Product Details

• Directors: Mark Lewis
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Tapeworm Video Dist
• VHS Release Date: January 29, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305071772
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,717 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rat is an entertaining and informative video about, you guessed it, our furry little (and, as it turns out, not so little) friends. Director Mark Lewis takes us into--and underneath--New York City, arguably the rat capital of the world, to bring us a unique look into these tenacious creatures' day-to-day lives and our methods of dealing with them. With often chilling narration and commentary from tenants, health department officials, rat experts, and exterminators, Lewis goes inside pipes, behind walls, underneath sinks, and into subway tunnels to show us the rat at home--in many cases, a home shared by people. Peter deVries's, er, beautiful cinematography captures rats in silhouette, rats close up, rats in the sun, and rats in the shadows, and the overall effect, while fascinating, is definitely not for the squeamish. Disappointingly, Lewis succumbs to the temptation to re-create (à la Rescue 911) individual confrontations between rats and human beings and employs an animal trainer to direct the rats in these scenes. Still, Rat is mostly a documentary that's guaranteed to send a shiver up your spine and make you think twice before renting that "charming" apartment on the Upper West Side of New York City. --Steve Landau

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly original, highly entertaining and highly educational, December 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rat [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Rat is that rare film - documentary or not - that educates while it entertains. While definitely not for the vermin phobes amongst us, Rat offers a fascinating and truly entertaining struggle of one of the most hardy and intelligent creatures which shares our streets, businesses and even homes. Watch Rat and you'll develop new respect and fear of this most adaptive animal.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, but not as good as Cane Toads, June 1, 2007

By 

C. R. Palamar (Yellow Springs, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rat (DVD)

This video takes a humorous look at Rats as a "natural" and "native" creature in urban areas, particularly in NYC. It's an excellent companion to Rat, by Robert Sullivan-- a book that looks at Rats in their "natural habitat"-- the CITY!!! The slightly subversive humor of Cane Toads is present here, but its not nearly as tight. This is a good film, but not one I would go out of my way to see again.