Search - Wilhelm Reich - Viva Little Man - The Tragic Story of a Forgotten Genius on DVD

Poorly done - Reich deserves a much better documentary...

Multidimensional Man | USA | 08/12/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As a researcher with a strong interest in bioenergies / subtle energy research (chi, prana, orgone) and interest in consciousness studies and human potential, Reich is naturally a person I wanted to check out in more depth as he is an amazing person for many reasons. I wanted to know more about him, and more importantly his work and research. I was excited when I found a documentrary and thought I would take a risk and get it even though I saw no reviews.

This dvd documentary however (if you can even call it a documentary) was really bad! Not only did it look like it was shot with a shoestring budget on a home video camcorder, but it doesn't flow at all, and is filled with several interviews that are poorly shot, poorly edited and very hard to understand. There is no narration leaving one lost through the film. This was not worth watching, and I have a big interest in the area of Reich's research.

Although it may be something a die hard Reich fan or biographer might want in his or her library, I would recommend to the general public and interested researchers alike - stay clear of this one and save your money! It seems we'll have to wait for a better one to come along..."

Important Parts of History, with Reich's Supporters and Atta

J. DeMeo | Oregon, USA | 01/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While it is true that "Viva Little Man" is not a documentary in the usual sense, it does provide a lot of historical documentation on central aspects of Reich's work and the legal case against him which are of scholarly interest to those who already know something about him, and who want to go into more details than the usual FDA-skeptic attacks, or the mystical distortions of some of Reich's "supporters". Neither has an authentic understanding. Here's a blurb on it:
" Wilhelm Reich: Viva Little Man - DVD An intimate time-capsule of people and places recalling the controversial natural scientist, Wilhelm Reich, M.D., his trial, imprisonment and the court-ordered burning of his books in America.
Viva Little Man includes interviews with many of Dr. Wilhelm Reich's former associates, friends, family members and scholars who have personally investigated the facts surrounding his life and work, to include: Dr. Richard Blasband, Willy Brandt (former German Chancellor), Prof. Bernard Grad, Prof. Jerome Greenfield (author of Wilhelm Reich Versus the USA), Mary Higgins (Trustee of the Wilhelm Reich Museum), Grete Hoff, Jo Jenks, Heiko Lassek, Elsa Lindenberg, Thomas Mangravite, Renate Moise (Reich's granddaughter), Ilse Ollendorff (Reich's wife), Dr. Eva Reich (daughter and co-worker), Tom Ross, Prof. Bernd Senf, and Dr. Myron Sharaf (author of Fury on Earth: A Biography of Wilhelm Reich).
With visits to the Freud Museum in Vienna, to the Wilhelm Reich Museum and town of Rangeley, Maine, to Food and Drug Administration Headquarters near Washington, DC where the plot was hatched to "get Reich", to the courtroom in Portland, Maine where Reich was tried, to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary where he was imprisoned and died, to the New York City incinerators where his books were burned, and briefly, a search for Dobrenicza, Bukovina, Ukraine, where Reich grew up. With side-trips to Princeton, New York, Montreal, Berlin and Vienna.
Plus a small collection of Reich-detractors in mainstream psychoanalysis and the FDA, including prosecuting attorney Peter Mills and FDA "historian" Wallace Jansen (who coldly defends US government bookburning). ""

Misleading subtitle

Melek | 05/02/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The subtitle "The tragic story..." for this particular DVD release of the film is misleading. As other reviewers have pointed out, this documentary is mainly of interest to people who are already familiar with Reich's life and work. As such, it is very fascinating, and an important historical document, but it does not serve as an introduction/education for everyone who is new to the subject. Also, there is a newer edition of this film available here on Amazon, with better picture quality, a different cover design, and without that subtitle which was apparently not part of the original title anyway: Wilhelm Reich: Viva Little Man To all fellow Reich enthusiasts, I therefore recommend to get the new release."