Customer Reviews

Shamans of the Amazon 3 DVD Special Edition

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

 

 

I was excited when I discovered that this series of films was available on DVD and I purchased this product on the spot. After taking it home I couldn't wait to view it because documentary films on the Shamanic use of Ayahuasca in the Amazon simply aren't available and this subject is a passion of mine. Further more, the DVDs feature comments by Terence McKenna who really knows his stuff and he is supper fun to watch for his comments and biting wit. In fact the DVDs contain an interview by Terence which may be one of his final interviews before he past away in 2000. I join Denis McKenna, co author of The Invisible Landscape and Rick Strassman MD, author of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, in saying that Shamans of the Amazon is by far, bar none, the best documentary every produced on the Shamanic use of Ayahuasca in the Amazon and the world at large. It includes a look at the political implications around the world regarding the use of Ayahuasca and a whole host of remarkable bonus features in what is a phenomenal 3 DVD set. I highly recommend this product to all Terence McKenna fans and everyone who cares about this subject.

Whenever one expects a great treat and then end up geting something less than great , the whole experience becomes dissappointing. The DVD's have their moments, and i feel that, with careful editing, one or two DVD's worth of time would be OK. So knocking off about 1/3 to 1/2 of the material would up the percieved quality immensely, making the whole into a truely satisfying experience.

I really wish I could give this set of dvds 4 stars, or even 5, but there are too many problems including poor recording quality, at least on my set. Yes, I am glad to have watched them, but found them a bit inconclusive in their own right, and even a bit immature. I will be brief.
The first dvd was very good, though the continual use of video tricks was distracting from the message. At least it was about the Shamans of the Amazon. Having said it was very good, I mean that it is an acceptable primer for someone with little or no knowledge on the subject. No criticism here, we do need works like this.
The second dvd was very good, but had absolutely no connection with the Shamanistic use of these plants. It was entirely about the waging war in Ecuador between the oil companies and the indigenous people. It was fairly well done and educational. It was a message we know, but cannot know too well. I am glad to have seen it but in honesty, I was looking for more on the Shamanistic experience and it was not there ... at all.
The third dvd was a mixed bag. I loved the interview with Terrance McKenna, even though the editing was poor. You have to struggle to hear the questions, though the answers were as clear as could be. McKenna was particularly sober having received his diagnoses of terminal cancer. I enjoyed the interview very much. The end of the third dvd seemed to have been simply an afterthought. It showed a group of people experiencing the effects of San Pedro at Machu Picchu. The landscape was lovely, but overall the experience was boring and the people somewhat clownish.
In essence, if you have the money to burn, go ahead and get it, Better yet, maybe you can borrow it. If you are looking for information about the Shamans of the Amazon, there are no fewer than a half dozen excellent books on the matter, and the weakest of these will far outshine this dvd set.

This is a very informative set of DVD's. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to be enlightened in this subject matter.