[.ca] The Miracle of Life (ISBN 1578071968)

From Amazon.com:
Still startlingly beautiful after several years, Nova's The Miracle of Life records human conception for the first time on film, and much more. Living, functioning reproductive systems are laid bare to the camera, and there is so much to explore and absorb that Nova's expert guidance is much needed and appreciated. The viewer follows an egg from its follicular development in an ovary, through the delicate, flowery fallopian tube for fertilization, and on to the uterus for development and eventual birth. Likewise, we follow the shorter journey of millions of sperm as they develop and strive mightily to reach the egg. (There isn't a man alive who can watch intraurethral footage without squirming--see for yourself!) Photographer Lennart Nilsson has shown us something profoundly beautiful and yet has left its fundamental mystery intact. The Miracle of Life is a rarity: a documentary that is also art. --Rob Lightner

Still holds up after the years:
I first saw this one almost twenty years ago. It had a profound effect on me then, and it still moves me now. This is the documentary that shows you the birds and the bees. It was done before the days of computerized special effects, and was a landmark for it's day. Even today, it holds up quite well. The presentation does make its stand on evolution vs. creation early by stating that life began in the sea billions of years ago with one-celled organisms that formed there. It partially does this to show how these cells are basically the same as those in our own body. So whether or not this is your belief, let it go, and proceed with the rest, which beautifully illustrates how babies are made. We first get how each camp's plumbing is layed out, before any contact is made. We learn how, even with the success of the population's reproduction rate, things do have to fall into place for everything to work. When we come to the actual mating part, it is tastefully done, although it does seem to indicate that all humans are wonderful and loving when it comes to sex. Once man and woman are joined, the filming is terrific in showing that a lot of work still needs to be done to get junior going. If I were a little guy with a tail realizing I had to swim the equivalent of sixty miles with a few million of my little buddies with the best scenario being only one of us will succeed might make me rethink the process, but indeed the guys do make the journey. We see how the connection is made, and then how the cell-dividing process starts. Once again, the camerawork is excellent, and we see different fetal stages which lead all the way to junior's entering of the big, bad world. This is terrific stuff. The only drawback to this is that I didn't find it a great tool for sex education. It might work for someone over ten, but our kids, ranging from 4-9, just drifted away to do other things when we put it on. But for adults, something so simple, yet so powerful provides a great occasional reminder of where those birds, bees, rabbits, and storks get their employment papers.

Now you will know that the Almighty is truly behind all this:
This is no fake thing! That truly was a little capture of the works and art of the great God that we serve. He is a supreme scientist, architect and he is so great. It gets to the point where modern science cannot go further with their bogus explanations. The miracle, is there and it is beyond comments and explanations. Go and see for your self, GOD IS GREAT and we must serve him.

Perfect educational video:
Outstanding detail and photography!! I have used this video my childbirth educational class for years. The video images of fetal development always amaze my students and leaves them with a renewed sense of awe for the miracle growing inside of them. I will agree that the first half is better suited for pre-pregancy/sex education because of the extensive explanation of sperm and egg development which makes the video too long. But for my purposes, I use the last 20 minutes which show incredible fetal development week by week in amazing detail. I need to buy another video because I have played it so much, it starting to wear out!!

Disgusted:
This video was shown in my 9th/10th grade Biology class. It was completely inappropriate for people my age. The view of a male's \oreproductive part\c inside a women's \oreproductive part\c was so not necessary. It was not a drawing, but a real picture through a camera. The real live birth uncensored was also inappropriate. THey don't even show that on the discovery channel uncensored. Also the heat image of a \omale reproductive part\c becoming erect, 14-16 yr olds don't need to see that!

A Revelation of Life:
This wonderful documentary shows the intricacies of life and the inventiveness that the photographer has undertaken to record its incredible diversity on this planet. It presents views and data that would seem to refute much of the mindless paradigm commonly called "Evolution"--views, that if traced to their logical conclusions would clearly indicate that anyone claiming evolution as "indisputable fact" is simply ignorant of the mountain of scientific data to the contrary.