Wonders of the African World
by Helena Appio, Nick Godwin, Nicola Colton
List Price:
Our Price: $39.84
You Save: $30.14 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Henry Louis GatesDirector: Helena Appio, Nick Godwin, Nicola Colton
Brand: PBS
Editor: Anne Dummett
Editor: Trevor Williamson
Producer: Ben Goold
Producer: Jonathan Hewes
Producer: Katrina Phillips
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Unknown; English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 330 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-10-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
Movie Reviews of Wonders of the African World
Movie Review: these are excellent, memorable shows
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought these to assist my 13 year old son with his World History segment on sub-Saharan Africa. I had already seen them on television. They are unforgettably good.
Gates is a gem. I have his "Africana" encyclopedia also. In these episodes he wanders and roams, comments, climbs and reveals many details often supressed by history. It is very touching and the episodes have an artistic quality and impact reflecting the overall search for the past.
For example, while investigating the Nubians, he first encounters the people displaced by the Anwar dam and then further up the Nile encounters a centuries-old school that must be evacuated the next day because of another, new public water project that will inundate it, burying the past under water. Touching and tearful stuff.
In others, Gates questions the descendants of slave merchants raising the uncomfortable thought that conditions for slaves in the U.S. were possibly worse than the way slavery had been generally practiced elsewhere -- NOT a thought I even know what to do with in my mind. Easy to dispose of since the suggestion is coming from the descendants of slave-merchants. Yet it makes one think whether the cruelty of American slavery might not have actually been harsher than even people accustomed to cruelty would have expected or considered practical.
Even in Africa, being "black" can be controversial or denied. It is wonderful to see people whose features remind us of our brother and sister Americans, and it is ironic to hear some of them say, "I'm not black, I'm Persian." And while we might snort at some of these denials, it is also touching to see how centuries of Islam have emphasized learning and powerful forces of civilization -- kind of the opposite of what some of us in the U.S. get from our televisions. In the history of the African continent, a 'Persian' background stands for many wonderful things even if there is also an aspect of superficial snobbery.
All of these white-hot controversial issues are handled sensitively and with style as Gates wanders and interviews, thoughtful yet outspoken, humble while moved by pride in theancient civilizations of Africa. I don't know of anything else like these shows. I'm glad we now own them.
Summary of Wonders of the African World
Studio: Pbs Release Date: 05/06/2009 Run time: 360 minutesSimilar DVD Movies
Empires - Islam: Empire of FaithParamount; Release date: 2005-03-08; DVD
Best price: $10.04
Price in other shops:
Egalite for All: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian RevolutionPBS; Release date: 2009-03-17; DVD
Best price: $12.81
Price in other shops:
American Experience: Freedom RidersPBS; Release date: 2011-05-17; DVD
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
America Beyond the Color LinePBS; Release date: 2005-02-08; DVD
Best price: $8.55
Price in other shops:
The African SideRelease date: 2009-07-21; DVD
Best price: $19.95
Slavery and the Making of AmericaPBS; Release date: 2005-02-09; DVD
Best price: $38.88
Price in other shops:
Up From SlaveryDIG; Release date: 2011-09-13; DVD
Best price: $3.68
Price in other shops:
National Geographic - AfricaWarner Brothers; Release date: 2001-09-11; DVD
Best price: $35.99
Price in other shops:
Lost Kingdoms of AfricaAcorn; Release date: 2010-10-05; DVD
Best price: $31.96
Price in other shops:
Black in Latin AmericaPBS; Release date: 2011-06-14; DVD
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops: