Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Pbs Home Video
• VHS Release Date: August 4, 1998
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0780621239
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,759 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

There is a place on earth where time stands still-where nature and religion have combined to turn a tiny Buddhist kingdom into the world's last Shangri-La. Locked between Tibet and India, Bhutan is the jewel of the Himalayas. To the north of the kingdom, towering virgin peaks rise to 25,000 feet. Beneath steep glacial walls, alpine highlands fall to misty forests. Mountain streams cut through gorges on their way down to warmer valleys and wide marshes in the heart of the kingdom. One distinct landscape drops to the next before finally descending to the jungle and grasslands of the southern plains. For the people who have adapted to this domain of extremes, Bhutan is a Living Eden where respect for life, in all its many incarnations, endures like the land itself.

Narrated by Donald Sutherland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully done nature video!, March 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Living Edens - Bhutan: The Last Shangri-La [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie is very inspiring because of the way it shows the Bhutanese respect for the land in which they live. The photography is awe inspiring, the scenery magnificent and Donald Sutherland's narration is original. Keep an eye open for the red panda-it's quite amusing. I own several of this series already and they are generally outstanding. If you enjoy nature videos this one is definitely worth having.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photography!, November 19, 2001

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Living Edens - Bhutan: The Last Shangri-La [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video in the "Living Edens" series is an interesting mixture of Buddhist philosophy and superb nature photography. More than just a natural history video, it seeks to show how the people of Bhutan live in harmony with each other and with all sentient beings, i.e., the birds, mammals, and other creatures of the land. In Bhutan, ravens and cranes are sacred, and even have their own monasteries, where the monks welcome them back each year. Because of the Bhutanese ecology-friendly way of life, the country is a haven for many species that are found nowhere else in the world. The chance to see them on film makes this video a real treasure.

One very creative feature that I like is the way in which the film goes back and forth between watching a Bhutanese artist paint a mural, and footage of the actual plants, animals, or places in the real world. We see the artist mixing vivid colors, then see those exact same colors in nature itself. In the end, the mural ties everythig together into one harmonious whole.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely feature on the flora and fauna of Bhutan, July 23, 2008

By 

Daiho - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Living Edens - Bhutan: The Last Shangri-La [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Bhutan seems like a pretty nice place, a tiny mountain kingdom of just over half a million people rated the happiest country in Asia and eighth happiest in the world by Business Week magazine. Even so, Bhutan is neither Shangri-La nor a living Eden. The country has its own set of problems, most notably discrimination against ethnic minorities, a closed political system, religious restrictions and alcoholism.

You won't learn anything about any of these human issues in this National Geographic feature, which focuses almost exclusively on the flora and fauna of the Himalayas. There is a small bit on the migration cycle of nomadic herdsmen, but their lives are presented within the context of the rhythm and cycles of the natural world. If you want to learn something about politics, history, or Buddhism, you'll need to look elsewhere. If you'd like to know a little about the snow leopard, the goat-like bharal, the red panda, or the golden langur, this is the film for you. If you can get past the pretentious title, you'll find the photography and music (both modern and traditional) beautifully genuine and genuinely beautiful.

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