SYNOPSICS
The Natural History of the Chicken (2000) is a English movie. Mark Lewis has directed this movie. Janet Bonney,Joseph Martinez,Joel Vavra,David Forrester are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2000. The Natural History of the Chicken (2000) is considered one of the best Documentary,Comedy movie in India and around the world.
Through interviews and reenactments, The Natural History of the Chicken investigates the role of the chicken in American life and tells several remarkable stories. A Maine farmer says she found a chicken frozen stiff, but was able to resuscitate it. Colorado natives tell a story of the chicken who lost its head-- and went on living. A Virginia farmer tells about (and demonstrates) the benefits of raising chickens for his own consumption. Perhaps most surprising is the case of the Florida woman: she bathes her pet bird, and takes it both swimming and shopping. Through these and other stories, this documentary illuminates the role that chickens play in (some of) our lives.
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The Natural History of the Chicken (2000) Reviews
Blown away by this entertaining documentary.
Last night on PBS I watched "Natural History of the Chicken", expecting to see a rather dry scientific discourse on the evolution of the chicken, and a history of how it achieved its current status in out modern society. It was nothing like that! It is entertaining, funny, smart, educational. At times I asked myself, "Is this a Christopher Guest film, like 'Best in Show'?" There was the fluffy white chicken kept as a pet, rides in a car, carried in a basket through the supermarket. And with a diaper, no less! The chicken that froze outside, then was revived through "mouth to beak resuscitation." The 100 fighting roosters that made so much noise the neighbors had to get a court order to shut them down to 5 max! The miserable life of laying chickens in pens. The "headless" chicken that wouldn't die. The little, fluffy white chicken that protected her chicks when the hawk dived down. Very well done film, I hope to catch it again, as a documentary I rate it "8" of 10, might even deserve a "9". Marvelous!! :-)
A fun, quirky film that fans of "Trekkies" or "Crumb" should check out.
As a documentary editor and film-maker (Tesla: Master of Lightning, Korean War Stories) I know how hard putting a piece like this together can be. I make a good portion of my living from publicly funded television, but this, even more than the checks I've recieved from my bosses, made me say, "Thank God for PBS." In this day and age, a piece of work this odd, beautiful, and though-provoking could only have been made possible by public television. Congratulations to all involved with "The Natural History of the Chicken."
Eggactly what I needed for a laugh :)!
A pal with a sense of humour sent me a tape of this documentary, without a label to indicate the contents. Well, I popped the tape in the player and sat there, totally entranced by the sights and sounds! Brilliantly photographed and directed, full of good humour, captivating people and chooks, it literally kept me sitting on the edge of my seat until the credits appeared. Without a doubt, this is the best animal documentary I've seen in the past 20 years. Seemingly chooks are more difficult to train than any other member of the animal kingdom. The feathered actors in this documentary seemed far more intelligent than many human actors I've seen in the current crop of big name movies. Great fun for all the family.
A charming, truthful look at chickens in our lives.
The director said this is his celebration of the chicken. He is right. I really enjoyed this film. It shows the charming stories of chickens living on a lovely Maine farm. It also shows the horrors of chickens living in factories. But, it does not preach, only gives you the facts. I highly recommend it. You won't believe the re-enactments!
Not At All What You Expect From the Title
This short documentary is full of interesting characters. A Maine farmer says she found a chicken frozen stiff, but was able to resuscitate it. Colorado natives tell a story of the chicken who lost its head -- and went on living. A Virginia farmer tells about (and demonstrates) the benefits of raising chickens for his own consumption. Perhaps most surprising is the case of the Florida woman: she bathes her pet bird, and takes it both swimming and shopping. The unfortunate part of this show is that it really seems to have no central narrative other than to be a few stories about chickens. One, the headless chicken named Mike, was rather fascinating and probably deserved more time. The film as a whole disappointed me, though, in part because the title is misleading: rather than a history of how chickens became domesticated and such a crucial part of modern humanity, such things are not even vaguely alluded to.