Customer Reviews

In the Wild - The Galapagos Islands with Richard Dreyfuss [VHS]

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Having just returned from the Galapagos aboard the M/Y Letty where I watched this video, it pales by comparison to those nature documentaries by David Attenborough. This in not for the serious naturalist. Richard Dreyfuss seems more interested in using the fauna as a "straight man" for his attempted comedic remarks. Almost zero time spent on the fishes of Galapagos, except for a very brief view of a scalloped hammerhead shark -- to which R.D. responds that he's getting out of the water. This provides a false impression of these graceful sharks with which I and many others were snorkeling among. R.D. could have focused on the benign attitude of the hammerhead and white-tips in the Galapagos, and how remarkable it is that multitudes of snorkelers and divers have been in very close (I was within 15 feet of a hammerhead) to these creatures without harm. I was largely disappointed with this video, and the only reason that I am purchasing it is that our guide extrordinaire, Greg Estes, is in it and is never even given any type of mention or credit.

I have been using this video in my high school biology class for years. It very light heartedly introduces students to some of unique critters Galapagos has to offer. While it obviously does not cover all of them, it does a great job introducing the uniqueness of those within the video. Richard Dreyfuss brings a perfect sense of humor to the situation. While there are much more science rich documentaries out there about the Galapagos, for the student's to see just how interesting an actor can find nature is a natural hook.

Richard Dreyfuss' personality is more apparent than any wild critters you might wish to see from these islands. I am doing some research and was looking to see some of the animals from these islands in action -- I was quite dismayed that there were no blue-footed booby birds! There were some nice shots of some Galapagos tortoises, though. R.D. spends too much time talking for the sake of talking than to actually say anything worthwhile. I also cannot recommend this for viewing by children as R.D also makes too many references to the animals having sex and joking about a lack of cigarettes on the ground to prove it.