Customer Reviews

National Geographic - Volcano!

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of NGs better productions - partially because the subject itself is so fascinating - partially because of the spectacular footage of the eruptions of Mt Unzen (Japan) and the famous blast at Mt Pinatubo some years ago. Overall, the program gives a good general description of the geological issues, the different types of eruptive activity, as well as larger historical and disaster mitigation subjects. The material is well organized and presented. The DVD version is much better than the original VHS release, and has some additional programming of particular interest.

For all the "sound and fury" of some of Hollywood's recent forays into Volcano disaster movies - this one has the best "special effects" - it's all real!

For further reading (notwithstanding the technical nature of the contents), you should definately aquire the recently published Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (Haraldur Sigurdsson, et al. - Academic Press). Here's what truly lies beneath!

Highly recommended.

Explosive. Engaging. Horrific. Packed with amazing tales and footage, this DVD has even got a true Romeo and Juliet love story in it about two volcanologists who fall in love, chase eruptions around the world and are finally killed by a volcano. Some of the blazing images will make your skin tingle in awe, in beauty, in fright, in amazement. Nature DVDs don't get any better than this!

This is absolutely the best DVD on volcanoes out there because it shows the impact on human life - not only on the people who live in the shadow of an active volcano, but on the people who study or chase volcanoes.

Even though it covers many different eruptions (both old and new), it is well organized and effective.

Highly recommended.

I bought this for my six year old daughter, who has an interest in Volcanoes. It was a little much for her, but I really enjoyed it. Stunning images and very informative. I highly recommend it.

We got this for our volcano obsessed 4 year old and it was a little much for him.... more documentary than informational...with plenty of eruptions and discussion of how many people were killed. We'll save it for a little down the line I think!

I bought this for my son because he is fascinated with volcanoes. It's a thousand times better than Ultimate Guide ~ Volcanoes because this DVD focuses more on the actual volcanoes and what the scientists do onsite. My son loved all the various action shots of explosions, lava flows, etc.

They include both the good and bad experiences of several scientists, and one of the bonus features is a separate documentary featuring a scientist's attempt to study one volcano in particular, where he has to overcome all kinds of obstacles just to collect data.

I think this DVD is interesting for all ages, and I also recommend Volcanoes (The Wonders of Our World) for a companion gift.

I originally got this for my son who is 4 years old. He has been fascinated by volcanoes and I thought this would be a good video. The video and stories I found were amazing but they do talk about a lot of death and destruction. I was thinking it would talk more about the science of volcanoes but it mainly talked about volcanologists and different violent volcanic eruptions. Again, cool stuff but I didn't anticipate seeing bodies cemented by pyroclastic flows and people struggling to stay alive in lahars. The box says "not rated" but I'd day it's a PG 13 or so.

My grandson has been fascinated with Volcanoes since he was 3 years old.
This is probably the best video out there. He is now six and has been watching it faithfully ever since. Keep in mind, someone dies in the video so it may not be for everyone but educational...a must. For adults it is wonderful.

This movie goes over the basics of volcanology, shares some real stories of real people and has some amazing footage! The footage was the very best part! The shots were great! The stories about real people were very interesting also!

I got this video on a lark since I found it for a penny with free shipping. Boy!!! Did I get my moneys worth! It is worth more than some of the other videos I actually sought out to buy and paid full price for. I am very pleased with this video and will be showing it to my earth science and intro geology students.

It only gives brief basic general information on the formation and creation of volcanoes which is why it lost a star. I feel it could have been stronger in that respect. But I almost feel bad doing that because it was so good in everything else. It really zeros in on some of the bigger more recent eruptions and does a very good job of relating the human experience in them. It doesn't shy away from the deaths and devastation that has happened. It gives excellent video on the recent eruptions while giving solid narration to the surrounding events.

Highly recommend this video, especially if you can find it for a penny like I did.