Customer Reviews

The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell [VHS]

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I am a reflective person by nature, I believe that most people are, I just think that for the most part, a lot of us have gotten sidetracked. Instead of facing our issues and our challenges we face the television and we escape our pain by watching the pains that others are going through...Anna Nicole...Brittney Spears...and I've heard a lot of people comment on these two women...they're "nuts", "freaks", they "have everything but don't even know it..." but I see these women as symbols for where we are as a culture; lost, sad, empty...

This documentary reminds me in such a brilliant way that we really are on a journey. That each one of us has a role to play out and that is to learn how to be the "star" of our own production. Most of us have not learned how to do this. Most of us think that life just happens and we have to deal with what life gives us. But nothing can happen to us, until it happens "through" us...through our own perceptions, our own attitudes, our own beliefs about it. Most of us profess to believing in some kind of Higher Power and yet we are afraid to admit that this Higher Power is within us...that we are, in Truth, expressions of this Higher Power.

Joseph Campbell would be the first to admit that for the most part, most of us are not afraid of our darkness, our shadows, our fears...what we are most afraid of is our brilliance, our light, our beauty. There is no devil outside of us waiting to "snatch" our souls, we steal from ourselves every time we think we are "miserable sinners" rather than extensions of the Divine.

We are literally in the dark about who we truly are. Anna Nicole was. Brittney Spears is. Most of us are. We are not our bodies. We are not these personalities or these behaviors or any of these things that we typically identify with in the physical world. We will not change anything in our life through hate. In fact, hating certain things will only bring these things about more frequently. We must instead yield to the Light, surrender to Love, be willing to use our Lives in way that serve, bless, and heal the whole world. We must learn to trust our own heart, be guided by our own soul, be lead by our own Light. Don't let yourself become hypnotized or seduced by power "out there"...the true power, the only power...is right where you are...you are your own savior, you are your own hero. Your human life is symbolic for something greater. The only reason why there are shadows in your life is because you are standing in your own Light.

I highly recommend anything by Campbell. His wisdom and his gentle humor can cut through years of accumulated "junk". Campbell truly followed his own advice, he lived his "bliss". His passion, his dedication to Truth, his willingness to shine all shows up in this DVD. He truly was a "godsend" just as you are...just as I am...just as we all are...

Let your Light shine today.

Peace & Blessings.

This video gives the viewer an overview of the life of Joseph Campbell from his early beginnings as a student to his later years. Marvellous examples of synchronicity in action, this video is a must for any serious collector of mythology or comparative religion. Thoroughly entertaining!

The class screening of this video was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Campbell offers extraordinary insight into the human condition through meticulous analysis of mythology from all over the world. I found it very interesting that George Lucas's films were inspired by mythology. One can delve into all sorts of modern films and find situational, character, and symbolic archetypes that occurred in ancient mythology. Joseph Campbell possesses one of the most zealously inquisitive minds on this planet, and he proves it in this video. This does not deserve to be called a simple "video". It was an experience which will never be reproduced by another film company as long as man roams the earth.
Campbell has many interesting philosophies. One of these ideas which he portrayed in the video was that human beings should listen to the inner-voice. In this sense, we can all be dissenters (or mavericks). Joseph Campbell was a maverick of sorts until his tragic death in 1987. We could learn a lot about the art of being a maverick from this brave, intelligent man. He devoted his entire life to studying mythology, with little regard to what others thought of this practice. Campbell states in the video that every society can be evaluated to an enormous degree simply by examining what kind of stories and myths were created in said society. Also, one can see how similar all societies in the world are. Many of Campbell's statements relate to Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. Frequent occurrences in mythology throughout the world show that all people might have similar basic thought processes.
The only aspect of the video that was not up to par was the interviewing style. I and a number of the other viewers felt that it was weak and not hard-hitting enough. However, the overall video was a masterpiece. I was thoroughly impressed by this pristine work of art. Joseph Campbell was a God among ants, and his contributions to society shall be remembered forever more.

If you know Joseph Campbell's work, this documentary provides little new info but plenty of big insight into his teaching and personal life, with especially generous sketches of his dancer wife, and her spiritual and artistic journey parallel to Campbell's own, including some fascinating footage of her work with Martha Graham's company. The mere hour long film flies by, a tribute to its integrity. One sterling aspect is the copious footage of Campbell talking/teaching with friends and students, &a palette of wonderful interview narratives edited with pizazz, and with clear affection for Campbell's vast essential contribution to religious studies. The master is his genial, intense, unflappable best throughout, trademark ruddy cheeks in full bloom. If you seek an indepth experience of Joseph Campbell's work, get Moyers' 'Power of Myth'. This bio documentary is a swell companion piece to that series. Big satisfied recommendation.

If you've read "The Heroes Journey," then you won't find any new information here. What you will get, however, is extensive interview footage of Campbell that, as far as I know, isn't available anywhere else. And if you haven't read the book, this is an excellent introduction into Campbell's primary insights (the religions/myths of the world aren't just false stories...they are incredibly meaningful expressions of Man's wonder before the mystery of Everything...among others), and how he managed to reach them.

A nice quality production, intelligently written, with plentiful input from the man himself.

One question though...Campbell claims that he saved up enough money playing saxophone in a jazz combo to go without a job for 5 years...simply living in a cottage and reading all day!!! Speaking as a semi-professional musician, how the heck did he manage THAT?!?!?!?

Although this film covers some areas of Joseph Campbell's knowledge, it does not even begin to show his true genius. It very loosely covers all that Campbell worked so long and so hard to accomplish. But if one were looking for a very short overview of Campbell's work, this would be it.

In the film, Campbell goes deeply into only a few certain areas that he has covered. He talks about how the three major religions put emphasis on the hero's trials. He talks about Jesus Christ and His three temptations. He talks about Buddha and his might. He uses these as examples to prove his point, and it is well received.

If you are wishing to get a full understanding of Joseph Campbell just by watching this movie, you are going to be sorely disappointed. However, it is some amazing footage of one of the most ingenious men of our time. Campbell talks of things that would never occur to the normal human being unless brought to our attention. If you have been interested in myth before, but did not know where to start, this film is great for beginners.

Campbell was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. This is a great DVD about the ideas of a very engaging storyteller. Joseph Campbell describes the monomyth in his DVD The Hero With a Thousand Faces as embodying all the necessary elements of the hero's journey in the many myths in human history. Campbell discovered through extensive research that humankind shares a universal monomyth in its various religions and legends especially pertaining to the creation of the world and humankind. Campbell borrowed the term monomyth from James Joyce's book Finnegan's Wake. Campbell's intuitive insight in human myth proves that for thousands of years these myths display a certain standard structure, which he summarizes beautifully in his book.

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a
region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there
encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back
from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons
on his fellow man (Campbell 30).

There are at least four major stages that a monomyth has however, in his book, Campbell goes on to describe seventeen stages that some monomyth's posses. The four stages making up the cycle of a monomyth are "passage: separation-initiation-return:" In the passage stage the hero is summoned to journey or embark on an adventure by some kind of event that takes place or from a message, he receives. The hero may embark on this passage willingly or reluctantly. During the separation stage, the hero meets with a mentor or wise man who gives the hero either an amulet or some words of wisdom to be of help to the hero on the adventure. It is during this stage that the hero will go through his first transformation, also known as "crossing the first threshold," as he crosses over to another world or dimension leaving behind the old world. In the initiation stage, the hero goes through several trials or tests. The hero often receives help in these ordeals along the way by allies or from a supernatural force. As the hero completes these ordeals successfully, he proves himself more worthy to continue the adventure. Most importantly, during this stage the hero must pass through a major ordeal that will expand his consciousness, and thereby change his character forever. Often, this ordeal entails the death of an ally or enemy. Once the hero successful accomplishes his ordeal he is rewarded with a gift, it could be intrinsic like the "holy grail, or it can be new found knowledge to better the world with. The last stage the hero travels is that of the return whence he came. Often the hero will undergo further trials on his return before he is permitted to cross the threshold back to the world he left. During his return journey, the hero will use his newfound wisdom or gift to make a safe return home. Once home the gift is used to cure some ill in the hero's home or to impart new wisdom to his neighbors.

Campbell points to the significance of the monomyth in the fact that it describes the cycle that Moses, Jesus, and Buddha had gone through according to their religious adherents. This is not to mention the hundreds of other monomyths told throughout human history. The monomyth proves that humankind shares a common creation DNA in a sense. The monomyth is the perfect vehicle for one to study the Humanities by.

Recommended viewing for anyone interested in history, psychology, philosophy.

"The Hero's Journey" is more than just a stuffy biography of Joseph Campbell (1904-1987.) We see alive prorate with much of it illustrated by Joseph Campbell himself.

While we are in the process of viewing Campbell's discoveries we make a few discoveries our self. We see a different view of God and our relationship through today's myths.

As usual the book is more in-depth but this presentation makes a good introduction to Campbell and the people that influenced his Hero's Journey.
Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth

On this dvd Campbell explains about the argument he had with a radio show host as to whether a metaphor is a myth or a lie.

This is one of the more interesting Campbell dvd's I have watched. This documentary follows JC's own life story in the context of his classic work 'The Hero with a thousand faces.'

How his early interest in Indian Culture and their stories eventually crisscrossed with other cultures, his early Christian upbringing and moving away from that to discover the stories from other cultures, and spiritual systems, and get a more global perspective.

In particular he references a chance meeting with Indian philosopher Krishnamurti on an Atlantic crossing, when K gave him a book about the Buddha, which illumined some commonalites with his Indian folklore studies. Eventually he discerned the common patterns of all mythology, and the story of the hero who gets the call to adventure, refuses the call, and then is compelled to take the adventure and commit to it. He also mentions Carl Jung's influence on his work.

If you are like me, you would have to watch several times to get the most out of it.

Interesting to note the influence he had on George Lucas, who used HWTF as a template for Star Wars. George Lucas pays tribute to Campbell, and there is plenty of footage from Star Wars to ilustrate the steps of the Hero's Journey.

If you are interested in storytelling, mythology or writing, I highly recommend this dvd for your consideration. I know I will be making some notes for my own records.

This visual look at the energetic scholar of literature and religion captures his infectious high spirits nicely. Campbell has fun with his material, which is--contrary to the critcism of Diogenes-the-reviewer--of real substance and depth. It's not the easy syncretism of rebellious adolescent dabblers in Eastern religion: it's mature, creative thinking by a deeply read scholar, and if you're just goofing off with "spirituality," like much of today's pop New Age devotees, you feel quickly out of your depth with this stuff. Any writer or tradition he raises for discussion, he is steeped in. Show me shallowness, Diogenes, in his discussions of Joyce or Schopenhauer, Buddhism or Christianity. Having a vast range to one's education, doesn't automatically mean one's understanding is spread thin. Let this look at a great mind and spirit inspire you, prospective Campbellians,to serious look at his work.