Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2327 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-26
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 200 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
What the Bleep Do We Know? is a lecture on mysticism and science mixed into a sort-of narrative. Marlee Matlin stars in the dramatic thread, about a sourpuss photographer who begins to question her perceptions. Interviews with quantum physics experts and New Age authors are cut into this story, offering a vaguely convincing (and certainly mind-provoking) theory about... well, actually, it sounds a lot like the Power of Positive Thinking, when you get down to it. Talking heads (not identified until film's end) include JZ Knight, who appears in the movie channeling Ramtha, the ancient sage she claims communicates through her (other speakers are also associated with Knight's organization). What she says actually makes pretty good common sense--Ramtha's wiggier notions are not included--and would be easy to accept were it not being credited to a 35,000-year-old mystic from Atlantis. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Applying basic principles of quantum physics to human psychology, this film consists largely of interviews with experts in related fields, who pose existential questions and answer them with theories of endless possibilities. They explain that reality is only as we define it, that matter is permeable, and that experiences in life should be approached as controllable by the human mind. Opening doors to broad ideas--that we could exist simultaneously in many realities, that we could be in multiple places at once, that we could observe ourselves from outside our bodies, that time travels backwards and forwards--experts encourage positive thinking and open-mindedness. A situational plot involving a deaf photographer who is assigned to work at a Polish wedding serves to illustrate how the theories discussed could be applied to everyday experiences. Meanwhile, intense sequences of computer animation offer illustrations of outer space, the neural functions in our brains, the way that various hormones work, and even some funny Jello-like characters representing chemical reactions in our bodies. A raucous soundtrack of 1980s tunes--Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love, and Animotion's Obsession among them--adds to a jarringly dynamic score. For viewers who gravitate toward New Age theories of enlightenment and self-knowledge, or those who enjoyed the sci-fi plotlines of television series like STAR TREK, QUANTUM LEAP, and WITCHBLADE, this film will be a welcome addition to their library.

Customer Reviews

Rubbish
I am interested in cutting edge science. Unfortunately this isn't it. I did some physics at first year university and even I can see that the makers of this DVD either intentionally mislead or totally misunderstood quantum physics.
I even googled the (only) physicist in the film and found out he had been misrepresented.
I'm sorry but while I can see it would be easy to be seduced by the messages in the film, the underlying claim of evidence, of the support of physics to those views, is complete rubbish.

This film includes a 'talking head' giving evidence - at the end it describes her as channeling a 10000 year old person from Atlantis. How anyone can take this seriously I don't know.

This DVD makes you stop and think
If you're interested in psychology, parapsychology or just the workings and potential power of the human mind then this DVD will be interesting viewing. I watched this with an experienced lecturer in Psychology who agreed that many of the vignettes here would be useful for discussion in the classroom. Some parts are a bit 'risqué', so selected viewing and a bit of discretion would be worthwhile.

I'm aware of the controversy about this product due to its source (the 'ramtha' thing). However, personally, I couldn't care less about someone's religious beliefs and there's no proselytizing here.

This underground cinema hit is not a film - it's more a series of acted-out and illustrated scenes combined with documentary-type input to help demonstrate points. The 2 DVD set also includes a raft of useful extras.

There are big name contributors here from the world of science and psychology (some from 'The Secret' for example). Issues discussed include quantum physics and how the human mind works to programmes and habitual thinking (usually in a negative and damaging way).

The study of the human mind has been described as the new frontier of the 21st century and 'What The Bleep Do We Know?' is a thought provoking contribution to this subject. Is this a net contribution? Well, you'll need to decide that for yourself.

This is a real mixed bag... but lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I thought this DVD, which I borrowed from a science PhD friend, was an interesting introduction to Quantum Physics for the layman. It's very accessible, which is part of it's appeal. You don't need a degree in physics to understand it. I found it intriguing, as many people who have given it 5 stars also did. So why only 3 stars?

I watched it with a discerning mind and found it left me enthused but with lots of questions like "Did that mass meditation experiment really take place in Washington, and if so, what kind of meditation was it?" and I did feel that the mystical female's comments were out of sync with the scientific nature of the rest of the talking experts.

I was disappointed to discover that there was so much controversy surrounding this DVD and that in the process of it being made into an accessible DVD it had been dumbed down to the point of being "pseudoscience" and distorted, in particular to fit in with mystical the mystical views of a very bizarre cult who seem to have financed it.

There are lots of lessons to be learnt, mainly don't believe everything you are told, even about science! Everything we learn through the media (newspapers, TV, DVDs like this) is MEDIATED. It's been edited by a person or persons who will present the story (news, science, anything) from a certain point of view. No two newspapers will present a story in exactly the same light and can often vary wildly in their portrayal of the same event or piece of news. That's one of the things they teach people on all these media studies courses. A DVD of this length was never going to give anything other than a very basic view of highly complex theories. I just wish someone like the BBC or Open University had been able to make a programme about Quantum Physics that wasn't dry and theoretical but made it exciting and accessible and relevant to our lives, as the makers of "What the Bleep" seemed to do, but from a relatively unbiased editorial standpoint i.e. to inform and educate rather than to manipulate, as it seems "What the Bleep" has done. (Has such a series been made or an accessible book been published by reputable scientists???)

The problem with things like "What the Bleep" and "The Da Vinci Code" is that people are easily manipulated by a well told story, even if that story is only half true. I am always amazed at how many people take things at face value and do not engage their critical faculties or judgement or who would see the makers as having the answers to life's spiritual questions and would trustingly investigate the "mystical cult" (which sounds frankly bizarre - channelling ancient spirits from nonexistent continents - outer body experiences???) promoted by some of the people who spoke on the video. I am bemused by the existence of such cults and the bizarre stuff that some people believe an so would be concerned at impressionable people going to the website, getting the newsletter and possibly being sucked in by a cult. Who knows... By all means, go ahead and watch the DVD and see what all the fuss is about, and let it enthuse you about science. But then go on and read works by real scientists if it really floats your boat. And if you really must watch it, whilst the jury is still out on the makers of this film and what the proceeds go towards, try to do like I did and borrow it from a friend or get it second hand so you can make up your mind without worrying about funding cult activities.

And I think it's important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Quantum Physics can be interesting and I know books are being written, for example, on how the view of reality forwarded by Quantum Physics has closed the gap between science and certain religious traditions like Buddhist Philosophy. I just don't know as yet how accessible these books are (whether I'll need a degree in Theoretical Physics and Buddhist/Eastern philosophies in order to understand it).

I'm torn as to how to rate this. I think for sheer entertainment value and the fact that it opens peoples eyes to Quantum Theory, that little understood branch of physics, I can understand people rating it as a 5 but for the nasty aftertaste that it has left in my mouth which has led me to ask myself if I've been manipulated or hoodwinked, it can be no more than a 3.