Product Details

• Directors: Howard Smith (II)
• Format: NTSC
• Rated: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000665SB
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,664 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dude, where's my flying car?, November 19, 2003

By 

cookieman108 "cookieman108®" (Inside the jar...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gizmo! [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sure, everyone knows Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, film projectors and the kinetophone and George Washington Carver came up with over three hundred uses for peanuts. Most maybe familiar with George Eastman and his invention of dry, transparent, and flexible film and Henry Ford's assembly line process, but what about that crank next door building a time machine? Who will recognize him?

Gizmo is a wonderful documentary about inventions of yesteryear and the perseverance of the human spirit. Complied from old newsreel footage, director Howard Smith presents us with all kinds of interesting, strange, odd, and completely wacky inventions along with people doing extraordinary and not so extraordinary things. Some of the best parts are the flying machines, from simple designs to really complex, intricate elaborations that you know will never get off the ground. What I really liked is that the inventions and feats are shown not with a critical eye or in a mocking tone, but just laid before you to let you come to your own conclusions. Another thing you'll notice is the music, as it seems to have been chosen with great care to accentuate the visuals very well.

Released in 1977, it gets shown on PBS every once in awhile, but I wish Warner would release it on DVD, as my VHS copy is showing its' age. If you're lucky enough to see this pop up somewhere, I highly recommend it, as it's very entertaining for everyone.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gizmo, April 21, 2003

By 

Jerome Goettsch (Tustin, California. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gizmo! [VHS] (VHS Tape)

At first glance Gizmo appears to be about people with foolish ideas, and silly inventions that will never work. But as you continue to view the movie you realize it is actually about the indomitable human spirit. In the face of skepticism and ridicule, the people in this documentary persevere. Every failure brings a renewed effort to achieve success. At first you think these people are crazy, but by the end of the film you find yourself thinking that your life may have been richer if you knew them, or someone like them. These people may not have been scientific geniuses--but they are the stuff that truly makes this world worth living in--dreamers.
Over the years I have shown this film to many middle and high school classes and they loved it. At first they think it is silly, goofy, crazy, and insane, but it doesnt take them long to realize that the people in this film have a dream and that nothing will keep them from pursuing it.
It is a film that defines the human spirit and I highly recommend it for anyone, young and old alike.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Piece of Work, November 12, 2002

By 

bruce john patience (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gizmo! [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first saw this documentary on Saturday afternoon television about 20 years ago. It was a landmark production when it came out in the 1970s and it has lost nothing over the years. Any student of historical documentaries should see 'Gizmo".Using only archival film clips with some truly inspired original music (of all types)this beautiful piece of work manages to be both hilariously funny and fascinating.The overall message is clear i.e even the most brilliant inventions can have humble and sometimes bizarre origins.There's an element of humanity running throughout.The producers don't mock the star players - they pay tribute to them. Just a great example of the genre.