Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Pbs (Direct)
• VHS Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004U54Z
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,007 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The idea that an event of cataclysmic proportions shrouded the Earth's atmosphere, darkening the sky and plunging its inhabitants into a massive crisis, is familiar to anyone who's read about the dinosaurs. But what if a similar event happened to humans? And what if recorded history around the world indicates a precise time when this disaster struck? This fascinating documentary, an installment of PBS's Secrets of the Dead set, tackles the premise that scribes in civilizations as far apart as Ireland and China all recorded a darkening of the sky and a drop in temperatures about the year A.D. 535. Crop failures precipitated famine and epidemics, and this marked the beginning of the "Early Dark Ages." Whether the cause of this worldwide disaster was an extraterrestrial object slamming into the planet or a tremendous eruption from within the Earth, is examined by a team of scientists profiled in this video. It's a brilliantly told scientific detective story featuring research involving ancient manuscripts, tree rings, archaeological digs, and even a trip to the world's most notorious and dangerous volcano. This documentary provides a fascinating look at how fragile the Earth's existence truly is, and provokes a lot of questions about our own existence on the planet. --Robert J. McNamara

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Big Bang, November 13, 2001

By 

William Holmes "semloh2287" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secrets of the Dead - Catastrophe (vol. 1) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video is part of the "Secrets of the Dead" series, which originally aired in Britain and more recently appeared on PBS. This particular episode is based on the work of David Keys, whose theories are set out in more detail in his 1999 book "Catastrophe."

In a nutshell, Keys and others believe that a disaster, possibly an asteroid strike or a huge volcanic eruption, happened sometime around 535 AD. The aftermath was worldwide drought, flood, famine, plague and the collapse of ancient civilizations around the world.

The first half of the video reviews the evidence for what happened: tree ring studies, ice core samples, evidence of volcanic eruptions, and historical records all point to a major climate-changing event in the year 535. The second half explores the effect that this event had on the world, including the decline of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire and the rise of Islam. The upshot is that this little-known catastrophe may have had an enormous effect on the course of history and that, more chillingly, there is absolutely nothing to prevent a similar disaster from happening again.

The episode itself features a lot of dark, moody shots of ancient buildings and mist-shrouded forests, all of which are in keeping with the "Secrets of the Dead" motif. In a nod to the "X-Files," changes in location are announced in a typed script that scrolls from the left side of the screen. Location shots feature actors dressed in period costumes (presumably for ambience), and interviews with Keys and others are interspersed throughout. The overall effect is a bit creepy, and at times it's a bit much for an event that is plainly not supernatural.

For those who find this sort of thing as fascinating as I do, here are a couple of additional recommendations:

First, Key's book "Catastrophe" is well worth reading and has been extensively reviewed elsewhere on Amazon.

Second, Channel 4 Books has published "Secrets of the Dead" and "More Secrets of the Dead," both by crime writer Hugh Miller. These books cover ten of the episodes in the series (not including "Catastophe," which will presumably be covered in a third book), and they present information that you will not find in the videos. (...)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating hypothesis on what caused the "Dark Ages", January 22, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Secrets of the Dead - Catastrophe (vol. 1) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The "Catasatrophe!" that is the focus of this first volume in the "Secrets of the Dead" series is a cataclysmic event that some scientists believed occurred around 535 A.D. Apparently, the early Dark Ages were called that for a reason: a natural disaster literally reduced the amount of sunshine. The starting point for this scientific inquiry are the record of tree rings from the period that show abnormally small growth rates for several years during that time span. Focusing primarily on the work of science writer David Keys, this documentary eliminates extraterrestrial sources (asteroids, comets, etc.) for this natural disaster and searches for a volcanic explosion as the triggering device. However, that becomes only the first half of this endeavor as the case is then made for the significant effects this catastrophe had for human civilization. Viewers will be fascinated to learn that the Mongol invasion of Europe, the rise of the bubonic plague, the fall of the great Mexican city of Teotihuacan, the victory of the Anglo-Saxons over the Celts, and even the rise of Islam can be linked to the massive volcanic explosion.

The strength of "Catastrophe!", which is narrated by actor Roy Scheider, is the chain of scientific reasoning it lays out for the audience, both in determining what happened and in laying out the case for the specific results this particular volcanic explosion caused in human history. However, at two hours in length it is a bit overlong and I think the documentary could have benefitted from some better editing to help pick up the pace (I would think PBS would not have a big problem with the 90 minute format, but maybe that was problematic in 2000 with regards to this series). Still, this videotape should prove most instructive in the classroom since it provides a detailed case study of how scientists and historians arrive at their conclusions. Whatever the specific case study at hand, that is a lesson well worth the learning.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Secrets Refuse to Die!, October 6, 2000

By 

"kelticmist" (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Dead (Cannibalism in the Canyon/What Happened To The Hindenburg?/The Lost Vikings/Catastrophe!) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I came into the middle of these series when PBS aired them originally, and after watching all of them, realize exactly what I missed the first time! The stories spun here are fascinating, and a little bit creepy (it was a bit hard to turn off the lights after watching and go down the hallway in the dark) The only thing I didn't quite like is that three of the four episodes dealt with ancient people, and the fourth dealth with more modern. I would have preferred to see one series on the ancients and perhaps a second on more modern times. Still, it remains something I would highly recommend.