Customer Reviews

NOVA - In the Path of a Killer Volcano

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a teacher of Earth and Environmental Science and have the VHS version of this fabulous documentary. It excels at highlighting the science of volcanology as well as the real world decisions that the seismologists/volcanologists from the U.S. Geologists had to deal with. It profiles a few scientists who quickly became my heroes after watching this including John Ewert, Rick Hoblitt, and Dave Harlow (among others). I will be purchasing the DVD version of this when it is released. It is a must have if you want to impress upon your students 1) how truly awesome volcanoes are and 2) how important scientific research is in helping to save lives. The DVD version of this should be fantastic. I think that you'll find that it is a real nail biter!

I was one of the 20,000 American's evacuated from Subic Bay Philippines when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. I have the VHS version -- it is spot on.

For someone who was there, this video was a great representation of what we went through. From not knowing what if something big was going to happen to seeing the, "Big One" blow was shown as it should have been. Too many people in the U.S. had no clue what was occurring in the Philippines and the dangers we faced on a daily basis. This should be a part of not only Geology by History as well. A nice book to complement the video is, "GI Joe Doesn't Live Here Anymore" by Thomas C. Utts.

The drama of the situation and the incredible and sometimes surreal events that are caught on camera combined with the sober and informative narration really make this a gobsmacking, awe-inspiring video. The live footage of the eruption with the cloud rising at some astonishing speed so that the sound waves get sucked up into it, rendering the scene completely silent... the towns covered in grey ash so that it looks like black and white film of a snowstorm... the car full of Filipinos driving in a mad race down rugged dirt roads, whimpering in terror while being chased by a deadly 1000 foot pyroclastic flow traveling near 100 mph... so much in this documentary that will amaze you.

I teach a dual credit HS Geology class & only show the parts about the volcano blowing up & the ashfall segments, otherwise, this
DVD is disappointing to me bcs it rambles on about how people were trying to leave, etc.
There was very little scientific info.

NOVA - In the Path of a Killer Volcano
My husband and I were there and lived through the ups and downs of will we go, when will we go and what will happen to us? This wonderful DVD brought back so many good memories of the people we lived with and worked for as well as the bad memories of the evacuation and subsequent eruptions. Getting us out of there and the support we received was an incredible task well done. We are forever grateful for the way it was handled. We have never been back; we prefer to remember Clark as it was, "our years in paradise".

This video is about a devastating eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo Volcano. It is an outstanding narrative of the events. Pinatubo had not erupted for hundreds and hundreds of years. It is in the Philippines on the island of Luzon.

What makes this so fascinating is that for the first time ever in history America had one of the largest Naval Bases there outside of the U.S. And it was right in the path of the eruption. The video shows the scientists trying to obtain data while everyone was fleeing. If a viewer wants technical don't buy this.

But anyone that wants excitement, action and seeing an incredible eruption, this video is for you.
You will be watching the death of a large U.S. Naval Base that was not attacked by a human enemy.
For some the entire event was horrible and scary. Pop a bag of popcorn, get comfey on the couch and enjoy.

I watched this on Nova, ordered it on VHS tape and got another one for DVD. It is informative, interesting and suspenseful. I enjoy watching it when I want to see a good documentary.

Used in class to illustrate the power of volcanoes and the uncertainty associated with predictions. The video is good - but a bit too long and over done in the dramatics.

I used to use this in VHS format (my own taping, not the PBS product) for my university-level geology students. It's a wonderful tool--informative, exciting, and visually grand. However, I was disturbed to note that the DVD version contains very clear--and silly--drops of words such as "hell" and "damn" from the geologists' interview clips. This really rather mild language adds color to the accounts, and its deletion is so obvious as to be insulting. How tender do those at NOVA think our ears are, anyway? And have they been to any movies lately--or watched any commercial TV?