Product Details

• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• VHS Release Date: July 11, 1997
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304474377
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,988 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If this video's female-run pride of 30 lions were guests on a talk show, the audience would spend the entire 60 minutes chanting "You go, girls!" Lion life is dysfunctional enough to make most people feel pretty good about their situations. First, the males have deserted the pride to start new ones with younger lionesses. Secondly, as the pack roams the jungle in search of game, the females have to fend off rogue males who want to take over. The males are shunned because: a) they'll kill the cubs of other males, and b) they'll grab the lionesses' kills for themselves. More functional animals get some airtime, too. Baboon parents try to get the kids to sleep; male and female tree frogs lay frothy egg bubbles together. But it's hard to compete with the drama of those queens--and a few kings-in-training--of the jungle as they growl and claw at each other over a wildebeest carcass, while narrator Richard Kiley informs us that "by the end of such a meal most of the pride will have at least one small injury." Still, it's heartwarming to see that after the meat is devoured the lions mend fences by licking each other's wounds. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Product Description

More than three years in the making, LIONS OF THE AFRICAN NIGHT reveals the savage secrets of Africa after dark. As night descends on the bushveld, a pride of 30 lions begins its nightly search for prey. Baboons snuggle in tree tops, big-eyed apes leap from limb to limb, and the chorus of the small creatures adds to the drama of the nocturnal hunt. LIONS OF THE AFRICAN NIGHT will surprise you with a startling look at the behavior of lions as the pride stalks wildebeest, warthog, and zebra in the struggle to fight off hunger, their constant enemy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be better, December 26, 2000

By 

Yan Gluzberg (East Brunswick, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: National Geographic's Lions of the African Night [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video's title is a little misleading. The video is not only about lions but other creatures of African night. It has interesting footage but a weak story. If you are interested in seeing a great lion documentary from the same region, watch "Lions of Darkness" instead.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so much 'Lions' as 'African Night', January 21, 2004

By 

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic's Lions of the African Night [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This 1987 video follows an unusually large pride of 30 lionesses and cubs in Kruger National Park in South Africa. That said, only about 10-15 minutes of this 60 minute video actually show lion footage - and that footage is not terribly exciting.

The remaining three quarters of the video are worthwhile for a nature lover, if not for a lion lover - they cover mostly smaller creatures that one normally wouldn't think of making a video for. Memorable scenes include a small snake that catches and swallows a centipede larger than itself and a spider catching a frog.

If you're specifically looking for lions, though - especially if you want to see them in action as well as in their more common poses of relaxation - I would instead recommend one of the videos of Derek and Beverly Joubert, also from National Geographic. These include National Geographic's Lions of Darkness, as well as my personal favorite, National Geographic: Eternal Enemies - Lions and Hyenas, which despite the hyena on the cover has more about lions than hyenas.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Video, July 5, 2011

By 

BPG "Big Picture Guy" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Geographic's Lions of the African Night [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The title is misleading as this video covers a lot of interesting animals in addition to lions, but its still a great show. The music, editing and Richard Kiley narration gives it the classic feel of a quality National Geographic production.