Customer Reviews

Gateways to the Mind / Thread of Life

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Thread of Life" takes me back to the 6th grade, when I first saw this film about the senses. Any of the Bell Science Series made us kids happy to see our teacher break out the projector (we didn't have video tape or DVDs then!). The Chuck Jones animated sequences envokes the style of Bugs Bunny, The Grinch, and Tom & Jerry cartoons. The second episode in this set is about genetics from Mendel's pea plant experiments all the way to the then newly described DNA structure. Dr. Frank Baxter, sometimes called "Dr. Research" in the Bell Series, is charming and informative as always. A must!

This is a generally poor quality, over-priced DVD of two excellent Bell Science television and school documentaries from the late fifties and early sixties. They deserve better treatment than this. The film quality, including color, sound and clarity is mediocre and even the packaging is ultra-cheap. I would purchase this only if a better edition does not come along shortly. Of course there are no "extras", or even any sort of minimal text material on the package. Quite a disappointment!

Bell Telephone Science program from the late 1950's.
I saw this as a child and was delighted to learn it is now on DVD.
Originally we watched it in black-and-white at a time when biological science was mysterious to me. Still remember each and every episode after 50 years. And I never realized the original was in color.

MV

Good for Science class intro. The Gateways is pretty good to get interest up for a study of the nervous system. There have been lots of advancements in fifty years, but it is a cute way to start the study.

Length:: 1:36 Mins

Dr. Frank Baxter makes science entertaining and understandable in this double feature produced for Bell Labs. Gateways to the Mind is about the 5 senses, and it has some classic animation by Chuck Jones of Warner Brother fame. Thread of Life is about DNA and genetics, which is still heavily taught in schools. I found it a pleasure to watch and very informative.

I remember the Bell Science Series with Dr. Baxter from the early 1970s when I was a kid in elementary school. These films are as entertaining and educational today as they were then!

Still as I remember it from the past. Good info. Smoking is an issue.

These lovely Bell Labs science films--I am well acquainted with them--arrived neatly and safely packed by Amazon. However, most unfortunately, the Gateways/Thread disc was defective, so I had to send it back. I requested a replacement. It contained the same defect. Too bad, as all the others in the series are very well done, using really decent prints, everything considering. Now if they will come up with a new one of these and add the BL movie "About Time," I will be completely satisfied!

Like many other reviewers of this series, I grew up watching these science films in school. Also like many reviewers, I am looking at these through a lens of nostalgia, although, objectively, I think these were extremely well-made and of very high quality. Most of the science is still accurate, and as introductory material for young people, it is excellent.

My complaint here is with the quality of the DVD...it is really terrible. "Thread of Life" appears to have been transferred from a worn-out, washed-out 16mm film copy. I have most of these films in the now-obsolete LaserDisc format on the Rhino label, and they are flawless transfers from what had to be the original print. The original Technicolor footage is still glorious in its saturation and contrast. Clearly, the producers went to very little trouble to make this disc...even the cover art and liner are just captured frames from the video, and look like something made at home. A decent VHS copy of one of my original laserdiscs would be far more watchable.

I'd recommend steering clear of this series, until Warner (who made the original films for the Bell System) or another major studio puts their name on it. Then, you might get a copy you could enjoy watching. I was very disappointed with this one.

I just want to warn everyone about this DVD. It is an illegally made copy. If anyone owns this dvd, if you look at the non-label side and if there is a purple/blue tint then it was copied. You will also notice that at the very beginning of the DVD there is no FBI warning nor is there any type of Main Menu, no chapter/scenes, NOTHING! Someone ripped off this program and Amazon is selling it as if it were legit. I notified the Motion Picture Association of America (who handles illegal copies and they were the ones that told me what to look for in terms of a silver tint or the purple/blue tint on the non-label side of the DVD) If you own this copy, I would seriously return it for a refund.