Customer Reviews

Life After People (History Channel)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This show, along with the National Geographic Channel's Aftermath: Population Zero, both bring across the interesting concept of what life on Earth would be like after Humans disappear from the face of the earth, though in the case of both these shows there is no explanation of how we disappeared and only that it was basically overnight. In any case, this and its consort both propose an idea which I myself find intriguing in the one of the most terrifying ways. A must see as well as something I simply could not take my eyes away from while watching it.
This one by the History Channel shows more over a broader range of years since our disappearance, and for a few of the earlier ones compares them to current examples that exist (i.e. 20 years to the land around Chernobyl).
All else I can say is that this is a MUST SEE!

I really enjoyed this objective, well-researched and thoroughly explained account of what would happen to the earth if mankind were to disappear. To me, it's not important how this happens, as that would be another film (or several) entirely. This one is about what the results would be on earth if this happened. It does not delve into the causes, but rather the effects, which I thought was enough for any 2-hour program. I was impressed by how well the visuals complimented the dialogue. I didn't feel sad about the loss of mankind's knowledge or achievements- who would they be passed on to, and would they be able to be understood, and would this knowledge only contribute to a faster demise of a future civilization? No, it's up to future beings to develop in their own way. It's good for us to occasionally be reminded how insignificant and expendable we all are. A little humility is not a bad thing!

I watched this video on the History Channel. It presents a realistic view of what earth will look like and become after man has managed to destroy himself. Makes you realize just how much we have manipulated earth to suit our needs. Sad to think that everything we've done will be lost and have to be discovered all over again, if human life re-emerges,
at some point in time. The movie doesn't give much hope of preserving
anything between the cock roaches and micro-organisms feeding on and changing the composition of all man made materials. This video will
definitely cause you to think about what really matters.

I remember seeing the commercial for this on tv but never actually saw the program.
So I decided to plunk down the money for the DVD.
All I can say is I'm impressed.
As soon as it was over I watched it again right after.
It's a somewhat disturbing take on what would happen if people just vanished.
I was very surprised that every trace of humanity would be more or less gone in about a thousand years.
I was even more surprised at what would happen within a few weeks.
The power going out and all that.
Scary indeed.
They never go into detail as to how the humans disappear but it really doesn't matter.
The awesome force of nature would pretty much eliminate everything we have done for thousands of years.
It's a film that really makes you think and is a definite eye opener.
It pointed out a lot of things I, along with the majority of people just don't give a whole lot of thought to.
The power going out.
The flooding of the subway systems.
London and Amsterday flooding into ruin.
I guess I never really realized how much effort man has put into reshaping the world around us and without us, how quickly everything would collapse.
A brilliant film.
Great narration, great pacing.
Great Fx.
Zero complaints from me.
A must see for everyone.
Highly Recommended.

This is an imaginative documentary on what might happen to all we have created if people simply disappeared. This is a not an environmentalist video - it doesn't advocate people dying off nor does it explain why we vanish - it is more from the engineering/biological standpoint: what would happen to world famous landmarks if they were abandoned, how would domestic animal adapt (or not), what would happen to animal pests we fight off now? For the armchair engineer/biologist, it is imaginative and fascinating. Combines the talent of leading structural specialists, biologists, and convincing CGI optical effects from Industrial Light and Magic.

I immensely enjoyed this documentary. The computer-generated images of decay and the ravages of time were well-done. The beginning of the movie was hard for me to watch (the discussion of the fate of household pets, for example) but this movie is thought-out and fascinating as it is informative. The CG graphics are worth renting or buying the movie for.

It could have used more though, since it was only 1.5 hours and it would be better as a series, there was so much to be talked about. This documentary mainly focused on the USA, with a bare mention of what happens in other countries. For example, the mold and decay and plant growth that would be prevalent in warmer parts of the world wouldn't be a concern in say, Northern Canada or Russia where much of the year is spent in ice.

And what of species that have been practically pushed to the brink of extinction? It was talked about a bit in the film (wolves, for example) but they just talked about wolves, and not anything about animals in other countries that have been poached for trophies and medicine (like in China)

There was no note made of the waste in landfills in the movie, or all the things that humans leave behind that don't decay so easily like jewelry, plastic items, treated metal items (so it won't rust), electronic equipment, what have you.

Also, what of all the man-made chemicals to be found everywhere, especially in factories where you have chemicals in huge vats? It's be interesting to have seen how they projected the effect of these chemicals once their holding vats or containers rot or fall apart, or what happens to all the drugs and pills to be found in homes, stories, and pharmacies. Still, this documentary was thrilling to watch.

This review is regarding the Blu-ray version of this video. Nice, crisp video rendering (not great, but definitely worth the extra $$$ for the Blu-ray version). Audio is average, nothing spectacular, but then it's a documentary. Disc plays fine in my Samsung BDP-1500. Special features are interesting. Will probably buy more History Channel features on Blu-Ray as they become available.

As far as the feature and subject matter - absolutely, utterly amazing.

Personal anecdote. When I was around 12 years old, I lived in a neighborhood located next to a large cotton field. One summer a road building crew came out and constructed a ¼ mile stretch of concrete road way off in the farthest reaches of the cotton field, for no apparent reason (it was advance work for a delayed urban expansion which did not to take place for another 15 years).

That stretch of brand new road, sitting out in the middle of the cotton field, decaying, grass and weeds growing up between the cracks, frogs, rabbits and other critters making it their home, just fascinated me. Sometimes, I would ride out to it on my bike and just sit, listen to the silence and the sounds of Nature as it slowly consumed the concrete, took back what It owned. Walking along the stretch of road, I would imagine I was the last person on Earth. That was the summer I read "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart, a book that left a huge impression on me.

I've been a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction ever since.

UPDATE: Problem. On loading, the disc hang my Blu-Ray player about 50% of the time. Suspect defective mastering of the disc boot sector for the first batch of these discs (maybe why it reverted to "unavailable" status shortly after I bought it?). May have to exchange for a new disc. Otherwise, my comments above are unchanged.

Because I watch science and nature programs a lot, I was not as impressed with this program as I had hoped to be. What was surprising, was how much each of my family members loved it. One would watch it and recommend the others watch it. They are all over 22, and again it was fascinating to see how much they each thought it was interesting and cool.

I enjoyed this video very much. It helps put in perspective how insignificant humankind's contributions to the global ecosystem really are. It appears that even with all of our "detrimental" impact on the world's atmosphere, the planet will find a way to continue on without us. It gives creedence to both Psalm 78:69 and to George Carlin (who says the planet is just fine). People will go away and within five years nature will be taking over what we created.

I also couldn't help but think of the contribution of my own profession, building operational maintenance. Senior management always wants to defer maintenance. Well here is a classic case of what can happen if maintenance is pushed back too far. Things fall apart, duh.

Anyway, this was an entertaining video with some good graphics and some interesting hypotheses. If feral cats want to occupy former high rises, then learn how to glide (flying cats ala flying squirrels) that seems plausible. Since we have a real life abandoned city in the Ukraine to show how nature can reclaim cities, some of what was shown is not merely specualtion and guessing.

Although I enjoyed the visual presentation and the special effects, compared to the book, this is more eye-candy than anything really substantial about how our civilization might end. I would have preferred a bit more detail and in-depth analysis to the presentation, but what the heck, it's intended for the general public and you can't get too scientific, otherwise the viewing public will switch from your channel to something else that requires less of an attention span, and no one will see the sponsor's all-important commercials. It's fine for something entertaining but not too demanding to watch on a lazy night, but don't expect much more than that. If you're really interested in the subject I'd just get the book instead.