Anatomy of a Shark Bite

Starring:J.V. Martin, Jim Sharits
Director: James Younger (III)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Description

Shark! Just the word itself invokes fear and dread. But what is it that causes these vicious man-eaters to attack? This question and many more are answered in the incredible survival story, ANATOMY OF A SHARK BITE. On April 9, 2002, celebrated behavioral scientist Dr. Erich Ritter was severely bitten by a 350-lb bull shark. Through an astonishing combination of computer-generated imaging, state-of-the-art robotics and shocking footage of the incident - the only shark attack on a human being ever caught on film - Dr. Ritter recreates his terrifying ordeal, in this unbelievable-but-true shark's tale.

Customer Reviews:

Basic, But Entertaining and Slightly Informative........2007-02-25

Originally produced as a special on Animal Planet, ANATOMY OF A SHARK BITE is an examination of what happens to a person when they are bitten by a shark. After having his left calf muscle torn from his body by a bull shark, Dr. Erich Ritter wanted to recreate what had happened to him. I guess it was something the guy needed to do to get some closure (though some have speculated it was for financial gain). ANATOMY OF A SHARK BITE exams what happened to Ritter and what he and his team discovered in recreating the accident.

The production value of ANATOMY OF A SHARK BITE isn't as high quality as many documentaries. It has a kind of a hand-held, homemade feel to it. For some people, that is an issue. Personally, I didn't mind it as much. Since this was a made for cable special, the announcer also repeats himself quite a bit, recapping what happened and what is going to happen. Once again for me, this wasn't an issue because I knew the show was made for tv, but some people will find the repetitive announcing annoying because without it the film could have been shorten by about 20-30 minutes.

These minor annoyances do not get in the way of the research of the exploration. Through various techniques and devices, from robotic sharks to baited food, the shark team is able to discover how much pressure an average bull shark uses in one bite, why a shark is able to cause so much damage, the basic pattern before a shark attacks, why Dr. Ritter was bitten, and what could have happened if circumstances would have been different. Some of the information seems obvious. For example, even though sharks have a bite equal to a human they are able to cause much more damage because of their teeth, the violent shaking of their head, and the speed in which they approach prey. However, some of the information is new, e.g. the actual pressure of that an average bull shark exerts in one bite. Whether the information seems obvious or whether it is new, doesn't really matter because the shark team in the video approach the entire event in a scientific way.

I watched ANATOMY OF A SHARK BITE in a science class that I substitute taught. The film illustrates the importance of the scientific method, provided some new information about sharks, and kept the students interested the entire class period. I enjoyed the film as well and learned a couple of new facts. Those who have a high degree of knowledge about sharks might not enjoy the film, but it is an interesting piece for the laypeople.

far too long.......2007-01-10

I agree with DUSTY. I saw this documentary when it originally aired on The Discover Channel. It keeps repeating itself and really there's only about 15 minutes worth of material here. The bit (ha, it's a pun!) where they have mechanical robot jaws chomp down on some meat with a pressure sensor inside to indicate bite strength was nice. And what's with "the only shark attack on a human ever recorded on film" claim? Anyone can find genuine footage of shark attacks online. I got some nice great white attacks on kazaa ages ago. They're all over youtube now. However, the footage of the attack is professional and not like all those amateur videos where someone just happened to have a video camera going when a shark suddenly attacked. So there's goods and bads with this one. I'd buy the "Operation Shark Attack Files" instead of this one. I already own those so now I'm buying some dvds that focus on great whites. Hot-cha!

Fascinating Subject / Horrible Production.......2006-03-08

A good writer could have presented the actual information content of this show in about 15 minutes, at a leisurely pace. This show lasts 88 minutes. Enough said?

No, no, no.... Enough is never said in this so-called "documentary". After all, the producers felt the need to repeat everything they had to say over and over and over (and over) again, and then to repeat it again and again and again (and again) just for good measure. They also felt the need to "tease" you by telling you what they were going to tell you before they told you (over and over again), and to reinforce your new knowledge after they told you by telling you what they just told you (over and over again).

Don't get me wrong, the story of a shark researcher/victim and his quest to learn what really happened when a shark consumed most of his leg is a worthy topic for a good documentary.

But this isn't a good documentary.

In fact, my heart really goes out to the main shark researcher, Dr. Erich Ritter, and the many other shark bite victims featured in this show. First they were traumatized by losing their arm or leg, or were otherwise permanently injured in the shark attack itself. Then these lousy filmmakers literally add insult to injury by making an MTV-styled mockery out of their sincere quest to learn something significant about shark behavior from their experiences. I can only hope the producers were not given exclusive rights, so that this story can be told properly one day.

I paid money to purchase this DVD because it seemed like a subject I would enjoy viewing several times. If it had been produced well I'm certain I would have watched it several times over the years. But there is no way I could sit through that annoying production even one more time. I wouldn't even subject a friend to this as a gift.

Did I mention that the producers repeat every over and over and over (and over) again, repeatedly?

Here is an example of the kind of writing these filmmakers used throughout the entire show, applied to this review:

"Coming up next, I'm going to tell you that the producers repeated the same thing over and over and over again."

"The producers repeated the same thing over and over and over again."

"You have just seen how I told you that the producers repeated the same thing over and over and over again."

Now you have seen an example of the kind of writing these filmmakers used throughout the entire show, applied to this review.

I'm not joking. The writing is THAT bad. The entire show sounded like a teaser/trailer for some other show. Not only that, but if you close your eyes, the narration sounds like an episode of the TV Show "Sightings". And if you open your eyes you will see the camera twist, turn, rotate, slide, change color palettes, and gyrate in every manner possible--except for the one orientation that actually allows you to observe what is going on.

If this review annoys you, then I've done my job as a reviewer, because there is no other way to really prepare you for the disappointment of spending 88 minutes in front of an idiot box to view a good presentation, only to learn that there was never a good presentation there for you to view.

The only real good news here is that the DVD contains a bonus documentary called "Future Shark", which is produced by normal filmmakers. This documentary is fascinating, entertaining, and unlike the feature film, is well written and filmed intelligently. It gets the 2 stars for this review. I would have felt better about this purchase if the DVD consisted of only this special feature.

Interesting..........2005-07-27

Since I am a huge White Shark fan, I bought this DVD without any hesitation. Ok, so it's not "Air Jaws" which is packed with terrific footage of whitey flying in the air to catch its prey, but still this DVD contains very interesting facts about not only white shark's bite, but bull's and tiger's. I have learned that tiger sharks' teeth that are uniquely shaped and well built can slash flesh and cut easily through bone.
With the help of computer-generated imaging, scientists were able to recreate the last moments of an incident that occured in 2002 of a bull shark attack on Dr. Ritter.
This extremely graphic footage shown in full in the last 5 minutes (which is repeatedly shown partially throughout the feature); the only shark attack ever caught on film. In addition, you get to watch some footage of a white shark attack on Heather Boswell.
They also built an exact replica of teeth and jaws of all 3 types of sharks to demonstrate the difference in anatomy of a bite in terms of power.
If you like sharks and want some new information about the force of its bite, buy it now. A MUST FOR WHITE SHARK LOVERS.

Cool new info, but too hype.......2005-07-20

Lots of new info, and a cool way of figuring things out. I really like the animatronic shark.
If you like sharks, then you need to watch this. It's a cool video.

That said, it is NOT National Geographic, or Discovery Channel. It's more like Fear Factor.
If you can stand watching Fear Factor for 2 hours, then this is for you. The editing, direction,
music, everything Screams: Fear Factor. Because it was made for TV, it has the commercial pauses.
But before the break, they tell you what's coming up. Then after the break, they recap Everything
that has happened so far, PLUS a glimpse of what is coming up, before getting on with the story.

The most irritating thing about this video, is the fact that they show the one camera (underwater)
of the shark biting the guy's leg about 40 times. They show that he was doing an interview. There
were about 4 cameras shooting from various angles above water, and at least 2 underwater. To
see it from the other camera views just a few times, would have been nice. But they never show them.

I'm telling you, it's Fear Factor. It even has the strobing light they use, to show how cool something is.

Average customer rating:

Anatomy of a Sharkbite

Manufacturer: Discovery
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000KGGO0E
Release Date: 2006-12-01

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