This 1985 National Geographic special takes the viewer through a year in the lives of tigers in India's Kanha and Ranthamboor national parks. The video explores the delicately balanced ecosystem of each park, interweaving glimpses of monkeys, deer, cranes, and crocodiles (the tiger's chief competitor for prey). The photography is often impressive and the musical score by Terry Oldfield adds to the exotic atmosphere. However, Land of the Tiger lacks the cohesive narrative structure of later National Geographic documentaries. Narrator Richard Kiley notes that the tiger's survival as a species depends on wildlife preserves such as these, but the video fails to capture just why we should feel that the tiger's survival is important. --Larisa Lomacky Moore |
