Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious Universe (1995)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Series Producer: Simon Welfare
Executive Producer: Grant McKee
Directed by Fiona Greig, Simon Greig, Chris Ledger, and Simon Westcott

Features:

• Haunted Places
  
• A Brief History of Voodoo
  
• UFO Sightings
  
• Into Thin Air
  

Released by: BFS/American Home Treasures
Region: 1
Rating: NR, suitable for most audiences
Anamorphic: N/A; presented in original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Rent it for a nice taste of the weird.

Arthur C. Clarke was a titan in the science fiction world long before people realized the tiny little genre of strange stories constituted a “world” or ever would. After retiring to Sri Lanka, with a string of successful novels and a couple of heavy-duty communication satellite patents with his name on them, he could have simply rested on his considerable laurels and lived the life of Riley.

But anyone that imaginative is going to be plagued by a hyperactive mind, and Clarke soon turned his considerable intellect and inquisitive nature to the various unexplained phenomena of our world. With a team of researchers, he explores everything from UFO sightings to haunted houses, applying rigorous scientific inquiry into these events looking for answers. He may not always find a definitive rational explanation, but it’s never for lack of exhaustive investigation.

Mysterious Universe is a broad-ranging show, and the episodes collected on this disc include examinations of hauntings, zombies, near-death experiences, UFOs, crop circles, and vanishing buildings. Each episode includes an overview of the phenomenon in question, with eyewitness accounts and examinations of documented evidence available, followed by analysis from scientific experts of various stripes.

The show is nothing if not informative. Clarke’s scientific bent and insistence on facts results in shows piled high with data. The investigations are never sensationalistic, and never do they give in to the urge to play up the mystery for cheap drama. While looking for scientific explanations, the filmmakers never belittle the more credulous of their witness to supernatural phenomena, taking each account seriously and at face value until such time as facts can put the matter to rest (though not all of the investigations offer any conclusive debunking of the phenomena as a whole, merely explaining away some of the instances examined).

The DVD gives you a solid selection of episodes on the most popular of the wide world of the unexplained. There are also a nicely presented textual research notes to supplement the episodes themselves, including full rundowns of the most well-known alien abduction cases, hauntings, and a solid overview of the history of voodoo.

Fans of the weird are definitely going to want to check this one out. If you’re trying to build a library of the strange, it might be worth keeping, but most people will be able to get buy with borrowing it from the local video store or a dependable crackpot friend.