Nature / Animals

This relaxation video combines underwater footage of some of the world's most fascinating marine life with soothing music for a blend of colors and sounds that will leave viewers both calmed and fascinated. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The phrase National Geographic is synonymous with colorful exposes of faraway cultures and the environments in which they survive. This 30-year special is the ultimate highlight reel that documents some of the best adventures and the accompanying spectacular backdrop that film has ever captured. Narrated by actor Richard Kiley, this video accurately dictates the wonders of this universe, from the bottom of the ocean with undersea explorer extraordinaire Jacques Cousteau to the famous first American expedition to the top of the world, Mount Everest. With clips spanning 114 programs and a multitude of countries, this educational experience is a tribute to the natural order. ~ C. Dwayne Smith, All Movie Guide

Canyonlands: A Southwest Desert Odyssey offers extensive footage of some of North America's national parks. This release includes striking images of the Grand Canyon, Mono Lake, the Grand Tetons, and Sedona. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Swedish filmmaker Mikael Kristersson directs this austere yet beautiful experimental documentary about two European falcons. Shot over the course of two years, Kristersson manages to fashion a narrative without the use of voice-overs or music, showing the falcons as they forage for food and tend to their eggs. Much of this film, though, is spent viewing the world from the falcons' vantage point -- high up on a 13th century church steeple, watching the groundskeeper tending to the village cemetery and the choir boys growing tired of a long religious procession. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this video, Nova revisits the terror and destruction of the L.A. earthquake and offers predictions for future occurrences of earthquakes in California. ~ Laura Mahnken, All Movie Guide

Nova: Shark Attack! is an animal behavior documentary that features two of the sea's deadliest creatures: great white sharks and tiger sharks. You'll climb aboard a 14-foot-boat near the Farallon Islands off the coast of northern California to watch the great whites prey upon sea lions and seals, and you'll travel to Hawaii to study the ambush patterns of tiger sharks. Statistical information on attack incidence is provided, and human attitudes toward sharks -- from fear to awe to respect on religious grounds -- are examined. Terrifying underwater camera shots in shark-infested waters are a special feature of the 60-minute film. ~ Kathleen Wildasin, All Movie Guide

Actor Dudley Moore lends his voice to the animated narrating globe "Spin" as he takes you back to the time when T-Rex and his dinosaur friends roamed the earth. In the absence of real film footage, National Geographic cleverly uses film clips, paleontologist interviews and rock music videos to provide an engaging look at these ancient reptiles and some of their modern-day relatives such as lizards, snakes and alligators. And in case you didn't think dinosaurs were creepy enough, you'll also make the acquaintance of some bats, maggots, spiders, ants and more creepy creatures of the world! ~ Kathryn Tamms, All Movie Guide

This National Geographic documentary explores the causes and effects of nature's more destructive forces; hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes. Through actual footage of storms and disasters, from both media and the National Geographic cameras, the viewer is shown how powerful and unpredictable nature can be. As with most National Geographic films, science and fact take precedence over sensationalism; thus, National Geographic: Nature's Fury also contains commentary and graphics that explain what causes an earthquake, a flood or other natural disasters, as well as what scientists are doing to help protect people from harm. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide

Join the National Geographic cameras in their on-hand account of a team of Russian and American scientists racing to protect the endangered Siberian Tiger. The biggest cat on earth, there are only 300 Siberian tigers surviving in the wild today. Tigers of the Snow depicts some truly exciting and highly dangerous tiger conservation efforts: wildlife biologists risking their lives to rush into a tiger den to tag a two-month-old cub before its mother returns and even giving mouth to mouth resuscitation to an ailing sedated Tiger. This video adventure is fast moving and full of exciting, bold efforts to help save the remaining Tigers of the Snow in Siberia. ~ Laura Mahnken, All Movie Guide

This PBS program focuses on several areas of the world that have dangerous temperatures and accompanying weather conditions. Stevens Pass in Washington state is included as it was once the scene of a catastrophic avalanche in 1910 that caused a serious train wreck. France's Chamonix Valley is shown in footage due to the devastating avalanche that occurred there in 1999. At the other end of the weather spectrum is Death Valley, where surface and air temperatures soar so high that heat stroke and even death can occur if people venture into the area without taking proper precautions. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

Volcanic eruptions continue to terrify people around the world. This video features footage of eruptions in West Africa, the Philippines, and New Zealand. It also discusses the potential eruption of America's Mount Rainier, which, it is expected, would be much worse than the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Recent steps have been taken to try and provide residents of threatened communities with a significant warning period so they can escape the ash and lava. Both survivors of volcano eruptions and volcanologists provide their unique insights during interviews. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

This 50-minute video is divided into two sections, the docu-drama "The Poet and the Rough Rider" and "John Muir's Yosemite." "The Poet and the Rough Rider" captures the spirit of the early conservation movement by focusing on its two most outstanding leaders, John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt. In 1903, Roosevelt and Muir spent three days together wandering through Yosemite. This dramatization features Lee Stetson as Muir and Joseph Early as Roosevelt. "John Muir's Yosemite" contains miscellaneous scenic shots of the Yosemite Valley with a voice-over of an actor reading passages of Muir's writings. ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide

Yellowstone National Park has been a popular tourist destination since Teddy Roosevelt declared the land a nature preserve. With the amazing geysers, hot springs, picturesque mountains, and towering old growth forests, this park has everything any nature buff could want. Yellowstone is a virtual tour of this nature showcase that far exceeds any other film that has attempted to capture the splendor of this patch of heaven. Originally filmed in the IMAX format, Yellowstone (a Slingshot Entertainment release) was intended to make the viewer feel as if they were soaring up sheer cliffs and circles snow peaked mountains. With 32 minutes of visual enlightenment to behold, this film may be even better than actually standing in Yellowstone. Would you be able to climb into a geyser and see it from the inside? Would you want to actually be standing in the path of a two-ton grizzly? More than likely, no, and that is why director Kieth Merril placed the camera in these unique situations. This film is meant to thrill and educate, and to give unique perspectives that are nearly impossible for humans to achieve. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide