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| Actors: Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers
Studio: Mystic Fire Video
List Price: $99.98
Buy Used: $23.99
You Save: $75.99 (76%)
New (8) Used (19) Collectible (1) from $23.99
Rating:  154 reviews
Sales Rank: 9414
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 6
Running Time: 360 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 6.8 x 4.3
ISBN: 6303503381
UPC: 715098760001
EAN: 9786303503387
ASIN: 6303503381
Release Date: October 27, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 154
 This is it! Stop here! Wildly enthusiastic! July 4, 2000
John McConnell (San Francisco, CA)
44 out of 44 found this review helpful
I started watching these videos in Japan on my arrival there long ago. I had run headlong not only into culture shock but also the fact that, for a non-Christian country, the Japanese seemed to be embodying Christian ideals far better than the West. My previous study of ancient religions, from Thomas Taylor's translations of the Neoplatonists, and Manly P Hall's extensive writings, had convinced me that the Petrine notion of Heaven as an exclusively Christian enclave might well be erroneous in the extreme.
In walked Campbell. Amazing. I have watched these videos over the years literally hundreds of times and have always enjoyed them. Campbell's story-telling is elegant and always a balm for the day-tired soul seeking solace in the living room, reclined before a television.
I really cannot commend the tapes highly enough. They are preferable to the other videotapes in which Campbell flies solo, usually before a crowd which is either mildly hostile or hasn't done its homework. The cordial and informed interaction with Bill Moyers in George Lucas' elegant private library, and the frequent segues to cinema, artwork, and beautiful clips of foreign locales, make the programs a delight again and again.
The first program deals with the hero's adventure, and is liberally laced with Star Wars' scenes. The second discusses the significance of denotation versus connotation in Christian thinking, and includes one Star Wars scene (Vader's death). The remaining episodes range all over the world and hammer home Campbell's (and Moyers') thesis that all religions are true in this sense: They are metaphorical of the inner spiritual potentialities of men and women.
Particularly fascinating is the footage of a cannibalistic "horror society" re-enacting THE myth and Campbell's interpretation of it - the death and eating of the god. The male-female pair to be consumed engage in a public, ritual sexual intercourse, are slain in flagrante dilicto, and are immediately cooked and eaten. "That's the sacrifice of the Mass", Campbell points out.
"There [in Roman Catholic ritual] you are taught that this IS the body and blood of the Saviour."
A Life Changing Series December 3, 2005
Anonymous Joe (New York)
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
I know that it does sound overly dramatic and even trite to say that a television series truly changed my life, but in the case of, "The Power of Myth," it really is true.
I studied C.G. Jung in College and was introduced to Campbell's written work at that time. It was all very intriguing, but for whatever reason, I never followed up with it then. Not too long after that, my local PBS station ran the entire "Power of Myth" series one weekend as a marathon, complete with pledge breaks. I taped it then and for reasons I can't now imagine, I didn't bother watching the series until some years later when I was trying to sort through my tapes. But when I did, it changed me.
In the series, Campbell was able to easily articulate so many ideas that I knew were true, but never knew how to truly grasp or say myself. They also gave me inspiration and courage I didn't know I had in me. I've since then watched the series (or listened to the outstanding CD audio release) many, many, many times. I've read Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces" cover to cover a few times over and I'm still making my way through his "Masks of God" books.
"The Power of Myth" forced me to really examine myself, what I was doing with my life, and how I was living it. Five years or so after first seeing the series, I left my very comfortable, very glamorous, very secure corporate job and set out to take the risk and "follow my bliss." And now, two years after that, I'm in the midst of following my bliss and while it isn't always easy, there's no question that I'm on the right path and I'm happy and stimulated in ways that I only fantasized about before. Campbell's body of work - and "The Power of Myth" specifically - really did change my life for the better and its a reference point which I return to time and again.
The DVD release of "The Power of Myth" is vastly superior to the old VHS release simply for convenience and durability's sake alone. As an extra, the DVD also adds a bonus Bill Moyers interview with George Lucas in which Lucas discusses mythology. It's a welcome addition to be sure, but why not release the entire hour long "Mythology of Star Wars" interview which this interview was excerpted from? I'm glad I still have my PBS taped VHS of that one!
Anyway, I'm certainly not complaining. Perhaps "The Power of Myth" won't have the same effect on others that it has had on me, and that's fine. Go ahead...live your life...you don't need Joseph Campbell interviews to do that. But "The Power of Myth" changed - and continues to change - the course of my life for the better and I'll be forever grateful for that.
These videos changed the way I looked at everything June 14, 2000
Travis Cottreau (Wellington, New Zealand)
23 out of 29 found this review helpful
Joseph Campbell is a genius who understands his subject and presents it better than anyone I've ever seen. He is a master teacher and is utterly engaging. Everything he talks about is immediately at hand for him and he has obviously immersed himself in religion and myth, their similarities and the symbolism behind them.The one weakness from this video is the interviewer Bill Moyers who often times is out of his depth and asking dumb questions when Campbell has just explained it to him. Despite this, Moyers was obviously prepared and pulls all the right things out of Campbell who tells the greatest stories, since he has the greatest material to pull from. Campbell doesn't pick one mythology more than any other, he wanders though Native North American, East Indian, Christian and Buddism and is equally at ease with any and many more. He is such a joy to listen to and gives so much in this video series. In total, there are 6 videos of about 1.5 hours each. I started watching them and pretty soon, my girlfriend was looking over my shoulder and just sat down and watched the rest and asked to see the beginning too. These are a must for anyone who thinks that religion and mythology are of any importance.
POWER OF MYTH IS NO MYTH ... October 26, 2004
Greg (Canada)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
... it can inspire you, even change your life. It changed mine. I was always confused about religions, myths, spiritualism, and even life, and the inspiration found by this series helped me to better find myself and my place in the world. Campbell had a truly rare understanding of myth, the unconscious self, and spiritual existence I think. Watching this series for the first time, his words were like hammers pounding upon my brain with simple, easy truths that I think I've always known deep inside, but hadn't realized through all the complex and demanding materialism of the adult world. This is it. This is life. The adventure. You can be the "hero" of the adventure, or the dragon which plagues your world. (So to speak, of course the "dragon" tends to represent the threat of the ego (in the western world.)Keep in mind, I am totally bias towards Campbell. He was the only person in my life who ever really moved me, and changed my life. Looking at this material objectively, I can say that it deals with our perceptions of life, of how the old stories speak to us of wisdom, if we can open our ears, so to speak. Myth is a beautiful but mystical thing. One can hear the words and receive the example, or even get the point, and miss the inspiration. Language is after all just a vessel to get across an idea (cargo.) We so often focus on the vessel and miss the cargo. Myth carries with it a fantastic yet simple vessel, but without getting the cargo one could never take in its purpose. By that I mean to say that if you do not have an open dock (open mind), then stay clear of this vessel. (It's too big for you.) WHAT IS IT? This is a series of talks, a casual interview between Bill Moyers and Professor Joseph Campbell. It was filmed (in part) by George Lucas' studio, and some interviews were conducted in Lucas' home. The talks are about the origins and intentions of myth, their value to us, and myths of our world today -- mainly "Star Wars". Ancient myths are the biggest topic however, and these range from Japanese to Native American to Egyptian to Greek to Mayan myths, and more. The topics here -- birth, life, danger, adulthood, loss, death -- could be overwhelming, but Campbell has a genius for simplifying it for those of us who haven't studied mythology all are lives can understand. Part of the reason for that is that Campbell truly gets what he says, and so he doesn't require arrogance or manipulation to move us. He speaks the revealed, skinless truth about who we are, how we live, and how we should live -- according to myth, and just basic wisdom. Ultimately "The Power of Myth" is about wisdom, and believe me, it can help you to find your natural path in life. There are no answers here however -- as Campbell says: "A teacher can only serve as a lighthouse, and say "Careful, rocks over here.'" This DVD set also features an interview with George Lucas, biographies of both Campbell and Moyers, weblinks, and a 'selected videography'. A collection that in my opinion everyone should have.
An Intellectual Tapestry October 26, 2004
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful
Follow Your Bliss! ~Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)
Joseph Campbell's mind is beyond fascinating. As you view Bill Moyers trying to understand the absolute intellectual bliss Joseph Campbell is engaged in, you can't help but wonder how anyone could maintain the wealth of knowledge swirling in ecstasy in their mind. Joseph Campbell fits each piece of information into a richly woven spiritual tapestry.
Suddenly life becomes much more simple when the universe is explained in a myth. We all see the similarities of the Hero's Adventure in books and movies, but why is this such a prevalent theme and are we all taking this journey? Joseph Campbell believes we are on our own spiritual journeys in which our consciousness is transformed through trials. If life seems like a struggle to you, then the first section about the Hero's Adventure will explain why we must slay our dragons by overcoming fear and other primal inclinations.
Myths can be clues to spirituality and in all cultures, stories of creation and death encourage an understanding of our beginning and end. But are we really ever in any state other than Eternity itself? Joseph Campbell explains why good and evil are temporal apparitions and explores living life as a poem.
During the taping of these interviews, Joseph Campbell had just purchased a computer and has some interesting observations about his interactions.
In this six-part, six-hour interview style journey, you will learn about the yin/yang symbol, why people sacrifice their ego in marriage, why love is the perfect kindness and how libido can be an impulse to life itself.
Other topics of interest: Star Wars, The Holy Grail, Romantic Love, Nirvana, Inner Mythology, the Virgin Birth, Agricultural Societies and the Goddess, Biblical Complexities, Spiritual Rebirth, Rituals as enactments of myths, the Soul as a Circle, Archetypes, Insight into the Human Psyche, Deep Mystery, Chakras, Mysteries of Creation, Compassion, James Joyce and Epiphanies, Monsters and Dragons, Poetry, Heaven and explanations of Brahma.
If you have any interest in World Religions, this will take you to new levels in your understanding of universal desires, our search for a relationship with God and this may even help you understand your relationship with your life partner. Essential viewing for anyone interested in Myths, Buddhism or Christianity.
When you think that this was recorded two years before Joseph Campbell's death, you cannot help but be amazed at the fluidity of his mind and the way in which he weaves concepts into eternal verbal bliss. He not only explains spiritual concepts, he takes you through amazing myths from Japanese, Native American, Egyptian and Mayan cultures. While he speaks, they present beautiful artwork illustrating the stories. He explains the difference between Amore, Eros and Agape and then explains how we can reach Nirvana by reaching a psychological place where we are unattached to desire and fear.
At times Moyers seems to play with words as well as Joseph Campbell, but then at other times he seems to be asking for more information so the viewer can enjoy the depth of knowledge only an extremely perceptive interviewer could extract. At times he reads myths from one culture and Joseph reads them from another culture. The similarities are astonishing.
The Hero's Adventure
The Message of the Myth
The First Storytellers
Sacrifice and Bliss
Love and the Goddess
Masks of Eternity
Bonus Features: An Art Gallery and Selections from the video Sukhavati. Joseph Campbell narrates beautiful nature scenes. I found my six hour experience to be intellectually exhilarating. Half the fun of life is finding all the puzzle pieces needed to explain your very existence. This DVD set takes you beyond a basic understanding of mythology, it literally presents a pathway you could follow to spiritual bliss. I watched both DVDs in one day and was completely captivated by this intellectual tapestry.
~The Rebecca Review
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