Description

Provides a behind-the-scenes look, with unprecedented access, into life inside the Vatican. With rare footage of secret archives, private chapels and papal quarters, the program explores the Vatican's long, powerful history, and the unique traditions and ceremonies that have survived for nearly 2000 years. Accounts from Vatican officiants, historians and devoted individuals who work closely with the Pope John Paul II provide privilieged insight into the inner workings of one of the richest wonders of the world. 60 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great insights
This DVD provides great insights into the Vatican and the role of the pope. This video tells a great story with pictures.

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO THE HOLY SEE
Gain behind-the scenes access to the See of Peter in National Geographic's INSIDE THE VATICAN. This documentary provides an unprecedented view of the inner workings of the Church, such as the election of a new Pope, enlistment of Swiss Guards, the ordination of Archbishops, the restoration of priceless works of art, and a history of the Papacy and its critical role in the development of Western civilization.

The Papacy has its beginnings with St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and leader of the formative Church. He is the first Pope, who ministered the flock in Rome at the time of Nero, and was martyred at Vatican Field in a circus in the outskirts of the city. The disciples recovered his body and buried it in the same field, which became a center of pilgrimage in the ensuing centuries. The exact spot of his crucifixion was preserved by tradition, and is now marked by an altar. Constantine the Great built a basilica at the site of his tomb, which has been replaced with the magnificent renaissance structure of today.
One can see for the first time the original tomb of Saint Peter, which had been lost for centuries and has been rediscovered only a few decades ago, right under the main altar of today's basilica.

Of particular interest are the priceless documents from the last two millennia in the Vatican's Secret Archives. One can see letters from Michelangelo to Pope Julius II, the request of Henry VIII for the annulment of his marriage (this was denied, and led to the formation of the Anglican Church), and even a demand from the Mongol Emperor that the Pope pay homage to him! (Of course, denied.)

Great attention is given into a "normal" day in the Vatican: the restoration of priceless tapestries by Raphael; the cleaning of Bernini's colossal baldachino; meetings of international figures with the Vicar of Christ. In addition, one can see the blessed ministry of Pope John Paul II, a man of great compassion. Particularly moving is footage of his visit to a leper colony in Korea: the Holy Father embraces and kisses these poor souls, not shying from their diseased flesh, but rather sharing with them the love of Christ.

Truly the Gates of Hell have not endured against Christ's Church. The successors of Peter have served the Church, and will continue doing so, throughout the ages. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Ideal for teaching about the Vatican and Papacy
Every teacher of the Catholic faith to young adults and adults should incorporate this DVD into their classes. It is so unusual to see the Catholic faith presented without an agenda -- and this succeeds. Everything is clearly explained and given a historical context. I was impressed with the archival newsreel footage incorporated into the explanation of the papal elections.

Fascinating!
I found this dvd very entertaining and informative. It is a fascinating look into the operations of the most visited place in the world. The beauty and grandeur of the place especially the priceless paintings and artifacts have made the Vatican the most valuable wealth of historical information available. The dvd is great! National Geographic has done a great presentation of the Vatican and great to watch especially if you have never been there. This dvd is a great addition to any dvd collection.

Well researched!
This video is an excellent video to show students, young adults as well as adults who want to know more about their faith and how did the Vatican came to be. I think it is also encourage anyone who is interested or curious about the Cathoilc faith to take a preview of the video. The video decribes how an ordination happens at Saint Peters, what actually goes on during an ordination. The video also decribed a Blessed and is story and how one day, he could become a Saint by the Pope. Finally, once a Pope dies, a new Pope must be elected, the video will cover that as well. The pictures of the Vatican are just awesome. I've been to Rome before, and these pictures just bring back memories. Also, I forgot to mention, the Swiss Guards. The video goes into how one becomes a guard for the Pope and there uniform. You must buy it or at least rent it if you can. The Pope is seen in several frames thoughout the video. ... Read more

Description

Relive one of the greatest tales of adventure and exploration in history, as National Geographic brings to life the epic journey of Lewis, Clark, their guide Sacagawea and the brave Corps of Discovery across the land that would become the United States. Now, two hundred years after the launch of this ambitious expedition, experience first-hand the danger and breathtaking beauty of the unknown West as it unfolded before the eyes of Lewis & Clark. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

See it at an IMAX if you possibly can!
This is a fascinating re-enactment of Lewis and Clark's original journey, told with Jeff Bridges doing the voice-over but with real actors and the original locations. It is authentic down to the last detail, including such remarkable scenes as the expedition shooting rapids in canoes made from burn-out trees, and pulling their boats by rope over the mountains of Montana.

If you possibly can, though, catch this one in its IMAX version. The movie's story is entertaining enough but imagine it on a screen several stories high - literally larger than lifesize - with a powerful sound system to match. Imagine how much cooler shooting those rapids is in the IMAX form! If you can't find an IMAX, make sure you've got a big screen and turn the sound up. This is history as exciting as it was when it happened the first time.

WMV-HD Disc Is NOT Self Destructing
This is in response to the_digital_dude's comments from July 1. The license will renew after it expires as long as the disc is in the drive. You can copy the WMV file to your computer and play it without the disc being in the drive as long as the license is active. After it expires, you will have to place the disc back in the drive and the license will be renewed. As far as I know, this is the way all of the Imax and National Geographic WMV-HD movies are. Unfortunately, one of the earlier WMV-HD movies, Terminator 2, required an active internet connection to acquire the license. I agree that the digital rights management is confusing to the consumer and really should be documented somewhere on the disc or packaging.

WMV HD is MS _JUNK_!
Please note that this film is terrific and rates five stars all the way! I first saw it in an IMAX theater and then had to have it on DVD. Read the favorable reviews of the movie itself to gain an appreciation of what makes it so great, even though it is regrettably very short considering the huge amount of effort that went into making it. It's a timeless masterpiece for better understanding a cornerstone of the history of the United States. Don't be surprised if you watch it a few times!

This review, however, is of the Special Edition DVD. Disc 1 is the standard movie playable in a regular set top DVD player hooked up to your TV. Disc 2, however, contains a high definition 720p version of the film for playback on a fast computer. At first glance of the DVD cover and the generic instructions included inside, one realizes that a fairly recent and rather powerful PC is required. Okay, for a fair number of us, that's not a problem, and it was not a problem in my case. For those of you with a PC slower than 2.4Ghz, your computer doesn't even meet the minimum requirements.

So, I was fairly excited to see what such high definition playback looked like on my 2.8Ghz PC. I noticed that there was no 1080p version of the film on the disc, as the generic instruction card inside the DVD case indicated, but I later realized that the instructions were indeed that, generic, and simply didn't apply to this particular title. Okay, at this point, the documentation goes from bad to absolute crap extremely quickly.

Putting the disc into my DVD-ROM player began Autoplay. Well, immediately an ActiveX control error appeared and suggested I look at www.wmvhd.com for a solution. Actually, that website couldn't have any less technical support for this problem than if it had been written in Latin with a black pen on a black wall and viewed in pitch darkness. Trudging through the Microsoft website links off the main WMVHD page gives precious little useful information, so after Googling on the problem for a while, I found out that this whole scenario is a Microsoft marketing ploy to sell its five-year-old Digital Rights Management scheme to content providers to eliminate media piracy. Wow, talk about shooting the baby when dumping out the bath water. This DRM anti-piracy product is downright draconian in its implementation.

Setting all ActiveX controls, cookies, and security/privacy settings to the lowest possible did not resolve the ActiveX error, nor did disabling my Anti-Virus, Firewall, or anti-Spyware software. Hunting through the Microsoft Support Knowledgebase came up totally empty. Good grief, is this technology ever poorly documented and supported even in house!

Well, after some more Googling, I finally found a piece of advice in an AV forum to just run the main movie file directly from Windows Media Player, but AFTER running the License Registration executable in the root of the DVD directory. Running licgen.exe doesn't appear to do much at first, but apparently it will authorize the playback of the main movie file by unlocking the key encrypted within it.

Okay, at this point, surely one is thinking "Hey, I finally get to see this movie on DVD in high def on my PC". Well, yes, you do, but here's the kicker: THE PLAYBACK LICENSE EXPIRES IN 9 DAYS!!! While the movie is playing in Windows Media Player and looking and sounding nice and pretty, right-click on the filename in the playlist column on the right of the screen and look at the License information. Sure enough, you'll see that there is a limited duration playback period! What in the world?????? Where was this stated on the DVD packaging anywhere?

Truly pondering if this scheme meant that disc 2 of this special edition amounted to some sort of a self-destructing DVD, I ran the license request executable the next day to see if the playback duration would get reset, but no, it didn't.

Keep in mind that none of these limitations are clearly documented anywhere in the online product description, on or in the DVD box, or even anywhere prominently on the WMVHD website. However, if you dig far enough off of that website into the Microsoft sales information for why content providers should use DRM software, it becomes quickly apparent how very anti-consumer this anti-piracy scheme really is, especially as it concerns limiting the playback options for a movie DVD that is not at all advertised in good faith as having such restrictions.

So, whether or not this High Definition DVD ends up being a frisbie in a week remains to be seen, but the poor support and documentation in getting the movie to run in the first place only to learn that it may be self-destructing is absolutely inexcusable. I wonder for this particular release if National Geographic even fully understands what they are selling here.

Again, the movie content itself is terrific. This MS WMV HD DRM DVD, however, is beyond bizarre.

Save your money
There is very little historical information in this DVD. They omitted the number of persons that began the trip, the number of boats and they did they tell anything about what equipment and goods they took along. It may be interesting for someone who never heard of Lewis and Clark nor heard anything about their journey but for the average person it is boring. There are some good scenes along the way but they are generally out takes that do not fit in with the trip. It appears to have been produced by someone that had little knowledge and little interest about the significance of the expedition. National Geographic can do much better!

Four Stars for Your Viewing Pleasure
The photography is superb, and the action and sound are enough to keep viewers of all ages engaged. As an Imax movie, this is designed for the eyes and ears, and towards those goal, it provides a great experience. Don't purchase this with an expectation of learning much about history, however. While the general course of the expedition is followed, the short length of the film severely limit the needed details to describe the journey. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In its usual engrossing fashion, National Geographic presents The Incredible Human Body. Starting with the science of conception, this special takes you from one couple's journey through in-vitro fertilization to the removal of a man's brain tumor (while he is awake!) to the amazing memory of London cab drivers. Our body consists of 206 bones, 650 muscles, and a heart that will beat three billion times in our lifetime. How and why does our body develop the way it does? DNA expert J. Craig Venter says, "It's just like solving a jigsaw puzzle, only the jigsaw puzzle in our case has 27 million pieces [and] it came in a very big box and there was no picture on the cover." The Incredible Human Body explores how the brain and body interact to not only function, but adapt and learn. Narrated by actress Kate Burton, The Incredible Human Body is a fascinating lesson in mind-body interaction. --Dana Van Nest ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Best Geographic Video I've Seen
I gotta say that this is the best National Geographic video I've seen and I have a whole bunch on my video shelf. The animation is fantastic. I'll remember the story of the school teacher and his brain tumor as long as I live. I also liked seeing behind this scenes of thast basketball team as it was something I hadn't seen before. I highly reccommend this video.

Amazon.com.uk have a much better option...
The Human Body is a good theme, but this one is "no-so-good" approach (very rare, because NGS make very good videos). The better documentary I ever seen about it, is the Dr. Winston's The Human Body, from BBC. Only available from Amazon.com.uk (please American Amazon's friends, what do you are waiting). I recommend to wait.....believe in me !.

Below the average
I thought this DVD slightly below an average National Geographic video once there is more personal dramas than scienfic information. However I was moved by the story of a teacher with a brain tumor and his family anxiety.

An Incredible DVD on the Incedible Human Body
I found this DVD fascinating. It is a great blend of live footage, real life stories and beautiful animation. There is a fun sequence on the brain's of London cab drivers which is followed by a very moving portrait of a school teacher in need of brain surgery. You also get to see the actual conception of a baby and then follow the pregnancy at every step. I was with it every step of the way. By the way, I also really liked the narrator, Kate Burton. ... Read more

Description

National Geographic journeys deep behind battle lines to experience a different side of the Vietnam War - the side seen only through the lenses of North Vietnamese photographers. Renowned British photojournalist Tim Page travels back to the land where he nearly lost his life to meet with North Vietnamese war photographers, revealing remarkable, never-before-seen photos and personal stories long hidden by time and tragedy. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Good Documentary
A very good-emotional documentary of the Vietnam War, it's hard to imageine that someone could have so much heart of fighting a war( North Vietnamese). The Film show how the people fought against the American, most of all- how the media was running under the war. A photographer wash his films at night without dark room. A dangerous way of walk the film back to the North. And some images were too horified to look, like the one show what was left of a town after was bomb by US B-52. If someone think that ths documentary or a reinactment they not human- probably some dead animal that has no brain at all. Buy this- it's very good.

A joke at best
1st of all its only an hour long. There is less than a dozen "pictures from the other side" <----------------and these are STILL PICTURES. This reminded me of watching America's Most Wanted.....It had what seemed to be a ton of reinactments. ... Read more

Description

Noted Egyptologist Zahi Al-Hawass showcases the most up-to-date archaeological work going on in Egypt and reveals new discoveries that may shed light on some of the most enduring mysteries of the pyramids. You'll witness the opening Egypt's oldest intact sarcophagus and follow a specially-designed robot as it reveals what lay beyond a blocking stone in the Great Pyramid's mysterious southern shaft You'll learn more about how the Great Pyramids were built as a worker's city is unearthed and its clues revealed for the first time. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

All Speculation
This show presents a lot of inaccurate and unsubstantiated information about the great pyramid.

They drill a hole through a so called 'door' in the pyramid to reach a tremendous archeological discovery: there's a wall behind the 'door'.

Then they suggest that there are more archeological treasures waiting behind this. So I guess they're planning on drilling another hole into the pyramid to destroy it even more than it already has been.

Christopher Dunn in his book 'The Giza Power Plant' has discovered the true secret behind the great pyramid. It was a machine.

There's no evidence that anyone was ever buried inside the great pyramid.

The current theories about the great pyramid being built to bury someone are not substantiated. It should be obvious that nobody would build something like this just to bury someone.

Nobody knows how it was even built anyway. The new age psychic Edgar Cayce said the great pyramid was built using anti gravity forces.

Jeff Marzano

egyptologists passions...
I have been studing Ancient Egypt for many many years . I got addicted and could never stop, but I had many questions about the Pyramids. This DVD answered them all and i enjoy watching it over and over again! If you are as passionate about Egypt as me or Zahi Al-Hawass then this is a must have! The only flaw was an american personality doing the report on the sarcopogus! He was pushy and whine.

Five Stars For The Information, One For How It Was Done
The vast amount of information on this subject found on this DVD well exceeds my expectations, But I did not like how it was done. They tried to make this too exciting, In a similiar style to Dick Clarks' New Years Eve Party but more closer to a live on the scene news broadcast. "Stargate" fans, Who believe what they see on that show, Will probably not like this documentary. It proves what I've always believed, We built the Pyramids. The scientific facts are all here, That prove beyond any doubt, That the Egyptians had everything it took to build such awesome structures. Yes, The facts presented here disprove the myth, Which "Stargate" embraced, That aliens built the Pyramids. We built them. I do love the "Stargate" movie and TV show, It's good sci-fi entertainment to me, But that's all it is... Just a fantasy. National Geographic does a fantastic job on their documentaries. For what i've learned from watching them I must show them a little respect. I just don't like their style, But maybe you will. Cheers. ... Read more

Description

The Pentagon encompasses the military nerve center of the United States, reaching out to far-flung battlefields, formidable weaponry, and a culture that permeates more of America and the world than many realize. Inside the Pentagon interweaves stories covering the sweep of the Pentagon's 58-year history, taking viewers into the restricted inner workings of the American military machine, including the new war on terrorism and coverage of the historic response following the attack of September 11, 2001. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Waste
This DVD is not nesecary for anyone to watch. 90% of the DVD revolves around 9/11, and only the remaining 10% is how the Pentagon, and the Armed Services work. Very little (10 minutes) is spent focusing on new technology that will be availible in the future.

Of the 90% talking about 9/11, 75% is propoganda for the "war on terror." If we want propoganda, we can turn on the television and watch it for free, not pay for a DVD or a DVD rental. The 15% reolving around 9/11 that is not propoganda, it talks about how the attacks effected the Pentagon, and how it all worked before, and after.

This is a waste of money, the only good part is the 10% talking about how the Pentagon & the Armed Services for in conjuction with each other. There is an interesting piece on the coast guard, however, that merely falls on the borderline between interesting information, and propoganda.

Pentagon
I was planning to write a review on this for a couple of months, but the reviewer from Chicago really stole my thunder. Indeed, there is too much emphasis on 9/11, the proximity of the event being so close to the production time of this film. It gives some glimpse into the inner workings and the physical structure of the Pentagon, though as the previous reviewer pointed out classified areas underground are off limits, and the analysis is really lacking. Instead of analyzing the Pentagon in a broader political context, the film wraps it in the flag, but this was somewhat inevitable given the events of Sept. 11th. The Pentagon directly employs hundreds of thousands of people, only the Post office employs more -- almost a million workers now. And the Pentagon is responsible for indirectly employing millions of others as defense contractors and subcontractors. It is the nerve center of the military - industrial complex and a bastion of America's defense against enemies, whose number seemed to have increased since the end of the Cold War.

I am hopeful, however, that just as with the Cold War, the Pentagon will be instrumental in getting us successfully past our current hurdles.

Made in April 2002, decent, though too much focus on Sep. 11
There were too many cheerleading sessions guised as interviews with Rumsfeld and the other spectacle-eyed swagger sticks, but the overall video is decent, showing many aspects of the rebuilding efforts and documentation of the attack. Strategically, they did go into the Pentagon as a command structure and showed how it is basically a brain for the largest organization known to man (which is pretty cool). Some stuff about the original commision of the building, though not too much.

The real disappointment was too much focus on the "mindset" of everyone, instead of taking you on an actual tour of the place. National Geographic tells you about millions of square feet, but seen is almost nothing. They do go inside boardrooms not normally allowing cameras (ooohh, ahhhh) and some other crevaces like the parking lot security office (after a suspicious manilla envelope is sighted on the grounds).

What would have been INCREDIBLE, is if they had shown Pentagon Library, or any part of the virtual CITY that's underneath street level (there are reportedly more floors underneath than above). And I would like to have AT LEAST seen the inner courtyard. Or maybe a tour of the "A-ring", inner-sanctum of the top dogs. Something other than a memorial for September and the whining of top generals that they need more more more. A bit of a dissappointment.

A thorough history of the Pentagon
This National Geographic DVD features a very detailed history of the Pentagon,from it's initial planning to it's construction and how it has changed through the decades. There is also a detailed report showing the terrorist attack on the Pentagon in photos,as the plane hit the building,and has interviews with survivors of the attack.
There is footage of military leaders discussing the attack filmed in 2002 and a tour of parts of the building. The documentary also has an interesting photo history of the running of the Pentagon over the years and a timeline of it's history.
If you want to know about the Pentagon,then this is the documentary to get. ... Read more

Description

In Saqqara, Egypt's city of the dead, archaeologists began chipping away to find a honeycomb of burial shafts, passages and funeral chambers connected to Ramses and Tutankhamen. Filming for two years, National Geographic has exclusive access to this amazing site as the team uncovers one incredible find after another. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Exellent spellbounding adventure!
This DVD (Digital Video Disc) is exellent with no doubt. It talks about just about everything you can think of for Egypt. If you love geography, like me, this is a must buy. All National Geographic movies are excellent, but this one is over excellent! BUY! BUY! BUY! ... Read more