Product Details

• Format: Subtitled, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: National Geographic Video
• DVD Release Date: March 15, 2005
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006U3TWA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,158 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Follow Africa's five mega-predators as they struggle for survival in a cruel season of deprivation on South Africa's Mala Mala Reserve. To survive they must compete for the same resources using every physical and psychological weapon in their respective arsenals. Who will emerge as top predator? What will it take to survive? From the perspective of the very creatures now pitted against one another Predators at War reveals the ultimate inside look at animal survival through groundbreaking images innovative story-telling and the visual language of war.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 727994751014

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Documentary!, September 15, 2006

By 

Adam Inglis "Ad" (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic: Predators at War (DVD)

I myself am very interested in African Wildlife, and Africa can be a rather unforgiving place. This Documentary is very well done in the way it presents everything. It revolves around a long drought that happened at the Mala Mala Game Reserve in Africa, and is centered around five Main Predators. A Pride of Lions, A Clan of Spotted Hyenas, A Lone Leopard, Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs. It portrays what happens when water is scarce, and food is hard to find. These five predators constantley have to fight for food with each other, which leads to some amazing confrontations, hence the name Predators at War.
It is very well narrated and shows some amazing footage, One of my favorite parts is when several female Lions, A Hyena, and A Leopard are all fighting for the same meal, its tense! Its also very graphic and portrays the true nature of these beasts in Hard Times, so its not the best for the Kids. Its my favorite Animal Documentary and that's why it deserves a perfect Five.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, one of the most impressive predator documentary, February 24, 2005

By 

Adolfo R. Arizpe Paz (Monterrey, Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic: Predators at War (DVD)

I saw it on NGC before the release on DVD, and I ordered several copies since I thought it is a wonderful gift.
The scenes are very well selected so that it matches perfectly with the narration. If you are looking for battles between large African predators this is it! But watch out, scenes are tough and loaded with the natural cruelty that characterizes the terrible survival fight in animal life. Basic instincts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent documentary marred by gimmicks, June 8, 2008

By 

Warren J. Dew (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic: Predators at War (DVD)

This is not a video about normal interactions between predators. Rather, this is a video about predators under stress. Drought has hit the Mala Mala game reserve, and two rainy seasons have passed with little or no rain. Food is scarce, and the competition between the predators is becoming more and more fierce.

The normal enmity between lions and hyenas, never quiet in the best of times, is intensified. Both lions and hyenas steal prey cached in trees by leopards, hyenas leaping from the ground, and lions climbing to dangerous heights. Lightly built cheetahs, who normally abandon their prey at the slightest opposition, instead defend it. Wild dogs and vultures also vie for their share. Increased competition means more confrontation - and more violence.

Third generation game warden Kim Wolhuter captures the action on film. There is no lack of dramatic moments, whether during hunts, or during the sometimes fatal fights over carcasses that follow. The video does not flinch from showing the details - details which, while sometimes gruesome, nonetheless illuminate the underlying ecological dynamic. Wolhuter's occasional commentary helps explain how the drought is affecting the animals' behavior, making them more aggressive and less predictable.

Unfortunately, the producers saw fit to jazz up an already good video with questionable metaphors and sometimes inappropriate special effects. The narration pushes military similes too far - lions, while powerful, are not armored like tanks. The visualization of the animals' musculature is useful, but the visualizations of the animals as mechanical robots is at best gimmicky. The special effects used for the lion's roar could be misleading, and the sequence on hyenas hearing the sounds of a lion kill seem to have no bearing on reality.

If you're already familiar with how these predators normally behave, and you can filter out the sometimes overdone narration and special effects, this video is worth buying. If you just want some gory entertainment, it may even be perfect. On the other hand, if you think the gimmicks will bother you, you may want to look for an alternative. If you don't mind VHS, National Geographic: Africa's Stolen River documents another drought in another part of Africa without the gimmicks. If this is your first video on African wildlife, you might want to consider National Geographic Video: Africa's Animal Oasis on VHS, or the Joubert's classic National Geographic: Eternal Enemies - Lions and Hyenas on DVD.