Tigers of the Snow (1996)
Film:
DVD:

Written by Kevin McCarey
Directed by Mark Stouffer

Features:

• Bonus Program: Tiger's Eye
  
• Photo gallery
  
• Siberian tiger facts
  
• Siberian tiger range map
  
• Trivia quiz
  
• Trailers for Beauty and the Beast: A Leopard's Story, Cats: Caressing the Tiger, and Hidden World of the Bengal Tiger
  

Anamorphic: NA; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Rent It.

In Siberia, they grow their cats big. Really damn big. And they're gorgeous, too. Like all big, gorgeous things, man has hunted them or destroyed their habitat to the point where there's only a few hundred left in the wild. We're talking about Siberian tigers, naturally. Through the program, you get to see a bunch of maniacs disguised as scientists doing crazy things that you would probably never get paid enough to do on your own. I'm talking about sneaking around at night to tag a mother's cubs, knowing full well that if Mom came back she would reduce you to kibble. Also, tranking kitties from a helicopter while hovering right inside the treetops...then going down to tag it, too. Whacky stuff that proves their love for their job.

The content of the film is quite cool, and it's hard to go wrong with tigers. They're beyond cool. And in the program you get to see not only how they're dealt with in the wild, but also how they handle being in captivity. A gent in Siberia has two orphaned full grown tigers in a small enclosure in his backyard. A little more labor intensive than a goldfish, sure, but to each his own. And there's no suspense like trying to get your examination of a tiger done before the thing wakes up and takes your head off.

Only real problem I had with the film is that there's a huge gaping hole in the info provided. Apparently, according to the program, mothers in captivity aren't inclined naturally to take care of their young. This becomes a major issue in the latter half of the film. But they never say why, which drove me crazy. Even if they don't know why, they should have made mention of that fact.

As for as bonus features go, the interesting Tiger's Eye details how Nick Nichols went prowling about India looking for amazing photos of the Bengal tiger. Like the lead program, Snow, this involves traipsing about places where tigers are nearby--and not necessarily pleased to see you. It also shows the trick of staking out potential tiger photo opportunities with motion sensitive cameras, not to mention night vision.

Beyond that, it's sparse. The facts about tigers span a single screen, so does the map, and the quiz is rather short as well. The trailers for the other feline-related discs make one wonder why they don't just release a cat boxed set. Fans of the big cats should purchase, but for the rest of us, it's worth snagging a rental.