Filmmaker Mark Lewis knows how to showcase an animal. This is a producer who can bring a chicken to life like you wouldn't believe. His famous documentary 'The Natural History of the Chicken' is a perfect example. In what other nature film could you watch the story of a woman who brings back to life a once frozen solid chicken using 'mouth-to-beak' resuscitation? Or who else could make an ordinary ferret extraordinary through the eyes of eccentric ferret-lover pet owners who write songs about their beloved animals and even dress them up as cowboys, hula dancers and ballerinas?
One of my favorite scenes of a documentary comes from another of Lewis' hilarious film on the Australia animal scourge: 'Cane Toads: An Unnatural History.' The scene starts with a long shot of a truck swerving back and forth along a road. The driver is speaking while he's swerving and he's talking about how he takes aim at and kills as many cane toads on the road that he can - he does it to protect the natural wildlife, which, unlike the artificially introduced toads, he truly does love. As the truck gets closer, you start to hear thumping, which you can only assume are the toads getting run over.
These amazing films are no typical nature shows - Lewis' verite style that lacks narration draws you in to a subject you never thought could interest you and keeps you coming back for more.
Check out the PBS blog Q&A with filmmaker Mark Lewis to learn more.
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