Survivorman (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)***** This set does not contain "The Making of Survivorman". That extra footage came out after I purchased this DVD. Try Survivorman's website for the latest version. *****
The two colorful DVDs come in a classic plastic container. The picture quality and sound are perfect. Each episode is shown in its entirety and without commercials. It doesn't get any better than this.
Disc One
Desert - Les salvages his broken bicycle after it strands him in the desert. He later uses those parts to aid his situation.
Boreal Forest - Just what it implies. The forest. It's in one of these forest/jungle outings that Les almost amputates his finger when his knife slips.
Swamp - Bullfrogs and turtles are Les's main staple as he builds a raft out of the swamp.
Jungle - At night the jungle floor moves with activity.
Disc Two
Arctic - No food anywhere, except for his pack of seal blubber. Polar bears stalk his sleeping area.
Mountain - Shelter building and fire making at its best.

Winter Plane Crash - My favorite. Les fakes a broken arm to reflect a real plane crash situation. He builds a nice shelter from the busted up airplane, and traps rabbits with a snare.
Canyonlands - The loneliness of the canyons grates on Les's nerves as he smokes out a living quarters and catches small animals for food.
Lost at Sea - Les takes flight in a rubber raft and gets hit by a nasty unexpected storm.
I can't wait to see what Les has planned for Season Two. I'll be the first to buy his DVD.

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Imagine being stranded in the most extreme environments on earth for seven days - completely alone with virtually no supplies. How could you possibly survive? With no support crew and operating the camera himself, survival expert Les Stroud tackles that question as he tests himself in the toughest types of wilderness, ranging from the desert to the Arctic. Among his adventures, he battles life-or-death situations - the aftermath of a winter plane crash, abandoned in the mountains, lost at sea and much more. If you like living on the edge, you can't afford to miss a minute of these nine extended episodes!Disc 1: Arizona Desert Boreal Forest Georgian Swamp Costa Rican Ocean Disc 2: Arctic Mountains Pacific Coast Canyonlands Lost at Sea

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I Shouldn't Be Alive (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved this show when it was on, and then it just dissappeared and the discovery channel website said nothing about it which was frustrating. I was thrilled to see that the show was being released on dvd. There are like 24 episodes in this set and they are all good. I have given this as a gift to several people and it is very popular. Many people never saw the show when it was on and so it is all new to them.
The survival stories are amazingly recreated with actors and on camera interviews with the real life survivors. Not everyone survives in these stories and you can kind of quickly figure that out when that person never shows up on screen in an interview. It is sad. I highly recommend this set if you enjoy shows like this. I had a few problems with the dvds skipping (right out of the box) but it tolerable and did not happen on each disc.

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Survivors of harrowing life-and-death situations relive their terrifying experiences in this addictive, thrilling series. From a father forced to abandon his son in a hidden cave to a crew of inexperienced sailors struggling to survive in shark-infested waters, these are ordinary people pushed to the limits of human endurance. Under the same circumstances, would you have the raw courage, the nerves of steel, the sheer luck required to make it out alive? With these 20 episodes, you'll be amazed at the power of the will to survive in some of the most extreme situations you could ever imagine.

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Touching the Void Review

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(More customer reviews)My son and I came out of the theater exhausted just by watching this quasi-documentary reenactment of the 1985 ascent up an unclimbed route on the Siula Grande glacier in Peru. The film's impact is heightened by the excellent cutting between the actor/climbers and Simon Yates and Joe Simpson, who recall their actions, reactions, and feelings nearly 20 years later. Disaster strikes on the descent, where -- as one of them notes -- "80 percent of accidents happen." After Simpson breaks his leg in a fall, Yates -- against impossible odds -- continues to try and get him down. Finally, Simpson falls again, off the edge of the mountain. After hours of hanging on to what feels like dead weight, Yates cuts the rope to prevent himself from being gradually pulled into the void. Simpson's survival and return to base camp is nothing short of miraculous, suggesting that man is never more tenacious about life than when he is closest to losing it. Though far different in its circumstances, his story rivals that of Shackleton and the Endurance in Antartica three quarters of a century before. An underlying issue, addressed briefly in the film, is whether Yates should have cut the rope. Apparently some other climbers criticized him for doing so, but Simpson always defended his action. I have no idea how well the technical aspects of Touching the Void are done, but to this mostly earthboard amateur, they looked brilliantly and truly shot. Danger and beauty are scarcely separable in Touching the Void. When you are not immersed in the terror of Yates' and, especially, Simpson's plight, the frigid beauty of the glacier, the colors within its crevasses are glorious. A story of recklessness and great determination, superbly told, filled with many "how did they ever shoot that?" moments, Touching the Void must be seen.

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TOUCHING THE VOID - DVD Movie

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Lost - The Complete Second Season (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a die hard Lost fan from the Season 1 debut, I have been a bit shocked to hear so many negative things about Season 2. The mystery of the island went much deeper and the season actually answered more questions than the first, while still whetting our appetite for more. I would love to see some loose ends tied up, but that is what makes people keep watching. Those who abandoned the show because of too many questions obviously don't have the patience required for a show such as this. In our "quick fix, gotta have it" society, it is refreshing to know that there is actually a show that will not simply give us questions and answers but an acutal story with strong characters and an intriguing plot. I cannot wait for Season 3 to premiere.

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4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. Push the button and prepare to be blown away by the groundbreaking television event USA Today calls "TV's best series." The multiple Emmy® Award-winning drama reaches new heights in its spectacular second season as the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 discover they are not alone in their battle against "the Others," and a contested decision to open the hatch reveals a new realm of mystery and intrigue. Prepare yourself for the DVD experience of Season Two, complete with over 8 hours of original bonus material you can't see anywhere else -- including unaired original flashbacks -- and you'll discover for yourself why "everything happens for a reason."

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Empire of the Sun (Snap Case) (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)This epic film is the first of Spielberg's World War II trilogy that includes "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan." It was made at a time when Spielberg was financially successfully but artistic merit eluded him. That this remarkable piece of filmmaking has been overlooked is no reflection on him; it is the failure of the tastes of critics and the public alike. Spielberg tells a beautiful story of the horrors of war, how families are uprooted and separated, and how the human spirit overcomes adversity. Christian Bale is superb in the film. I cannot comprehend why his career did not soar after the film's release. It was good to see him in the role of Jesus in the recently televised movie on Mary. John Malkovich is his usual fantastic self as a fellow POW who becomes Bale's Long John Silver, a sly comparison to the classic "Treasure Island." The film is beautifully photographed and has a subtle and moving score from Spielberg stalwart John Williams. It is a must for fans of the director and those who appreciate masterful storytelling.

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A young British boy's noble spirit allows him to survive the hardships of a Japanese prison camp in China during World War II.Genre: Feature Film-Action/AdventureRating: PGRelease Date: 27-SEP-2005Media Type: DVD

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A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've bought and read most of the major "peak oil" books that have been published the last few years, and so I didn't expect that much from this film when I ordered it using my Neflix subscription (now I'm buying a copy here on Amazon, for a mere $19.99).
Boy, was I ever surprised when I viewed it today! This documentary is so well done, that I really feel it should be required viewing in all high schools and colleges, and I wish everyone in this country could in fact see it.
Virtually all of the major energy experts, most of whom have written books on Peak Oil, are interviewed in this film, with a multitude of scores of video clips from the past and present, including an interview from the 1970's, with M. King Hubbert (the originator of Hubbert's Peak).
This film shows the power of video documentaries, when they are produced with style, creativity and true expertise. Just about every conceivable concept related to the world's energy use, past, present and future, along with great comments regarding the various alternative possibilities (solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen, etc.), are illustrated here.
Five stars without any doubt!

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An unforgettable and shocking wake-up call, A CRUDE AWAKENING offers the rock-solid argument that the era of cheap oil is in the past. Relentless and clear-eyed, this intensively-researched film drills deep into the uncomfortable realities of a world that is both addicted to fossil fuels and blissfully unaware of the looming "peak oil" crisis. Drawing on an international cast of maverick energy experts and thinkers, directors Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack debunk the conventional wisdom that oil production will continue to climb, and instead stare bleakly at a planet facing economic meltdown and conflict over its most valuable resource. Featuring a haunting score by Phillip Glass and a fascinating array of rare archival footage, the film explores oil's rocky relationship with human progress in locales ranging from ancient Baku, Azerbaijan to dusty oilpatch town McCamey, Texas. Amidst a dark and disturbing vision of our future, A CRUDE AWAKENING hints at a humbler way of life built around sustainability and alternative energy, providing a visually stunning, boldly prophetic testament which provokes not just thought but action.Q&A with Basil Gelpke 1.What inspired you to make this film?I thought it was the most underreported burning issue at the time when we embarked on the project back in 2005.2.What kind of response have you encountered from audiences who’ve seen it?We’ve got a lot of feedback: Either people would deny our conclusion or they would see the film as an eye-opener.3.What, if anything, do you think has changed since you made the film about the oil situation?The current financial crisis has lowered the overall consumption but it’s interesting to see that not very much as oil consumption is so vital to our societies. While demand goes down in the US it’s still increasing in places like China.4.Do you feel that the high price of gas last year and the current economic crisis has changed our oil addiction?Yes, and I think there’s a growing consensus that we have to change our dependence on imported energy and now there’s a remarkable push to look for alternative sources of energy.5.How much do you think things have changed now that there is a new administration in the White House?The Obama administration is definitely very aware of the issue and they have taken lots of promising steps to change our addiction to oil and fossil fuels in general. Whether they’ll be successful remains to be seen but it’s certainly going into the right direction.6.Can you discuss your decision to use animation and archival footage that sings the praises of oil?It seemed a good way to show how perceptions change over time and how we’re all conditioned by history.7.The score by Philip Glass is remarkable. What made you choose him for the film?Yes, we love his work too!8.Faced with the alarming future shown in the film, what, if any, is your hope for curing our addiction to oil?There’s always hope. However, I strongly believe that when the financial crisis has subsided there will be a next crisis caused by nature: The dwindling resources of the planet simply can’t satisfy the ever increasing demand arising from a growing population. So over time we’ll have to rethink our way of life.

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