Tom Simon Movies

Young viewers can learn about various aspects of personal finance through this instructional special. Scrubs' Donald Faison hosts this program that explains concepts such as insurance and loans. ~ Kimber Myers, All Movie Guide

In this exploration of how Class B dog dealers frequently violate the law by illicitly selling 42,000 canines to veterinary schools and research laboratories ever year, documentary filmmakers Tom Simon and Sarah Teale conduct an undercover investigation into the Martin Creek Kennel by the animal rights organization Last Chance for Animals. Though Class B dealers are required to treat their dogs humanely and purchase them only when the seller displays all appropriate documentation due to the fact that they operate under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, dealers frequently ignore the regulations and have been known to purchase animals that are either strays or stolen pets. Martin Creek Kennel was once one of the largest Class B dealers in the United States, but when a young man named "Pete" landed an entry-level job at Martin Creek hosing out kennels and wore a hidden camera to work, the images of abuse, disease, suffering, and injury that he captured would prompt federal authorities to close the facility in 2005 and land owner C.C. Baird in court. With this release, Simon and Teale attempt to educate viewers as to the heartbreaking violations by Class B dealers that continue to go unsighted year after year. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The coming of the new millennium brought lists of all sorts, including this compilation by the Biography Channel, of the 100 most influential people of the last 1,000 years. This program is the third episode in a four-part series that profiles the lives of some of the people who changed the course of history. Archival photographs, film clips, artwork, journals, interviews, and scholarly commentary are used to relate the details of the lives of these important figures. The biographies range from Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

The coming of the new millennium brought lists of all sorts, including this compilation by the Biography Channel, profiling some of history's most influential people. A group of panelists from Henry Kissinger to Isaac Stern selected 100 people who have made a difference in the last 1,000 years of world history. The stories of their lives and achievements are then told, using archival film clips, photographs, artwork, personal accounts, journals, interviews, and scholarly commentary. The key figures range from Mahatma Gandhi to Bill Gates. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide

The Pacific Ocean island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Island chain became pivotal during World War II. The Japanese sought control of Guadalcanal to expand operations into Australia and for six month during 1942, the Allied forces attempted to stop them. The battle was long and bloody, the advantage gained and lost on both sides more than once. A total of 50 ships from both sides went down and 50 years later, Dr. Robert Ballard, who located the wrecks of the Titanic and the Bismarck, went underwater to explore the wreck. Using underwater footage, still photographs, and interviews with surviving WWII veterans, this documentary also highlights the excitement of underwater exploration, and the danger. Former President George Bush introduces the program. ~ Leslie Birdwell, All Movie Guide

National Geographic Video: Survivors of the Skeleton Coast takes viewers on a scenic tour of the mysterious desert region of southwest Africa. Here, on the Skeleton Coast, desert elephants and giraffes make their home, ship graveyards add to the mystique, and sand storms and droughts stir up big trouble. Named after the wrecked hulls of ships that dot the coastline, Namibia's Skeleton Coast is not the most pleasant host to its native species. Des and Jen Bartlett, who have dwelled in this desert for years, document their homeland's unpredictable forces. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide

Filmed in northern Botswana, this National Geographic documentary examines the bitter competition for survival between lions and hyenas. These two species act like warring kingdoms, viciously attacking one another, stealing food, and constantly tormenting each other. Several of the scenes are startling in their brutality. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide

Brought to video by National Geographic and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, this documentary details one of the earth's most lethal predator. Cold, silent, and deadly, this perpetual eating machine has fascinated and feared most viewers throughout the years. Filmmaker Mike DeGruy dips beneath the surface to show virtually every species of shark known, from the seven-inch dwarf dog shark to the 50-foot whale shark to the white-tip reef shark. Then just when you though it was safe to go back in the water, chill at original footage of a deep-sea monster known only as Megamouth. ~ C. Dwayne Smith, All Movie Guide

Brought to video by National Geographic, this historic documentary details the final days of the German battleship and the reign of terror it launched on unsuspecting Allied ships during the second World War. Narrated by actor Richard Kiley, this is a high seas account of the June 1989 Bismarck discovery by Dr. Robert Ballard, whose famed discovery of the Titanic set the course of underwater exploration. The search for the Bismarck exposed the remains of the notorious warship, which lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in its watery grave, put there by two Dorsetshire torpedoes and a barrage of shells from three other ships seeking revenge for damage done. ~ C. Dwayne Smith, All Movie Guide