best documentary

Simply the Best : 101 Sports Bloopers [VHS]
$9.98
This video is great family fun. It contains great bloopers from baseball, basketball, football, soccer, horse racing, hockey, boxing, pranks, and of course, animals.

Is there cheesy music and goofy sound effects? Yes. Are some of the pranks stupid? Yes! Are some of the bloopers actually painful to watch instead of funny? Yes! (Nothing overly gruesome, but a couple of rodeo moments). Despite all of these factors, there are some great bloopers. Favorites include the "Bark like a dog" basketball play, the boxer's mother who storms into the ring to defend her son, and of course, the Stanford/Cal "Band on the field" play.

The real reason this tape did not get five stars is because it does not (except for only a couple of clips) show any professional sports bloopers. The bloopers are either from college games/minor leagues or from high school games. Charles Barkley is touted on the back of the video, but he only appears in a prank against Manute Bol. Hey, I'm sure its expensive to have gotten the rights to professional sports bloopers from all the organizations, but it certainly ensure that this video cannot have ALL the best bloopers.

That said, this video has been viewed and enjoyed by all ages, sports enthusiasts or not (have you ever seen a hippo race?). It's also good, clean slapstick fun, a video you will enjoy watching repeatedly.

Craig Kelly Story, X-Dance Best Film - Let It Ride Snowboard Documentary DVD
$29.95
I don't care if you're a snowboarder or an artist or just a dreamer, this movie will inspire you. Craig Kelly the man and Craig Kelly the athlete are both personas to be reckoned with. This movie will make you ask yourself what the heck you're doing with your life, and why, if you have a dream, you aren't chasing it right now.

Best Boy/Best Man
$29.95
I recently had the opportunity to review this two set DVD, and like others before me, found it an inspiring and wonderful resource for those involved with disability, specific to the quandary of dealing with disability- independence and adulthood. Twenty years elapsed between the first filming and the latter, which affords the audience a unique front row seat and follow-up perspective not often available, and in particular, an observation that allows the viewer to compare the life of `Philly' (the subject of the documentary), before and after his cousin Ira Wohl, the filmmaker, intervened in his life in a heartfelt, meaningful and profound way.
One burning subject matter that emerges from this documentary is the continuing questions which haunt parents, family members and caretakers of those with significant disability- what will happen to the disabled person after the caretakers are too old to care for their loved one- and ultimately, how does the disabled person maneuver through the world at large when their families, loved ones, and siblings are deceased, what will their lives look like. Not every disabled person has the loving and patient family that Philly has/had, but his situation was/is not unique.
When the first part of this documentary was made, a different set of social and medical standards were in place, and folks like Philly were typically institutionalized for life. Parents were told that it would be `best' for all involved to warehouse their disabled children, and that was the accepted logic that was followed decades ago. It was not for lack of love that parents relinquished their children to institutions, but out of love, listening to the `experts', resolved that there appeared oftimes to be no other choices. After experiencing in institutionalized setting (which is revealed in the film) Philly, like others with his profile, were `relegated' to living out their days in a safe, yet bland and futureless existence. Philly was lucky, he had a family that was able to and willing to embrace him in life. After viewing this documentary, one could ask themselves if the obstacles of social services is at all improved today or does it remain as challenging now as it was years ago.
Although this documentary is about our main character Philly, one can note that an undercurrent of a second story line is just as present- this second tier at hand highlights what can happen when individuals step up to the plate, in an effort to secure a future for the disabled, one that strives to afford them a meaningful quality of life. I highly recommend this item, and wish there were more documentaries like this one!

The Making of The National Parks
$0.00
I have never been a follower of any religion, but this documentary lifts my spirit and inspires me to awe with its photography and narrative about nature's wonders, and the interconnectedness of all living beings. I never want to lose sight of such a vast beauty that feeds this heart, this mind, this living body and soul. Thank you Ken Burns for your love and the heightened consciousness in you that produced this visual glimpse of the spenders we have inherited from some indescribable cosmic intelligence. You preserved and created for all those who will follow a crushingly spectacular and complex idea of a spiritual and energetic version of the infinite in all of us. Thank you. Mary Fogarty of NM