Product Description

In 1977, acclaimed director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros entered the universe of the world’s most famous primate, to create the captivating documentary Koko: A Talking Gorilla. The film introduces us to the remarkable Koko at the age of three, recently brought from the San Francisco Zoo to Stanford University by Dr. Penny Patterson for a controversial experiment—she would be taught the basics of human communication through American sign language. An entertaining, troubling, and still relevant documentary, Koko: A Talking Gorilla sheds light on the ongoing ethical and philosophical debates over the individual rights of animals and brings us face to face with the amazing "individual" caught in the middle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34986 in DVD
• Brand: IMAGE ENT.
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 80 minutes

Features

• In 1977, acclaimed director Barbet Schroeder and cinematographer Nestor Almendros entered the universe of the world's most famous primate to create this captivating documentary. The film introduces us to the remarkable Koko at the age of three, recently brought from the San Francisco Zoo to Stanford University by Dr. Penny Patterson for a controversial experiment -- she would be taught the bas

Amazon.com
Many folks have heard about the gorilla who learned sign language, but few have seen the depth revealed in Koko: A Talking Gorilla. In 1977 Barbet Schroeder and Nestor Almendros teamed up to explore the world of this gentle ape and her researcher friends, and the film raises difficult issues, questioning basic assumptions of scientists and skeptics alike. Of vital importance to both sides of the arguments on topics as diverse as animal rights and artificial intelligence is the question of whether Koko understood abstract concepts in the same way we do, which is no clearer now than then. The film, though, is careful to follow the gorilla's entire range of behavior and helps individuals decide for themselves what was happening behind her eyes. Powerful, thought-provoking, and even heartbreaking, Koko: A Talking Gorilla is essential viewing for anyone interested in intelligence, communication, and the nature of humanity. --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews

Awe Inspiring!
One word! Awesome! KoKo changes our view about Gorillas. Koko's emotions seem almost human. I found myself laughing and crying, but most of all unable to move from my seat. The scene after KoKo is told about the kitten is heartbreaking, and should make everyone look at animals, especially Gorillas differently. I will never look at a gorilla at the zoo in the same manner. It just makes me sad to think about these incredible, intelligent, gentle, but yet so fierce and wild animals.

a unique Criterion release
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Koko: A Talking Gorilla is a documentary about Koko the Gorilla who has become famous for having learned American Sign Language.

The film explores Koko's life living in a modified trailer at Stanford University. This film is older so it does not explore most of Koko's life who has become much more famous since the film's release. The film also was done at a time where Koko was on loan from the San Francisco Zoo and was in danger of being taken back.

This also is the only Criterion released film to date where the main subject is not a human.

The DVD includes a new interview with the film's director Barbet Schroeder and an optional French language audio track made for the film's release in France.

I liked this film and highly recommend it

The Amazing Koko
I used the video with a class of ESL students to generate conversation
and it did the job. The content is quite amazing as we watch Koko
learn and sign new words.
My only objection is that the DVD seems old and is very slow and sometimes
the sound was not clear. At times it seemed like someone's home-made
video and was amateurish. But the purpose for me was to get the students
to speak and they did. I have seen many films by th director, Barbet
Schroeder and was a little disappointed in the quality - a bir grainy and
washed out.