Customer Reviews

Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays [VHS]

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

 

 

To set the context for my review, I saw this film as a seventh grade student in Mr. Ewall's science class at Harding Junior High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1966. I fell in love with it then, and find it evermore endearing now.

When I first saw the "Stange Case of the Cosmic Rays," I immediately fell in love with it. I loved the way it made concepts in atomic and nuclear physics readily accessible to a seventh grader. I throughly enjoyed the way Dr. Baxter employed the scientific method and the powers of deduction (after all this is a detective story) to a problem as simple as the robbery from the "Electron Bank of the Universe," and derived the nature of the fundamental particles and forces out of which our universe is built. This is heady stuff for anyone particularly a seventh grader. Yet "The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays" made itself so endearing to science students of my generation through its use of animation, sound track and whips and quips from Dostoevski, Dickens and Poe's raven.

Thirty-four years later and this film has not lost its charm. Yes, it's dated, but the fundamentals it emphasizes still ring true. No, it doesn't use the special effects we have come to know, but what it lacks in special effects, it more than compensates with clarity, repartee and theme development. These factors combine to make an engaging film that's a joy to experience, be you geek, space cadet, or just someone how wants to see the opening chapters of one of the longest running detective stories.

If you haven't seen this film, see it! If you don't have this film in your collection, buy it today! Your mind will love you forever!

As a cosmic-ray physicist, this videotape is amusing not only for its well-presented (though rather outdated) science but also for the shear novelty of its existence. After all, what we have here is the animation of the creator of Betty Boop, a Frank Capra production, an E. A. Poe commenting on the literary merits of cosmic rays, and a pair of very 1950s stereotypical scientists. All in one film. Less than $10. If you're a science geek, this is a must-have.

I totally agree with all who loved these Bell Science films series. yes, I was in Jr. High when I started to see these films in my school in the early 60's. Then I had a friend who owned a 16mm projector, and with my mother working at Ma Bell in my city at the time, who had access to the film catalog, would rent these 8 films, one at a time, in this series and my friend and I would watch these over and over again. We would get great information and education from these films and with Richard Carlson and Frank Baxter doing the "storytelling" in these films, was an absolute treat and a half. Too bad Rhino discontinued these rare treasures.