DVD Review: The Buddha

The Buddha
PBS Video/ A Film by David Grubin

I was very fortunate to have received a screener copy of The Buddha, a documentary that will airing April 7, 2010 at 8 p.m. EST on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings)

I am very excited that this documentary will be shown on a wide scope. In light of all the exposure Buddhism has received lately, ie. Tiger Woods, this documentary is necessary. I think it will shine a light on something most people have no understanding of, and some may be confused about.

“Religulous”: Bad Title, Bad Movie

Ed. Note- Thank you Bruce for sending this over and offering permission to post it. I have yet to see this movie and feared it would be exactly as Bruce has written about.

By Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D.
The Ethics Guy

Bill Maher’s “Religulous” is a perfect example of how not to make a good documentary.

A self-confessed agnostic, Maher sets out on a worldwide trek to understand how people can place their faith in something as seemingly irrational as religious belief. At least, this is what he claims his mission is.

It doesn’t long, however, to see that what Maher is really after is to make fun of just about everyone he interviews, and to use the formal elements of filmmaking, especially editing and music, to show himself to be a morally superior human being. What a missed opportunity.