More about Diamond, really, than evolution.
In this volume of the "Great Minds of Science" series, we are introduced to the ideas and eccentric personality of Dr. Jared Diamond (Professor of Physiology at the UCLA School of Medicine and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Guns, Germs, and Steel," and "The Third Chimpanzee," among other works).

The film opens with a brief introduction to Darwinism, a recapitulation of the evidence for human evolution, and then works its way towards the essence of the film: the interview. Framing the discussion, we are asked: "What does it really mean to be human? What's unique about our species? What turned us from a dim-witted ape-man to the glorious thinking animal we are today? How much of our behavior is programmed into our genes? If we and chimps are so genetically similar, is it wrong to use them in medical research? If what sets us apart from chimps is our greater ability to think, why do we do stupid things like destroy our environment and wage war?"

From there on out, we are joined by Paul Hoffman (editor-in-chief of Discover magazine) in the Los Angeles home of Dr. Diamond, where they discuss-among many other subjects-the evolution of human language, the nature of twins and multiple births, natural selection and over-design in nature, the power of sexual selection, sociobiology, human aggression, biodiversity and the environmental crisis, ethical questions in using animals in medical research, and Diamond's prodigious discovery of the long lost New Guinea bowerbird. All in all, great film. 4 1/2 stars.

Studio stopped selling this - NO BUYERS!
After the great debate between those who never watched the movie and loved it, and those who never watched the movie and hated it, I'm amused to see that the studio has stopped offering the movie. It makes sense, since they probably never sold a copy.

Nobody has ever bothered to watch this video
I must say that Pete isn't as open minded as he claims to be. Why does he criticize the person who didn't see the video and rated it low (for a good reason, IMHO) but doesn't criticize the person who didn't see the video and rated it highly? Heck, the high rating person probably works for Jared and was trying to earn some brownie points.

The Feb 9, 2000 Reviewer should judge on facts
I haven't seen the video either, and am not intending to now -- but Jared Diamond's book GUNS GERMS and STEEL was great, and won the Pulitzer Prize for general science --->> so I'll keep an open mind on the value of the video, and so should anyone else who hasn't seen it!

No way will I watch this video
Susan West knows Jared Diamond personally, yet didn't bother to watch the video! If the guys best friends won't watch it, it must be BORING. Like Susan, the fact that I've never seen the video won't stop me from rating it.