Customer Reviews

National Geographic - Africa [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This series is absolutely stunning in many ways. First and foremost, the cinematography is breathtaking, from the verist handheld shots to the almost abstract compositions of aerial 90 degree and macro shots. Ron Fricke's Baraka has had a lot of influence on the documentary genre, and there are plenty of Baraka-type moments in here, with assorted new age-ish world music pastiches to support them.
But show is not all there is. The script is beautifully written, with just the right balance between narration and interviews, and editing that lets the product breathe, and the viewer reflect. The agility with which the episodes branch out from the story of individuals to natural, historical, social and cultural references is impressive. And amazingly, you never loose touch with reality, since the documentary's transcendence lies upon the day-to-day lives and thoughts of its subjects.
You also feel the respect the crews had for their subjects, and the «making of» bonus shows it well. Ethnological research ethics are respected, in a world where ethical rules towards the «Other» are too often pushed aside by the greed of producers and researchers.
All in all an amazing document to be viewed over and over again. This is one boxset I highly recommend.

Beautifully photographed. However, if you're interested in Africa from a political and historical standpoint, as I am, this is not really the video series for you.

Excellent wildlife and nature footage (just as you'd expect from National Geographic) and even an attempt to convey some sociological lessons about "urban" vs. "tribal" differences.

Overall, well worth watching, but don't look to it for very deep historical or political enlightenment about the continent.

When this series first aired on PBS in America, I was on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania climbing to the summit. After spending three weeks in East Africa I was very anxious to watch this series and purchased it upon returning home. I wanted to see how close did it come to representing the Africa that I had just experienced. Did it ignore social issues one experiences when visiting Africa? Would it just serve as PR for people to go on safaris and visit tourist sites in Africa? I was not disappointed. This series is a fantastic portrait of Africa today. It does a great job telling the story of how people live their daily lives and the challenges they face today and likely will in the future. The natural beauty and wildlife of Africa are stunning, and this series brings it all into your living room. When I was there I witnessed deforestation first-hand and saw how the natural world is in direct competition with the human world for resources. This series doesn't gloss over these kinds of issues. The music and production of the series are first rate, I also bought the soundtrack CD. If you want to see what Africa today is really like, watch this series.

To know a country is to know its people. Previously apart from South Africa, Africa was a homongenous blur to me. This series looks at the different regions of the continent through the eyes of the people who live out their lives there. It contrasts the traditional ways with the ways of change giving both a glimpse into the past and into the future. The flora and forna also feature but are featured more to show the struggle to survive in different habitats and a changing world.

I just treated myself to this DVD collection and didn't quite know what to expect. I must confess that it's well worth every penny I spent on it and I highly recommend the collection. The visuals and the sound are great, the stories are well-chosen and varied, and the narration is beautiful.

Usually documentaries about Africa (and Africans) are all too predictable, too stylized, too hackneyed. Not this one. Whether it's the story of the dreams of the Ethiopian shoeshine boy, or that about the budding love of the Sahelian Tuareg girl and his herder boyfriend, there's a universality in the themes the various stories cover which most viewers will relate to.

A word of caution though: some of the stories are tear-jerkers, and so have some Kleenex handy or else your macho cover will be blown.

Irresistible vignettes depict real Africans carrying out their life journeys presented in an intimate and compelling fashion. Eight stories (2 per disk) from divergent geographic and cultural settings illuminate the breadth and diversity of people who call this continent home.

I teach world history to students whose world view will be forever changed as a result of seeing these educational works of insight and beauty.

Vicki Whitaker
Teacher
Rocinante High School
3250 E. 30th St.
Farmington, NM 87402

For the positive comments read the other reviews. I just want to warn other buyers of this set that the disc is encoded so that one is forced to watch the sponsor messages (ie, commercials) at the beginning of each disc (skip and fast-forward are disabled). Also, the excessively long introduction for each episode is at the beginning of the first track so that one cannot skip past it. Perhaps there are DVD players that ignore the encoding, but mine's not one of them. For a PBS/NatGeo production to do this on a ...set is more than a little annoying. Even commercial producers haven't gotten that obnoxious yet.

This series is unique. No ponderous historical or anthropological perspective here. AFRICA simply introduces you to the lives, joys, sorrows and dreams of ordinary people who live in various parts of the continent. In each episode you will meet unforgettable characters, and you will discover how, despite ubiquitous poverty, they live with dignity, pride, and hope. You will discover the rich, vibrant arts and cultures which permeate everyday life. You will be moved by the heart-breaking beauty of the land and its people, and their vulnerability as well.
Despite its modest ambition -or perhaps because of it- AFRICA touches the viewer like few other documentaries ever have. We are indeed one world, one people.

This is the best documentary on Africa I have seen. I grew up in Africa, but have not returned since my family returned to the US. I watch every documentary on Africa I can get my hands on, and except for this one, they almost all completely ignore everything except large animals in game preserves. Africa is so much more, and I feel that this DVD is the first I've seen that actually captures a bit of real life in Africa. It is funny, happy, and inspiring, just like the people it is about. This does not come at the expense of amazing footage of the landscape or shots of exotic animals (including a short spot on the wildebeest, which is apparently a requirement for all documentaries of Africa). The human perspective makes the scenery and animals even more awesome. This DVD is a brief glimpse of Africa right now. It's amazing.

This DVD series uses a refreshing and unique way to tell the story of the people, places and animals of Africa. The personal stories were touching, the landscapes were breathtaking and the close up on the animals was just amazing.

I was very happy to see a series that did not just identify what's wrong with Africa, but took the time to tell us so much of what is right and is worth saving and exploring. Timely indeed!!!

In so many ways this was more than just a documentary. This in-depth and honest look probably saved all the other documentaries or books that are about Africa.

I am glad to see that so many Africans are proud of their culture, many preserve it in so many ways and yet realize that some changes are necessary to keep pace in a global environment.

Thanks to all the wonderful people from the different countries on that beautiful continent that allowed me to peek into their lives. I am eternally grateful. Thanks also to the wonderful crew that did all the work to bring such remarkable stories into my living room. It was well worth the hard work. It was just wonderfully touching!!!