Customer Reviews

Bill Burrud Explores the Amazing Animal World: Secet World of Reptiles [VHS]

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The Secret World of Reptiles was a huge disappointment. The narration is dark and overly melodramatic, which only serves to reinforce the outdated, stereotypic image of reptiles as sinister,dangerous animals. The film clips look pretty old and grainy, and the film itself is broken into brief segments that have no connection to one another. Each section is preceded by the same text screen and hokey horror-movie style music, punctuated by a loud rattle (meant to be a rattlesnake, perhaps?). The narration and choppy, fragmented film give the video an exagerated, amateurish quality that's almost laughable in spots, but as far as being educational,the Secret World of Reptiles falls short. Your money is better spent on National Geographic videos on reptiles.

I'm not sure what tape the other reviewer saw, but from his/her description it sounds very little like the Bill Burrud tape that I've seen. Released as part of a series on the Walt Disney Home Video label over 20 years ago, this is an informative if somewhat naive and a perhaps a tad outdated overview of various members of the scaly-skinned clan with whom we share this planet. It's done very much in the spirit of the Disney-produced nature films of the '50s and early '60s, like 'The Living Desert.' No, not as flashy or exciting as, say, the late, great Steve Irwin's programs, but a solid, well-photographed primer for youngsters interested in matters herpetological.