Customer Reviews

Walt Disney's True Life Adventures - The Living Desert [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Walt Disney's Living Desert is the finest desert nature footage ever produced--the standard. Released in 1953 in full color it took 3 years to make. It has many fine points including a 2:25 breathtaking sequence in which a large female wasp subdues and paralyzes a tarantula with her stinger. Beautiful botanical time lapse photography is also featured. The Best Documentary Oscar was created for The Living Desert and it was the first recipient of the award. What more can I say---everyone young and old should have the opportunity to see this film.

Living Desert is the introduction to ecology that every child needs to see. It combines extraordinary footage with entertaining music and intelligent commentary, and probably was responsible for millions of Americans learning to look beyond the obvious barren view of our natural resources. So why isn't a copy of this tape in every public library branch in the country? Why not ask your local library if it wants a copy, and make a charitable (and tax-deductible) contribution to our national common body of knowledge? This is the grand-daddy of nature films.

This is top notch! I hope it comes back

As a youth, I remember watching "The Wonderful World of Disney" (which, if I'm not mistaken, was later renamed "The Wonderful World of Color"). It was on every Sunday night and would feature cartoons, a serial program like "Davie Crocket: King of the Wild Frontier", or any variety of other Disney-worthy productions including a number of nature programs. I believe it was on that TV show that I first saw "The Living Desert". It won an Academy Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary in 1953.

The photography is the key and the producers wanted us to understand that right from the beginning. The introductary comments mention that the film is the result of hundreds of hours of patient work by wildlife photographers. The ensuing glimpses of wildlife in the desert is fascinating. We see scenes of survival, persistance, and, to put it delicately, the food chain in action. Some of the shots, especially that of a particular bobcat, make one wonder if a little bit of help was arranged to create some of the scenes but it's still a very humorous sequence. Typically, for a Disney production, much of the movie is instructive and informative. Also typical for Disney, the movie will appeal to all ages. Watching "The Living Desert" is certainly time well spent.

Sometimes I love Disney, sometimes I wonder if they sit on their brains. This is one of the finest movie documentaries they ever produced and yet here it is 2006 well beyond when they started making DVDs and it is not on DVD. Do you see something wrong with that picture as I do? I saw this as a kid on the Wonderful World of Disney and I loved it. I was entertained and educated at the same time. The best way for kids to learn. Unfortunately I have not seen it since. I imagine some of those that have the Disney channel may have caught it at some point if it was televised again. I buy all the movies they made and ran on their TV series back in the 1960s, I can only hope they realize this classic should be put on DVD as well. If you get a chance to watch it on VHS or TV be sure to catch it. As old as it is it still very entertaining and informative.

Addendum: They finally released this with other specials from the Wonderful World of Disney. There are four volumes in the Walt Disney Legacy Collection. This is on Volume Two.

I got the tape promptly and just fast forwarded thru and viewed no problems as it was very clear. Very satisfied although it may be a while before I have a chance to view in its entirety.

I showed this video to my special needs preschool class during our desert theme. It kept the kids' attention and they really enjoyed it. It's visually striking. I also like that it relies less on language and more on visuals (perfect for my students with language processing delays).

I saw this as a kid when it first came out in 1953, and the beauty of it has remained with me always. I decided it was time for my grand children to see what captured my imagination so many years before. They were blown away. With all the technology nowdays, i wish Disney would come out with a DVD, especially in Blueray.

A. Durham

Thank you; this is an awesome movie..my mom really wanted this movie and I was unable to find it anywhere. Until I looked onto amazon and found it and also for such a great prize. She enjoys watching it over and over as do I and my kids...thank you again

I remembered this video from my childhood, so I ordered it for my grandkids. They absolutely loved it and so did I along with my 86 year old Dad. I couldn't find it on dvd - which it should be. This film really piqued my interest in nature and was such a joy to see my grandchildren and my aged father enjoy it so much. It brought back memories of sitting in front of the television with my family on Sunday night to watch Disney and remember it as being a very warm and close time with them. I was 9 years old at the time and it has impacted me to this day!