Bigfoot Lives: Review of the DVD Version

An intriguing documentary that chronicles the journeys of the investigative team led by Tom Biscardi as they travel across the continental United States, researching sightings, interviewing witnesses and documenting evidence of the elusive creature known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

A Bigfoot is described as a large bi-pedal primate, similar in form to a human, but covered with long, thick hair. Their weight is estimated to be in the range from 500-800 pounds. The tracks resemble human footprints as well, but are significantly larger, averaging 16 to 18 inches in length.

The film by Tizodd Production's Todd Douglas Bailey features eight geographic locations where the tangible evidence such as footprints, photographs, sound recordings, physical remains and corroborations by several witnesses make a strong case for each encounter of a Bigfoot. Historical references include clips from classic footage such as the Patterson-Gimlin film of 1967.

The documentary has the look and feel of a quality "reality show" where the participants are ordinary people who have encountered extraordinary circumstances. The interviews and commentary appear to be spontaneous and unrehearsed.

The locations are surprisingly widespread and follow this sequence: Paris, Texas; Deer River, Minnesota; Portsmouth, Ohio; Gila Bend, Arizona; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona; Clarence, New York; Browning, Montana and finally, back to Paris, Texas.

The documentary has many unique elements that are not found in other Sasquatch/Bigfoot films and literature to date. Striking examples include physical remains such as a severed hand (with x-rays) that has hominid features, an entire leg that, though in degraded condition, is still articulated, and that has bone, muscle, skin and hair attached, and the skeletal remains of an unidentified hominid in excess of seven feet tall. In most cases, actual footprints and/or plaster casts are examined, and in some episodes, photographs taken by witnesses are exhibited and discussed. In the Deer River investigation, a hair is removed from the plaster cast of a footprint.

The research team, fielded by Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., is comprised of Tom Biscardi, Tom "TJ" Biscardi, Jr., "JavaBob" Schmalzbach, Tim McMillan, Becky Sawyer, Lee Hickman, Steven Kulls, Don Monroe and Rex Houdyshel. For their examination of evidence and field operations, they employ high-tech equipment such as thermal imaging devices, night-vision cameras, "bionic ear" audio-recording equipment and remotely placed cameras and video recorders. The team is filmed on nighttime forays when the nocturnal creatures are most active. For example, at the Paris site, the thermal imaging devices show a large creature moving swiftly through the marsh and woods. The images are best seen on the video using stop-action or slow-forward settings.

There is a wealth of experiential observation that would be of interest to anyone from the serious researcher to the merely curious. Convincing testimony from law-enforcement officers, as in the Fort Apache encounter, lends credence to the existence of the Bigfoot. Taken together as a whole, the reports show consistent patterns of behavior, similar appearance and physical characteristics, and matching traces of their passage, such as the footprints and hair samples. The growing evidence may indicate an actual species that is on the verge of being definitively documented and eventually formally described and classified by the scientific community at large.

Currently, the DVD is available from the Web site, www.searchingforbigfoot.com. It is also on release in regional markets.

Resources:
BIGFOOT LIVES Movie on DVD
presented by Searching For Bigfoot, Inc.
in association with Tizodd Productions
Music by L.E.X. for Skylark Productions
Executive Producer: Tom Biscardi
Director: Todd Douglas Bailey