Hugo Van Lawick. "Addo - The African King" & "Playing in savage paradise"
Hugo van Lawick lived and worked in East Africa for more than 30 years. His early work took him to film the work of Jane Goodall amongst the chimps, and she became his wife for 10 years. Lawick won 8 EMMY awards for his wildlife filming.
These films, shot in 2002, are good honest wildlife films. None of the new tricks of cameras disguises as ants, or rather sanctimonious footage of water flowing over grains of sand, and 10 minutes on how they managed to shoot such an interesting subject.
addo, the african kingNot, as the name might suggest, a film about South Africa's Addo Elephant Park, but a biography of one particular lion, called Addo, filmed in East Africa. We first see Addo as a cub, and follow his life story through trials and tribulations as his expulsion from his pride when his father is overtaken by younger lions (he has to run into a swamp to avoid being killed himself) and drought, to the time when it his turn to take over his own pride by expelling the incumbent male. A full circle. This is proper old style wildlife filming, and if you want to see lions killing and eating, and the full spectrum of the life of an African lion, buy this CD. RRP £4.99 - usually available for less | Playing in savage paradiseA year on the Serengeti. Lawick was based here for some 30 years, and knows the Serengeti and its wildlife as well as anyone. There is nothing new, but the quality and knowledge tell you all you could want to know about the big game of the Serengeti. And there are some spectacular moments. Make sure you watch the bonus features for the best bits. The gory sight of a cheetah attacking a Grants gazelle (Unusual in itself), and coming off second best - the cheetah is fatally gored, leading to the 4 cubs dying too; and a doomed buffalo, already in the grasp of 2 lions, being rescued by the rest of the herd returning and chasing off the lions. RRP £4.99 - usually available for less |
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