Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Discovery Channel
• VHS Release Date: March 17, 1998
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6304887191
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,222 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lose-lose, April 15, 2003

By 

"vortex87" (Picnic Point, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tornado Hurricane Flood [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you've approached this video looking for facts and useful educational material, you'll be disappointed. And if you've approached this video looking for "extreme," "awesome footage," you'll also be disappointed.

To begin with "Tornado," let's just say the narration plays like an old newsreel - or a really old (Cold War-era, perhaps?) classroom film. The opening sequence concludes, "Nothing is safe from an attack by nature's terrorist." >GASP!< Behind this is a sequence (used again, later on in the theatrics) that usually featured in Government films of the 1970s to prove that the low pressure in the center of tornadoes make buildings explode (they don't), so you should open your windows before taking cover (you shouldn't). There's also much talk of stormchasing, via NSSL's Project VORTEX and Warren Faidley - neither of whom see a tornado, but as both teams are driving in broad daylight with a few obviously non-thunderstorm clouds in the sky, "conditions are perfect for a tornado to form - this is a dangerous time." To conclude, there is a sequence almost painful to watch whereby we're lead to believe Faidley's chasing posse encounter a tornado, and "lead a terrified family to safety" under an overpass as the tornado passes just yards away - but it's just had the sequence shot by a KSNW-TV crew on 4/26/1991 on the Kansas Turnpike badly edited in. Apart from that and two other videos from 1991 and 1987, all other footage is scratchy looking film from 1981 back. And another sequence from an 1984 NOAA video is used of people surviving a tornado under an overpass - you'd think it were safe! (Really, it's among the worst things you could do.)

As for "Hurricane," there is again precious little - anything, really. Just more old films (in black and white this time, not just all color), more overdramatized narration ("A hurricane isn't all just wind. It rains in terrifying proportions." - Yes hurricanes bring a lot of rain, but "terrifying"?), more incorrect information - as with "Tornado," it will incense the scientifically inclined and bore the "extreme video" junkies.

"Flood" is half about rain than floods (note that the onscreen title is "Rain and Flood"), and will again serve of little lasting interest or resource to the viewers - about the only redeeming feature is an interesting device to "preserve" raindrops by putting a pan of flour out in the rain for a short time, then baking the pan - you're supposed to get little baked balls of flour the size of the original drop. (Since it's flour, though, would it last? Or grow moldy after a time?)

In short, this isn't educational or particularly entertaining. If you'd have a purpose for it other than these, then it may be good.