour footage from 1972. Most notably in the back of a limo, Elvis in unaware that a microphone is on during filming. He tells Joe Esposito he didn't see the launch of the Apollo space craft because he was busy doing something with some lady at the hotel that night. What he really said was scrubbed and new words were dubbed over his voice making him appear to say something completely different or really toned down at least. Also, arriving at another coliseum he jokes with his body guards about what he was doing with a lady the night before at the hotel. Once again in this video, his original real words are scrubbed out and a voice double is used to put other words in Elvis's mouth which I guess are supposed to be less offensive. What he originally said might not even rate a PG rating but it's interesting to note that someone thought it better to edit out the truth and replace it with a lie apparently to make Elvis appear less... I don't know what. The new words kind of say the same thing but in much toned way which only comes out kind of weird though. The story of his life. Like Elvis says in one interview, "The image is one thing and the human being is another." Yea, even in death. If you want a good summary of the Life Of Elvis with some decent concert footage thrown in, this can work for you.

A lovely introduction to Elvis.
I am a new Elvis fan, having only discovered the King about four months ago, and only much more recently did I become curious about his life. I purchased _This is Elvis_ four days ago and have watched it no fewer than eight times since then.

Much has been said here already about this film, so I will focus on two much-maligned aspects of the film--the dramatic reenactments and the voiceovers.

The first moments of the film are dramatic reenactments. We open with a reenactment of Elvis's loved ones finding his body at Graceland, and then we have reenactments of scenes from Elvis's childhood growing up in Tupelo and then, Memphis. While the phrase "dramatic reenactment" can immediately bring to mind fears of copious cheese, this need not be the case here. These portions of the film are tastefully done and decently acted and directed. Most importantly, they are crucial to the structure of the film. It would have been odd, indeed, for a film claiming to be a definitive portrait of Elvis to pick up when he's nineteen or so and cutting records. We need a vision of his earlier life. Since there is no video record of that time, the dramatic reenactments are necessary to fill the void. At any rate, these only take up about the first ten or so minutes of the film.

Some have also criticized the use of narration, in general, and the first-person narration of the Elvis impressionist, in particular. First of all, without narration, this film would be nothing more than a collection of video clips strung together. Narration is called for to give this collection the shape of a narrative (as the term "narration," of course, suggests). That said, one might still ask, why first-person narration? Personally, I find the use of first-person narration here to be inspired. It draws the viewer in and gives the story an immediacy and an intimacy that third-person narration would lack. The first-person narration works equally as well for the secondary subjects of this documentary (Priscilla, Gladys, etc.) The film is all the more compelling for the use of this dramatic device.

And now for some brief notes on other aspects of the film. I thought the way it handled the issue of Elvis's infidelity to Priscilla was smart and tasteful without skirting the issue. His cheating is never explicitly mentioned, but we do get two instances of Elvis discussing his dalliances with women, during the time that he was married to Priscilla. It is surprising then, that Vernon's brush with the law is baldly misrepresented. The voice of Elvis says that Vernon was sent to jail for writing a bad check--the more full truth is that Vernon forged a check.

At the same time, the film references Elvis's displeasure with many of his movies and with his film contracts--even though Col. Parker was a technical advisor on the film. So, in some ways, the film is surprisingly honest, and in other areas, the viewer is advised to take its assertions with a grain of salt.

That said, I rate this video five stars. There is a great wealth of footage here, and we are treated to *full* performances--not just little clips and tidbits. We get to experience a bit of Elvis's personality--I had no idea how hysterically funny he could be, or how self-effacing. It is also great to see the reaction of the popular media to his music, particularly in the 1950s. We get clips of a number of officials denouncing Elvis for bringing n****r music to white America. This really helped me to put Elvis into the cultural context of his time, and to understand just how truly groundbreaking and controversial his contribution was.

For the price, A must own.
Inspired by Gary's review below, I purchased this video through an Amazon seller expecting that anything so cheap would have to be utter rubbish. I'm pleased to report that this video is most decidedly not utter rubbish. At over 140 minutes of run time it is chockablock full of enough Elvis material to make any Elvis fan happy.
The premise of this video is to document the life of the 'King' from childhood to overnight sensationalia through military, marriage and moviestardom and finally to decline and ultimate demise. The director's conceit is to use actors to portray phases of his life as a set up for the plot and then to use actual film footage of subsequent events to flesh out the story. In addition, we are guided by narrations from 'Elvis,' 'Priscilla,' his 'Mom' and others all with suitably hill billy accents, where appropriate. In my opinion this departure from straight documentary hurts the film and I found my mind wandering from bits because they seemed bothersome and artificial. In addition, I believe that the story was poorly told in any event because the video comprised more than two hours of material (some of which was not on the big screen release), and still did an inadequate job of covering many of the many issues the story raised. For instance, we are shown a gathering of Elvis impersonators and Teddy Boys in Liverpool England which, apart from the spectacle, had absolutely nothing to do with the film. It was almost as if someone wanted to do a section on the spawn of Elvis kitsch, clubs, and impersonators but then begged off, and forgot to cut this clip. Also, a section is given over to a revelatory book written by his former body guards and mention is made of law suits, but with no other information. Now, these visual and audio clues might be enough to inform an Elvis fan, but it leaves one such as I who knows little about Elvis clueless. It is possible that since this film depended upon cooperation from the Elvis estate the director was unable to do more, I wonder?
On the plus side is the large amount of film footage of early Elvis performances, his hollywood numbers and interviews he gave and shows he put on. Especially nice are the interviews because they seem to allow one to observe Elvis form honest responses to unexpected questions; answers which often make him seem to be a really thoughtful and intelligent human being. The early performances are, of course, riveting and alone would make the video worth owning.
One walks away from this video thinking that it would have been much improved by extracting the faked bits and adding more actual film footage of Elvis. If this had been done, I'd have given this four or five stars without a thought. ... Read more

Description

Can you see in the dark, smell your way home, or dig for food with your nose?To learn about the unique abilities that different animals have, Chris and Martin ride in a hot-air balloon to "see like a hawk" and Myrtle the Bloodhound drops by to show Zoboo how she uses her super sense of smell.Join the fun as Zoboo leaps into the amazing world of animal "sense-abilities." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great kid pleaser
My 18 month old granddaughter is constantly asking to see "foo-foo" which is her word for this. She also seems to think it is an exercise video the way she jumps up and down with the various animals and imitates what she sees. Between learning animal names and what they eat and where they live and doing the movements, I don't think you could find a more educational video for the young ones.

Zoboomafoo- Sense-Sational Animal Friends
The Kratt brothers are AWSOME... My two boys, ages 5 and 10 love their show back when it was Kratt's Creatures and they continue to love them with Zoboomafoo....It's fun, interesting and educational.. I find myself sitting with them to watch... ... Read more

Reviews (67)

Spectacular account of the event that deffined the era
No words can describe how wonderfully this film has captured the moment in the event which defined the Hippie Movement, which amazed the world by truley and fully living up to its catch phrase: "Three days of peace, love, and music", and which made those who did not attend wonder what they were thinking.
The music, first and foremost, is truley wonderful. Spectacular performances by CSN, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Ten Years After, Richie Havens and so many more. I most especially enjoy watching Joe Cocker's rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends". His voice and the energy which radiates from him as he performs is truley mesmerizing. And of course who could forget Jimi Hendrix famous performance where he tore up his guitar with his captivating version of the National Anthem. I also love Country Joe's performance of "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag". A wonderful performance, it truley captivates the peace and love of the event as, toward the end of the song he encourages the audience to stand and sing to end the war...and the majority of the 500,000 or so audience members stand and sing along.
But it's not just the music that make's this film wonderful. The film show's the organization of the event, the building of the stage etc... We meet the people who made the event possible. And when the people begin to enter the site without paying for tickets....and the producers realize how much money they've lost...they shrug it off and say that they don't mind because the event and the people loving eachother and sharing everything is such a beautiful thing...and that the money doesn't matter. Do producers of rock concerts (or producers of anything for that matter) ever say that money doesn't matter these days? It truley shows what a wonderful generation it was. The audience is beautiful as well, everyone being themselves, everyone having a good time and sharing the experience that was the last bang (and what a bang it was) for the Hippie Movement.

3 Days at Yasgur's Farm
The Woodstock Festival was a defining for the counterculture movement. The young hippies showed a nation that they could exist together in a peaceful, communal state. The Woodstock documentary captures the essence of those three days on a farm in upstate New York. We see hippies skinny-dipping, the locals looking around in amazement on the deluge of people who descending on their quiet, little town, kids, cops and others are interviewed and of course we see the music. From Richie Havens' opening things up with "Freedom" to Jimi Hendrix's defining "Star Spangled Banner", we are treated to a 60's rock who's who. Joe Cocker, Santana, CSN&Y, John Sebastian and Sly & The Family Stone particularly standout and we get bonus material not in the original release from The Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others. Director Michael Wadleigh's film won a deserving Best Documentary Oscar and a young Martin Scorcese was an editor on the film. Some of the acts are woefully dated and long forgotten, but Woodstock is an impressive snapshot of a memorable moment in our history.

A Document of a Feeling
It's inevitable that arguments will take place, as they do in these reviews, about what the meaning of Woodstock really is -- many have evoked peace and anti-vietnam sentiments and a great social movement, while others take a more mocking tone and dismiss it as a kind of upper middle class fantasy camp, a sewing of the oats before beginning corporate life.

Not having been alive in the 60s, I only know what I've read and been told by those older than myself, but I'd guess that the first assessment is a bit idealistic, while the second is unfair, and that the truth is "somewhere in between," to fall back on the cliche.

What the film does successfully document, I gather, is what it felt like to be young and hippie and excited about music and social protest and all the things Woodstock at least appeared, at the time, to represent. The feeling is what's embodied in the filmic techniques, the scenes chosen, and the performances themselves, and this makes Woodstock a successful documentary.

The 60s were many things, and no film could capture all of them. Actually, in spite of the fact that it allows itself to get very much caught up in the excitement, I think the film has its moments of ironic distance and sobering reality, such as the port-a-san scene (particularly the extended shot of the average joe cleaning the things).

For a good counterpoint, I recommend the Isle of Wight festival film, which captures the darker, more selfish side of the hippie generation.

Beautiful and dirty
Although I was a teenager soon after this concert, I somehow never got around to seeing the moving until this year. (I guess concert films don't get screened frequently on terrestrial TV.) So over the years I've become more familiar with the triple LP of the movie and, of course, the many posters the rock stars in heroic poses that dominated the early 1970s -- i.e. the Who's Roger Daltrey, Jimi Hendrix and Ten Years After's Alvin Lee.

Despite the mud and the squalor, this is an extraordinarily beautiful film, with the screen often breaking up into two or three segments. (Note on the closing credits the name of Martin Scorsese on the production team.)

It's well worth contrasting this movie with the DVD of the 1970 Isle of Wight festival. Only a year separates the two concerts, but the late 1960s idealism of Woodstock gets replaced by prototype British vandalism. The Who perform at both concerts, and make an equally good account of themselves. Daltrey's emotional delivery of 'See Me, Feel Me' helps to explain why 'Tommy' became such a phenomenon in America. Hendrix also performed at both, but his meandering solo at Woodstock was not of the highest standard.

The other highlight of the show was Santana, a Latino band only just beginning to establish themselves in California at the time. As others have noted, the drum solo by Mike Shrieve is impressive for one so young. As with the Who, Santana's album sales will have multiplied as a result of their Woodstock performance.

It's interesting how many great acts weren't at Woodstock -- e.g. Joni Mitchell (despite her song about the concert!), the Doors, Bob Dylan or the Stones. The first two clearly realised how important these festivals were in the breaking of artists into markets, and so they appear on the Isle of Wight DVD.

For most of my life, Woodstock has been a set of static images, largely taken from the cover of the album. But as this film reveals, there is so much more imagery than pictures of beautiful women bathing in the lake. Quite apart from all the idealism of passing whisky bottles and reefers around, of sliding in the mud, the film shows the flip side: of people queuing in the mud to phone home, of helicopters rescuing the sick, of helpers cleaning toilets, and of barefoot stragglers looking for a pair of shoes amid a post-concert site that looks more of a wasteland than the trenches of the First World War.

Enjoy it in all its glory and all its grime.

Woodstock
Woodstock was a great documentary. It had everything from split screen to wonderful music. The sound was great. So many bands in only 3days. It was a time where skinny diping and doing Pot and acid was ok and understandable. Police were not filling the jails with people who did drugs and broke laws. They were letting them be free and discover peace. Woodstock is something that will go down in history as a time of love and peace and understanding. In the end it was more then just the music it was the love and the way freedom brought it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Still startlingly beautiful after several years, Nova's The Miracle of Life records human conception for the first time on film, and much more.Living, functioning reproductive systems are laid bare to the camera, and there is so much to explore and absorb that Nova's expert guidance is much needed and appreciated. The viewer follows an egg from its follicular development in an ovary, through the delicate, flowery fallopian tube for fertilization, and on to the uterus for development and eventual birth. Likewise, we follow the shorter journey of millions of sperm as they develop and strive mightily to reach the egg. (There isn't a man alive who can watch intraurethral footage without squirming--see for yourself!)Photographer Lennart Nilsson has shown us something profoundly beautiful and yet has left its fundamental mystery intact. The Miracle of Life is a rarity: a documentary that is also art. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Not as good as stated...
I bought this DVD a short while back from Amazon with great expectations. This video was made in the early eighties and it shows it's age. This video was marketed as a great aid for expectant parents. On that premise, I decided to purchase it. The video starts off talking about cells and how life got started on earth a million years ago. I was disappointed to see that the first 30-45 minutes didn't really talk about babies at all, but more the fertilization process. There is a short segment at the end that shows a few different stages in the pregnancy, but not nearly enough. I also bought Life's Greatest Miracle by NOVA at the same time. I was a little disappointed in that one too, but it shows more of what I was expecting to see. Whatever you do, don't buy both as I did...A lot of the stuff is redundant. Hope this helps.

Truly a miracle...
The cinematography of this video is truly breathtaking. A learning process from beginning to end. Everytime I watch this video, I am constantly amazed and how the photographer was able to capture the events of conception. A masterpiece!

Now you will know that the Almighty is truly behind all this
This is no fake thing! That truly was a little capture of the works and art of the great God that we serve. He is a supreme scientist, architect and he is so great. It gets to the point where modern science cannot go further with their bogus explanations. The miracle, is there and it is beyond comments and explanations. Go and see for your self, GOD IS GREAT and we must serve him.

Disgusted
This video was shown in my 9th/10th grade Biology class. It was completely inappropriate for people my age. The view of a male's [reproductive part] inside a women's [reproductive part] was so not necessary. It was not a drawing, but a real picture through a camera. The real live birth uncensored was also inappropriate. THey don't even show that on the discovery channel uncensored. Also the heat image of a [male reproductive part] becoming erect, 14-16 yr olds don't need to see that!

slightly misleading
I bought this video because I wanted to learn more about pregnancy and childbirth after I found out I was pregnant. Based on the video's cover, I expected it to be about humans. The video is so broad and offers only a few minutes of actual footage that I was interested in. I felt like I was in science class and bored for the most part. It is an informative video, but not if you want to know about what is happening with your developing baby. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This animated time-travel adventure features a stellar cast and is a delight for kids and adults alike. When Matt, a black teenager, has to go on a class field trip to the museum of Martin Luther King Jr., he thinks that he'd rather play baseball. But the trip turns into an exciting adventure when he and his best friend, Randy, who's white, are sent back in time to meet Dr. King.

The story is also remarkably moving, as Matt and Randy learn what Dr. King did for humanity, and come to see him as a real person, not a historical figure. Matt and Randy experience segregation firsthand when they aren't allowed to eat on a train together. Together, they witness the bus boycott, the Birmingham riots, and the "I Have a Dream" speech. They discuss the theme of "non-violent resistance" with their new friend Martin and the work of Ghandi in India. As King tells Matt, "We must meet hate with love. It will take time, but somebody's got to start." Authentic historical footage blended with animation make this an excellent choice for teaching kids about the legacy of Dr. King. --Elisabeth Keating ... Read more

Reviews (26)

"Pick of the Month" of Good Housekeeping Mag., Feb. 1999
Good Housekeeping Magazine has selected this video as their "Pick of the Month". I have not seen it, but would love to take a look at it as something to possibly share with my six-year-old and her first grade class. GH writes: "Coinciding with Black History month is the debut of this appealing, made-for-video movie, a child's-eye look at the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. "OF,M" combines animation and documentary footage of the civil rights leader to tell the story of two boys who magically travel back in time and meet King at various points in his life. The production features the voices of such stars as Angela Bassett, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, and LeVar Burton as King." This sounds like a potential winner to me!

Good Movie, but too Intense for young children
My 6 year old daughter came home very upset after viewing the movie at school. The movie is very intense and portrays ALL White people as bad! The real life footage is too deep for young children to assimilate. If you let your kids watch the Simpsons, then they will enjoy the Cartoon Characters. As an adult, I did enjoy the movie, though I would never have let my child watch it without being present to explain everything. She said MLK touched her heart, but she now has nightmares because she is so upset about him being killed, and ALL white people being so very mean. I think this movie would be more appropriate for 6th graders and up.

A gem!
This is an excellent educational video. I agree with other reviewers that it is not appropriate for young viewers. However, as a fifth grade teacher, my students were fully capable of handling the presentation and the discussions that we had before and after.

This video truly encourages children to think about the choices they make. Not only does it make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. someone a child can relate to, but it explores the idea that one person can make a difference. It urges children to stand up for the right thing even when it is difficult.

yuck
I've been forced to watch this film every year for the past five years at school. This movie is probably the stupidest thing to ever grace the Earth. If you are going to teach kids about the civil rights movement than do it right, show them a documentary or a realistic film. This movie is a real joke and the characters suck.

Informative and Interesting for my 4 yr old
I watched this on DVD with my 4 yr old son. He was VERY interested and really liked the movie. He understood immediately that the show was NOT saying that all White people are bad, that in fact skin color is a very silly thing to judge people by.

It was refreshing to see a show on the Civil Rights movement that did not show The Selfless and Heroic White Man coming in to save and protect the apathetic and helpless minorities, but instead portrayed the courage and determination of the people who had engaged in the struggle for freedom for years... centuries.

It gave was a good portrayal of the attitudes and realities that made the Civil Rights struggle so difficult, desperate, and dangerous. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Misunderstood Minds is a captivating documentary that unreels like a topnotch drama--you'll be on the edge of your seat while having a series of "aha" moments. The 90-minute production spends three years following five families with children who struggle with learning disabilities. One high-achieving boy's strong memory masks his inability to read; the parents of a middle-school girl who has trouble focusing resist the solution (drugs). Not every story is a clear success, and one Boston teen slips through the cracks. The learning-problem experts and teachers do a superb job making a complex subject (children have "expressive language deficiency" or an "output problem") entirely understandable. Directed and produced by Frontline filmmaker Michael Kirk and narrated by Nightline correspondent Chris Bury, the show is powerful as it trains the lens on these quotable kids and their often-heartbreaking journey. --Valerie J. Nelson ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Misunderstood Minds
I teach high school and this video did a few things for me. First, it showed me the importance of elementary school teachers in pin pointing learning disabilities. Second, it is important for parents to explore different possibilities for why students aren't performing. I have an 8 yr old nephew who was just diagnosed with severe dislexia and the original prescription was drugs for ADD. Explore the possibilities! Third, the specific story of the teenager drove home the importance of having smaller classes in high school. I have 35 kids in each class. I know that for some, that is small. I have 6 classes. It is impossible for teachers, most of us wish we could, to be able to cater to the needs of each individual student. The video showed the importance of not only giving a correct diagnosis for a students problems, but the importance of following through and working with the student, so he or she can really succeed. The real stories showed the emotion that not only the students go through, but the families as well. It is a firm reminder that children need understanding, not labels. I recommend Misunderstood Minds.

A must for all parents and schools !!
Parents and educators alike must get this presentation !! We must stop labeling every problem as ADD and get educated on the latest Brain Research . Many young people are suffering needlessly because there has not been enough promotion of this research .

Attention Parents and Teachers
I was so captivated by just the title. It is a must see for every parent with a child who has a learning disability. That not every child is an honor student or needs to be. If you see this video you must read the book A Mind at a Time, by Dr. Mel Levine. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

the bond between all creatures
This is a fascinating, and often quite moving documentary showing the emotional kinship between man and his fellow mammals. The film footage is remarkable, starting with the basic emotions that pertain to survival, "fear, aggression, and the urge to procreate", and then moves on to the more subtle feelings of joy, compassion, grief, loyalty, and even depression.
The caring of one another in animal societies is extraordinary, and shows the bonds of friendship between species of primates, meerkats, wolves, and many more.

The section on maternal love is wonderful, with one exceptional segment by wildlife photographer Martyn Colbeck who follows a herd of elephants, and captures the tremendous patience and devotion exhibited towards a recently born calf as he struggles to walk. There are many instances of incredible sacrifice, including the story of a dog who saves a young boy.
It shows how rescue dogs can show signs of depression, and rats who laugh when they are tickled. I love the chimp who is looking at Gourmet Magazine, and points to pictures of pastries and signs "sweet".
As Dr. Roger Fouts of the Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute says, the difference between us and other animals is "one of degree, and not of kind".

Produced, written and directed by Carol Fleisher, and calmly and carefully narrated by Sigourney Weaver, viewing this documentary is time well spent; it is informative as well as entertaining, but parents of young children should realize that though there is plenty of fun and frolic, it is far from being a cute animal film, and there are scenes of violence and tragedy. Total running time is 95 minutes.

LANDMARK
This film is a landmark in blending science and advocacy. It seeks to assert that animals lead complex and sophisticated emotional lives, not unlike our own. But it manages to walk the fine line between subjectivity and objectivity. It avoids going too far to the subjective side; it doesn't end up trying to emotionally blackmail the viewer into buying this concept, with mere stagey or cute displays of animal interaction. It relies heavily on scientific observation in both natural and controlled environments. But by the sheer genious of editing and writing, one cannot help but be drawn into the lives of these noble creatures just as one would a good drama. The movie wisely lets the animals behavior "do the talking", and doesn't try to rush us to judgement. It left me rethinking everything I had assumed about animals, emotions, and the nature of our (and by 'our' I mean all of God's creatures) existence.

FULL of much research and wonderful images
This movie shows how closely related we humans are to mammals with scientific research and observation. It gives wonderful descriptions and examples of the differences between reptilian brains and mammillian brains. It is truly incomprehensible that some think that animals (mammals other than human) are not capable of such emotions as love, compassion, anger, loyalty, remorse, etc. At the end of the movie I was questioning if humans are de-evolving to reptile brains due to our parenting of our own offspring (or lack of parenting). Wonderful movie. I highly recommend it for all ages.

Good for people like me
This video includes some remarkable and moving scenes of animals displaying what appear to be emotions such as sorrow, loyalty, and gratitude. I say "appear to be" not because I don't think that animals have these emotions, but to emphasize that Why Dogs Smile... is not a scientific treatment of the issue of animal emotional behavior or intelligence. Every single person who appears in this video, from the wildlife documentarians to the scientists, is completely committed to the idea that animals experience and act on the full range of feelings that we might consider "human emotions." No dissenting voices are present to argue that we are merely projecting our own feelings onto the behaviors of the animals, or that the brains of non-human animals lack the ability to produce emotion, or so on.

I believe that animals have emotions and found reinforcement for my pre-existing belief in this video. I was entertained and moved, but would rather this video challenged my beliefs as well as those of people who might disagree. A presentation of the scientific (and political) debate over this issue would have improved this video.

Amazing insight into animal emotions
This video is truly amazing! To be able to actually see animal exhibiting "human" emotions. Anyone who has said that animal do not feel or have no emotions need to see this video. Those of you, like me, who know for a fact animals have emotions and display them, this is an insightful and heartful video! This is a must see/must own video! ... Read more

Amazon.com

There's a plug for environmental causes (song lyric: "If there's a place worth saving, this must be the place"), a Darwinian crack aimed at parents, and faux news broadcasts to keep things moving. But most of all there are animals, animals, animals in this 37-minute National Geographic video. If a trip to the South American rain forest isn't part of the vacation plans, this video tour aimed at kids from preschool through grade school will more than suffice. Comparing the forest layers to an apartment building, animated planet guide Spin (Dudley Moore) steps onto an elevator to explore the forest floor on up to the canopy level--meeting tapirs, jaguars, bats, and spider monkeys along the way. Meanwhile kids become familiar with concepts such as echolocation, camouflage, and the equator. Now that's infotainment! --Kimberly Heinrichs ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Very entertaining and educational.
I have a three-year-old who loves this video we borrowed from the local library. He already knows the layers of a rain forest and can name a few animals in each layer. I have a degree in elementary education and truly realize how important positive exposure to new things are to children. He also gets angry at the part where they show the cutting down of trees and tells the man to pick them back up! Hello! Do you need more of a hint? Videos like this are truly benificial to children.

Awesome! Humor Included!
This video is really cool, and fuuny too. Kids can learn a lot from it, all the while being entertained. It's the best quality, the kind you expect from National Geographic. The answer to every question you ever had about tropical rainforests is right here, I can garauntee it. Dudley Moore, the histarical comedian, plays the loveable and always-good-for-a-laugh globe character Spin. A great way for kids 5-13 to learn and have fun!

Humorous Education
The Tropical rainforest has over 1/2 of the earth's animals and plants!Hey I am NOT kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Take a swing around the forest with Dudley Morre as Spin,your favorite globe-on-the-go!40 Min.Hoatzins included. What!!!!!?????Find out in the Totally Tropical Rain Forest! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

After the national success of his 11-hour epic, The Civil War--the highest-rated miniseries in public-television history--many wondered if Ken Burns could capture the same energy and passion with smaller subjects. His reply, the 18-hour history of America's greatest sport, Baseball, not only quieted these worries, it also perhaps surpassed his prior achievement. Massive in scope (it covers more than 100 years), exhausting in detail, and filled with celebrities, journalists, politicians, historians, and the men who played the game, Burns's romantic love letter to the game achieves the impossible: even those who hate baseball can't help but become immersed in it. This is because Burns doesn't just detail the great players and the memorable plays and games; he also presents baseball as a cultural and social mirror, reflecting the beauty and hypocrisy of the nation that created it. Divided into nine innings, two hours each in length, the video examines complex social issues such as segregation, racial inequality (its section on Jackie Robinson, baseball's first African American player, should be required school viewing), labor battles between owners and players, politics, technology and gender conflicts, among others. Then, of course, there's fascinating footage and biographies on the players--troubled icons such as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, heroes such as Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, and tragic figures such as Pete Rose and Lou Gehrig--the men who, despite a rocky and often hypocritical history, constructed baseball's tradition and preserved its invincibility. --Dave McCoy ... Read more

Reviews (93)

A DVD All Baseball Fans Should Own
Ken Burns did his usual outstanding job with this documentary. He tells the story of baseball, using a combination of still photos, videos, interviews and quotes quotes. The DVD includes a bonus disc, which includes several great interviews.

He hits all aspects of the game: The development of the game itself and the leagues, the labor history, the stars and great teams and personalities, the great moments in the history of the game, and so on. He also gives us a pretty good look at the old Negro leagues and we get to hear some of the great stories from those days before MLB was integrated.

The only bad thing I can say about this collection of dvds is that by the time it was over I was really sick of hearing different versions of "Take Me out to the Ballgame."

The great stories in this collection more than make up for that one drawback, however. He does more than just interview and quote the players, managers, umpires, owners and sports writers. He includes stories from fans. Doris Kearns Goodwin told about how she grew up rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers, then after they moved away, she found herself in Boston, becoming a Red Sox fan, just in time to have her heart broken again.

All fans of baseball should see this collection.

this is a 'must see' for people who love baseball
THIS BEAUTIFUL AND METICULOULSY CRAFTED FILM ABOUT THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL, TRACES IT'S ROOTS IN AMERICA FROM THE 1830' TO THE 1990'S. ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN KEN BURN'S CIVIL WAR SERIES KNOWS HOW WELL THE AUTHOR COVERS HIS SUBJECT. THIS NINE TAPE SET LETS YOU SEE THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAS GAME. THROUGHT A COLLECTION OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHS AND EARLY MOTION PICTURES YOU CAN SEE THE LEGENDS THAT YOU HAVE ONLY HEARD OF IN BOOKS AND FROM YOUR OLDER RELATIVES. CAP ANSON AND 'HOME RUN BAKER COME TO LIFE, TY COBB AND HONUS WAGNER, AND GROVER CLEVELAND DISPLAY THEIR ATHELETIC PROWERESS ON JERKY SPOTTED FILM. THE NARRATIVE IMPECCABLY DONE BY JOHN CHANCELLOR AND A HOST OF WELL KNOWN FANS SUPPLIES YOU WITH A RUNNING COMMENTARY OF THE PLAYERS AND THEIR STORIES OF MOST OF THE HONORED MYTHS. THE STORY IS TOLD IN A CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER SEPARATED INTO ININGS, A TOTAL OF NINE. THEY ALSO COVER THE 1910'S AND THE BLACK SOX SCANDAL. THE 20'S AND THE 'BABE'. THE 30'S AND THE 'IRON HORSE'. ON INTO THE 40'S WITH 'JOLTIN JOE' DIMAGGIO AND TED WILLIAMS. THE WAR AND IT'S EFFECT ON THE GAME WITH THE BIRTH OF WOMEN IN PROFESSIONAL BALL. THE INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF JACKIE ROBINSON AND THE INTERGARATION OF THE 'NATIONAL PASSTIME'. INTO THE 50'S AND THE RISE OF NEW STARS LIKE MICKEY MANTLE,WILLIE MAYS,HANK AARON AND THE TRIALS OF THE BROOKLYN DODGERS. THE SERIES COVERS THE EFFORTS OF PLAYERS TO OVER THROW THE HATED RESERVE CLAUSE WHICH BOUND EVERY PLAYER TO ONE CLUB FOR HIS LIFETIME. EACH TAPE HIGHLIGHTS THE WORLD SERIES OF MOST OF THE YEARS. THE THROWING OF THE SERIES BY 6 SOX PLAYERS, THE PICTURE OF BABE RUTH CALLING HIS SHOT AGAINST THE PIRATES. THE MIRACLE CATCH BY MAYS IN '54' AND THE INVOLVEMENT OF AMERICA IN DIMAGGIO'S INCERDIBLE STRING OF 56 GAMES SAFELY HIT IN. IT ALSO HAS ITS SHARE OF ZANIES AND SHOWS SOME OF THE WARTS OF THIS GREAT GAME. THE CURSE ON THE BOSTON REDSOX BY BABE RUTH AND THE INCOMPRABLE SATCHELL PAGE. THE MIDGET HIRED BY BILL VECK AND THE EXPRESSIONS COINED BY THE LIKES OF CASEY STENGEL AND YOGI BERRA. THE LOVEABLE CRAZINESS OF BILL LEE. IT'S ALL HERE IN ABOUT 10 HOURS OF VIEWING WHICH WILL PASS IN FLASH LIKE THE PICTURES ON THE SCREEN. YOU MUST WATCH THIS DOCUMENTARY IF YOU GREW UP IN AMERICA IN THE 40' AND 50'S LIKE I DID- TO RECALL THOSE WONDERFUL LOSE DAYS OF CHILDHOOD SPENT ON THE BASEBALL FIELD AND THOSE WHO WERE NOT FORTUNATE ENOUGH, TO SEE THE FABLED PLAYERS OF THE PAST.

View it as entertainment, not as history
Ken Burns is becoming well-known as much for what he leaves out of his documentaries as for what he tells you and how he tells it. One sees it somewhat in the Civil War documentary (unless of course you are a Lost Cause devotee, in which case you view that series as horribly biased and riddled with errors), and it is definitely (and troublingly) evident in his Jazz documentary, where 40 years of jazz is virtually glossed over in favor of an almost obsessive fixation on Louis Armstrong. In the case of "Baseball," Burns again leaves out huge chunks of the story, although the end result is nonetheless entertaining.

In the case of "Baseball," the unrelenting focus is on New York City, Babe Ruth & Jackie Robinson, and to be fair, there is no way you could discuss the subject of baseball without devoting a great deal of time to these subjects. However, the title of the documentary is "Baseball," not "The New York City, Babe Ruth, and Jackie Robinson Story," and it is possible to watch this documentary at times and come to believe that nothing else was happening out side of New York most of the time.

I recall reading a Sports Illustrated article a few years ago that discussed the Philadelphia Athletics from 1929-1931, and made the case that that team was better than the famed "Murderer's Row" Yankees of 1926-1928, and possibly the best team in baseball history. The article's author crunched the numbers, compared the stats, and made a pretty compelling case. He then asked why so little attention has been paid to the A's over the years, and posited that because most of the nation's important papers and sportswriters were based in New York City; by default the majority of the great sportswriting was devoted to the Yankees, while relatively backwater Philadelphia languished in obscurity. It seems to be the same situation with Burns. While other incredibly dominant teams such as (in the early years) the Chicago Cubs, the A's, the Pittsburgh Pirates & the Detroit Tigers are given passing mention, they are quickly shoved on the back burner in favor of the Boston Red Sox & New York Giants. Then the Yankees & the Dodgers begin to coalesce, and it is all New York, all the time. One gets no feeling for how dominant the 1929-1931 A's (or the St. Louis Cardinals of the mid-1930's) were, because Burns continually focuses on Babe Ruth & the Negro Leagues.

When Burns gets to the 1950's he can be excused, because really it was a New York-dominated decade like no other. However, the other decades did in fact see a more competitive balance, and one would not get this impression from the documentary.

It would have been nice if Burns hadn't crammed the last quarter century of his story into one "inning." Are you telling me that the stories since 1970 aren't as compelling as the early years of baseball. I don't believe that Burns would have had to devote that much more time to the post-1970 era to make it feel less cursory and rushed. This is a somewhat annoying tendency of his that was more griveously evident when he made "Jazz."

Also, I get a little tired of the "poetry of baseball" school of thought. It isn't as though I am some knuckle-dragging troglodyte who gets all his news from sports radio; I am just as likely to go to the opera as to the ballpark. This baseball as metaphor for how the cosmos works gets on my nerves after a while (although I consider Roger Angell's comment "there's more Met than Yankee in all of us" to be priceless beyond description). It's not that baseball doesn't imbue our life with a little extra something special, it's just that some of these talking heads tend to get a little overwrought.

I enjoyed watching the documentary the first time, and I have watched it probably half a dozen times since over the years. By comparison, I have watched "The Civil War" about 15 times, I would guess. I was so disappointed with "Jazz" that I managed only a second viewing. In any case, "Baseball" is very entertaining, and that is what largely accounts for my 4-star rating I would only caution those who don't know their baseball history that this documentary omits a great deal of what is a very good story.

Costas at his best
You don't have to love baseball like I do to enjoy this documentary about Americas pastime. Although I got a little tired of Ken Burns style (I think it's unnecesary to quote someone and THEN state the name of the person being quoted, a Ken Burns trademark) the material is just too great and too American to be disliked. The best part? I was mesmerized by Bob Costas' description of events that took place in the BoSox clubhouse during their 9th inning collapse in game six of the 1986 World Series. When he recollects his "What do I do if they tie it?" remark to his producer it is fascinating, thrilling, and in the end, very sad. Just more proof that baseball is "designed to break your heart". Trust me on this one.

Great documentary but what's the deal?
Has anyone noticed that the times given for each "Inning" (i.e., disc) on the DVD is wildly inaccurate? Am I missing material or what? Almost every inning is under two hours according to my DVD player but the case usually indicates a time of 145 to 155 minutes or more. Are there hidden easter eggs on the disc or is PBS just wrong?
jr ... Read more

Amazon.com

Hearts of Darkness is an engrossing, unwavering look back at Francis Coppola's chaotic, catastrophe-plagued Vietnam production, Apocalypse Now. Filled with juicy gossip and a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the stressful world of moviemaking, the documentary mixes on-location home movies shot in the Philippines by Eleanor Coppola, the director's wife, with revealing interviews with the cast and crew, shot 10 years later. Similar to Burden of Dreams, Les Blank's absorbing portrait of Werner Herzog's struggle to make Fitzcarraldo, the film chronicles Coppola's eventual decent into obsessive psychosis as everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Storms destroy sets, money evaporates, the Philippine government continually harasses the director, Coppola has romantic affairs, and he can't write the story's ending. Everything is captured on film. In the most disturbing scene, we watch Martin Sheen have a drunken nervous breakdown while his director goads him on (he eventually suffered a heart-attack, but finished the film).

Other incredible footage is not visual, but aural as the film includes tapes Eleanor Coppola recorded without Francis's knowledge. In them, he truly sounds like a madman as he confesses his fears about making a bomb of a movie. But while Hearts of Darkness is an amazing, voyeuristic experience, its importance lies in the personal reflections offered by those involved. Sheen, Coppola, and Dennis Hopper speak frankly without embarrassment, offering us an essential piece of film history. --Dave McCoy ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Wonderful Documentary Is Even Better than the Actual Movie
Shot by Francis Ford Coppolla's wife, Hearts of Darkness is an incredible, one hour fifty minute documentary that reveals the horrors of making the very popular Apocalypse Now. The film took forever to make, driving many of its participants to the brink of insanity, not just Coppolla, who was emotionally-unstable for much of the film. Viewers of this fascinating documentary will be amazed to learn that Harvey Keitel was originally cast as Willard, but was dropped after only two weeks of shooting. Though only 36 years-old, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming, an event that further postponed its debuts in theaters. There is some really great footage included here, especially the shooting of the opening sequence of the film which involves a very drunk Sheen lashing out as both his character and himself (at that point, Sheen was experiencing a lot of hostility towards Coppolla and had it out with him right then and there, an episode that would appear in the finished movie). Even if you didn't particularly care for Apocalypse Now, you will most likely find Hearts of Darkness interesting, nonetheless. It is a magnificent look at the troubles and triumphs of a film crew headed by a somewhat mad, but brilliant director. This shouldn't be missed.

A stirring portrait of the making of a masterpiece
Subtitled, "A Filmmaker's Apocalypse", this 1991 film is a documentary about the making of "Apocalypse Now", the 1979 film based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Set in Vietnam, it is the story of a captain, Martin Sheen, and his crew's mission to find and kill an insane colonel, Marlon Brando, who had created his own kingdom deep in the Jungle. On the way, everyone is touched with the evil around them. This summer I saw the re-edited version of the film and have been intrigued by it ever since. When I heard about this "Hearts of Darkness" I just HAD to see it.

The filming of Apocalypse Now was supposed to take just sixteen weeks at a budget of $13 million. It wound up costing more than $30 million, much of it put up by Francis Coppola himself, and took almost three years to get to the public. Coppola' wife Eleanor and their three children went along on location in the Philippines. She was interested in making a documentary and shot a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, even secretly recording private conversations she had with her husband about the film. The authenticity of the experience really comes through, as everyone involved with the production seemed to go a little bit insane.

Coppola had serious doubts throughout and we hear his words of despair as he thinks he's making a bad movie. We see the terrible typhoon that destroyed all the sets and realized that the helicopters that were being used for the shooting were actually property of the Philippine government who kept calling them away to fight a real disturbance that was going on just ten miles away. We see shots and scenes that never made it into the original film (although much of it eventually made it into the 2001 "Redux" version). We see and overweight Marlon Brando who insisted on being filmed in shadows. And we are right there to watch the filming of the scene in which Martin Sheehan has a mental breakdown. In order to do this he became bleary-eyed drunk, cut his thumb on a mirror and used the blood as part of the scene. The intensity is chilling and when, a short time afterward, he has a life-threatening heart attack at the age of 36, we're all there to see him as he is given first aid.

Now, years later, some of the actors are interviewed about their experiences. We learn that they did a lot of drugs during many of the scenes - acid, speed, marijuana, alcohol, which certainly added to the authenticity as well as the craziness of the whole production. Robert Duval talks about how his famous line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning was improvised. And the whole cast talks about how they improvised a massacre scene. Laurence Fishburne was only 14 when the film was made, a real coming-of-age experience for him. But this very stirring film portrait belongs to Francis Coppola. We get to meet him as a very imperfect human being doing his best to create an art form out of the script, changing it constantly as he went along, and eventually turning out a small masterpiece which went on to be nominated for eight academy awards.

I give this video my highest recommendation. It is a "must" for movie buffs. And an essential education for anyone involved in filmmaking itself. Don't miss it!

A Great documentary&RIP Marlon Brando
this Documentary truly hits behind the scenes&captures the strong acting&Overall Chemistry of the Film.Much Props to Marlon Brando who shows why He is One of the Mount Rushmore's of Actor's.you get a great Climpse at the workings&the overall concepts&Direction of this Film.truly a Must have.

"Hearts of Darkness" IS "Apocalypse Now"
The only known versions of this "essential" documentary are V-taped from the "Pay-Per-View" broadcast. ALL officially packaged VHS versions have long since disappeared from the video store shelves once it was discovered that this title was pulled "out" of release. Now my 1st reaction was that they were preparing to "bundle" "Hearts of Darkness" with a Special Edition release of "Apocalypse Now:Redux" and was thoroughly dumbfounded to find out otherwise.

That said I will take this oppurtunity to advocate that the ONLY other RIGHT way to release this "essential" documentary left would be as part of a 25th Anniversary ( "Apoc..Now" was 1979 release ) Special Edition Collector's Boxed Set of "Apocalypse Now".I say this because ALL afficianadoes of masterworks of filmcraft will agree that you just CAN NOT apprreciate "Apocalyspe Now" ( or Redux version for that matter ) WITHOUT the inclusion of "Hearts of Darkness" .

In essense, "Apocalypse Now" and "Hearts of Darkness" are ONE FILM and are to be experienced as such. I would also stress that suched a special Edition Boxed Set would be found slakcing "with extreme predjudice" if it didn't also include a "commentary" version from none other than AND inclusion of the ORIGINAL ending.
That amazingly surreal soundtrack intensifying the mysterious destruction of Kurtz's temple compound makes the full ending credits far more dramtically displayed by being displayed "in context" with the obliteration of the world of "Apocalypse Now"; an ending also portraying a rather telling , if subconcious, expression of Copolla's psyche at the time of "that" final cut.
The eerie set of events and the surreal convergences of professional lives on the line surrounding the making of "Apocalypse Now" is one of the great , even historic , filmmaking stories of the 20th century and I effortlessly rank it right up there with the story of the making of "Citizen Kane". Orson Wells' wunderkind stature in pulling off the "Citizen kane" masterwork humbles even Francis Ford Copolla ( which I'm quite sure HE would readily admit ). Copolla was cetainly in awe of that Wellsian masterpiece, as well as of Wells himself, when making his artistic masterpiece, but the parallels of BOTH of their artistic daring and "risking it all" to get their vision on film are striking and awesome nonetheless.
( Perhaps one day we'll see someone equally surreal, like some future Terry Gillaim, attempt making an even more Wagnerian-proportioned dramatization about the making of "Apocalypse Now" the way they made "RKO 281: The Battle Over Citizen Kane" ).
Anyway, the absolute importance that "Hearts of Darkness" serves toward understanding just what planet "Apocalypse Now' came from is inarguably cast in stone as "essential"!
I just wanted to bring in some salient points not yet presented here in making the case for DVD release of "Hearts of Darkness".
My job is done here.

Life As Art As Life As Art As Life As Art...
It's truly a shame that this amazing documentary is now out of print. Hunt down a used copy or find it at your local video rental place. It's well worth the effort.

The amazing thing about the Coppola's efforts is the circular karma that seemed to go into overdrive: Francis tries to make a film based on "Heart of Darkness", a story about a man and a country that gets lost in his mental interior while probing the interior of an alien land. He uses the story to try and tell the story of a different man and a different country getting lost in their mental interiors while probing the interior of another alien land. In the process Coppola, trying to deal with his lead actor getting lost in his mental interior while probing the interior of an alien land, loses himself in his mental interior while probing...well, you get the picture. ... Read more

Description

This Academy Award-winning film tells the unforgettable story of Gerda Weissmann Klein and her six-year ordeal as a victim of Nazi cruelty. Rendered in a deceptively simple yet extraordinarily powerful manner, the film explores the effects Weissman’s experience had on the rest of her life. By the end of the war she had lost her parents, brother, home, possessions, and community; even the dear friends she made in the labor camps, with whom she had shared so many hardships, were dead. A journey of survival through one of the most devastating events in the history of mankind. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Story of Courage & Survival
This is one of the most moving documentaries I have ever seen. Gerda Weissman is a most compelling storyteller, you can not help but be moved by her memories. The filmmakers and editors have done a phenomenal job selecting and arranging images and subtle effects to compliment Gerda's words. I show this video on the first day of a college-level Documentary Production class I teach each Spring. Students, who might normally be bored by such a slow paced story of the past, are drawn in by Gerda's presence and courage. At the end of the semester I have the students evaluate all the docs we have screened, One Surivor Remembers always makes the top of the list. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Chilling, hair-raising--but oh, all too true
I remember watching this documentary back in 1994 when it was aired on PBS. The horrific clandestine taping of Muslim meetings and conferences in the Untied States--and the hatred-filled words spewed by the leaders enticing Muslims to kill right here, on US soil--stayed with me.

As a result, I began reading more about the subject and to attend an occasional lecture by people I expected should know something about this growing cancer within our midst. Not much was available until 9/11/01, though, yet I found quite a few people in government (Congressmen, high security personnel) who were able to answer my questions. Amazingly, they all knew Steve Emerson, the producer of the tape, and they all continued to receive updates from him. Without exception, they all had great respect for him and for his relentless fight to bring out the truth about the danger brewing in the United States from the extreme segments within the Muslim community.

The worst part about "Jihad In America" is that whatever had been already documented in 1994 must be by far worse today. This documentary--as profound and revealing as it is--must be only the tip of the iceberg.

Any American who does not watch this video buries his/her head in the sand.

"Slay the disbelievers wherever you find them"
This is the notorious 1994 episode of Frontline about violent Islamic militants in America, bracketed by post-9/11 footage of that disaster and the U.S. attack in Afghanistan. Hidden cameras inside *American* mosques reveal Islamic militants raising funds for Hamas, baying for the blood of Jews. Even something so innocent as a summer camp for boys is turned into terror training by these apostles of jihad. (Catch the little arab boy hissing "Butcher the Jews!" during that segment.) Evidence is also offered suggesting that the first World Trade Center bombing was plotted and funded inside the U.S. At the end, the narrator assures us that Islam itself does not condone the violent jihad that American Muslims are being called to. This is baldly untrue, based on the Koran and the Hadiths and a quarter century of painful experience, but that issue needs its own video, so it doesn't much matter here.

It's hard to believe that PBS once actually aired this mortal sin against multi-cultism. Complaints against its creator, Steve Emerson, from well-funded American Muslim groups helped get him blacklisted from NPR's All Things Considered for a while. Less subtle disapproval from less savory Muslims nearly landed him in the FBI's witness protection program. In response to the (non-existent) oppression of Muslims in America, PBS this past year aired its infamous pro-Islam infomercial, in which American Muslims are portrayed as no different from anyone else save for headgear and cuisine. It ain't so, and this film shows why. As Paul Harvey says, it is _not_ one world.

The Very Un-PC Truth
Steven Emerson presents a well researched and documented problem in the United States. Ironically, what he found in his investigation during the early 1990s is still true today. Ignore the anti-Emerson reviews and watch the tape. Are all Moslems involved in terrorism? No. Do we have a problem with terrorist Moslems in the United States hiding behind the American right of freedom of religion? Definitely. The attacks on Emerson from the Moslem PR machine is typical and expected. Those of us "in the business" know Emerson is correct and also know there is a serious problem within the American Moslem community. Unless the Moslem community takes action against the radical elements, the terrorists will continue to survive. Ignore the polictically correct drivel and watch the tape. Decide for yourself.

A good overview of what was going on a decade ago
This video was made popular after the 9/11 attacks. That was way too late. If people would have been shown this video at the local town halls, churches, and schools, alot of what happened could have been prevented. Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

If I could say anything about the video, it would be that it was a definate 'eye opener' for my family. They had no clue that these 'peaceful muslims' had any intentions of attacking innocent people. Well, it's time to wake up. The world isn't that way anymore, and it's about time that Islam is exposed for what it really is: A CULT!

Steven Emerson is a prophet! - or is he?
This nearly 10-year-old video has now gained new life and popularity as a result of 9/11. Originally produced in the aftermath of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing by journalist Steve Emerson, it does deserve some credit for maintaining that Islamist terrorists would again try to strike on American soil (although there was no shortage of such warnings before 9/11, only of people who were willing to listen to them), hence my two stars. But many viewers seem to miss the fact that in this film Emerson was 99% wrong in his diagnosis of the supposed Islamic threat against America. Only a small portion of the film deals with the WTC attack. The majority of it deals with pro-Palestinian groups which are active in the U.S. - Hamas, Islamic Jihad, etc. Without ever explicitly stating it, Emerson proceeds from the assumption that anti-Israel equals anti-American. Through a very subtle sleight-of-hand by seamlessly presenting videos of the WTC attack alongside pro-Palestinian rallies in America, Emerson convinces viewers that America faces one broad, united, terrorist front - Al Qaeda, Hamas, etc. are all out to destroy America together. Anyone who has paid any attention at all to events in the Middle East knows that this is nonsense. There can be no doubt that there is hostility toward America among Palestinian groups, given America's uncompromising support for Israel in the face of blatant injustices perpetrated by the Israeli government. But the fact is that there has not been a single act of terrorism on American soil that is attributable to Palestinian resistance groups. The ideology and goals of Al Qaeda are vastly different from that of the Palestinian groups, and there is nothing to indicate that any of them act in concert with Osama bin Laden. Their interest lies in the rights of Palestinians, not global jihad. Once one realizes that, this video reveals itself as little more than a subtle propaganda ploy which blurs the real issues. Until Americans realize that it is America's blatantly one-sided support for Israel, as well as its support for many other anti-Islamic governments around the world, that has resulted in the current situation, and not the beliefs and desires of Muslims around the world, there is little hope of resolving the crisis in any meaningful way. This video only perpetuates the problem, and offers no solutions. ... Read more