Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: PBS Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 12, 1999
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 078062128X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,852 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Video tape, March 31, 2002

By 

Peterson Moyo (Sheboygan, WI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ipi Ntombi: An African Dance Celebration [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have audio cassettes for Ntombi Marhumbhini. My friend gave them to me when I was in Malawi. When I came to the US, I wanted if I could find a VHS for the audio cassettes I have only to find Ipi Ntombi. I read the reviews, and I did not hesistate to buy it.
This movie is great. The way they sing and dance depicts African originality. Their voices are so sharp that I do not see it boring throughout. If you haven't watched this movie, please try to. You will not regret like I am not regretting having bought it. If you have watched Namu Lwanga from Uganda, it is almost at par. Namu Lwanga holds shows in colleges and universities all around United States.

Finally, I would advise to look for this movie and see for yourself.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quintessential celebration of being African, May 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Ipi Ntombi: An African Dance Celebration [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first came across(and fell deeply in love with) Ipi Ntombi as a youngster growing up in Nigeria a quarter of a century ago. I am pleased to say that, 25 years and a few modifications later, the magic has not palled. The at-times haunting love story, the vibrance of dance and costume, the enchanting melodiousness of the music, and the obvious delight of the cast in their work are all conveyed to the audience in a way that I, at least, find deeply moving. The purist will rightly say that this version is in some respects markedly different from the original. True, but of little consequence. Rarely will a second version of anything be nearly as good as this. The choral scene at the beginning of Mama Tembu's wedding is alone worth the price of this video, not to mention the Warrior Song. I used to tell my daughters aged 5 and 7 of this group called Ipi Tombi that I saw as a kid growing up at home, and I suspect they listened politely out of courtesy. Not any more- they watch this video at least 4 times a week, and I am seriously considering getting them their own copy, so I can adore Velaphi Mnisi in peace and quiet!! I have no hesitation in recommending this video to anyone even remotely interested in Africa or its music.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than ever, July 23, 2002

By 

John Graham (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ipi Ntombi: An African Dance Celebration [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I emigrated to the USA from South Africa in 1970, and first heard the tunes from Ipi Thombi -- as it was called then -- in a NYC disco some five or six years later. Then shortly afterward, saw the first stage show live at NYC's Harkness Theater, just before anti-apartheid activists shut it down, throwing the black South African cast and crew out of work. Irony, no? Since then, I have never been able to get its music out of my mind. So I bought the first album mostly featuring Margaret Singana ... then the second double album of the show. Both albums are now almost worn through. Then recently, I happened to catch a glimpse of a familiar scene as I surfed past PBS -- and clicked right back to find myself in the middle of a riotous river of swirling color and African harmonies (unmistakable, and unlike any other!) and saxophones and drums and ankle bracelets and movement (you better BELIEVE we got rhythm!) and almost the SMELL of Africa, even ... and a rush of memories like a blow to the chest. It pins you back to the couch, this show does, and never lets you go. Someone, somewhere, noted that if Ipi nThombi was not already the national opera of South Africa, then it ought to be; and that's true. Is it an odd thing that this sensitive glimpse into the African soul, this great tuneful outburst of black African exuberance was written by two white women? Not if you're South African, no: southern Africa's in your DNA. Watch "Ipi nTombi" and understand.