Mysterious Castles of Clay

I saw this film on TV soon after it was made and it has stayed with me vividly for twenty years. The multidimensional life of a termite hive organism and its ensuing ecosystem relationships are breathtakingly splendid. The gladiatorial battle-to-the-death between an ant scout and a termite interceptor has to be one of the most dramatic moments ever recorded on film. I wish I could obtain a copy of this film but thusfar have not found it for sale.

Joan and Alan Root's Academy Award-nominated "Mysterious Castles of Clay" is about termites, their homes, and their role in the ecosystem. It's one of the most impressive documentaries that you'll ever see.

However, there was a problem with the version that I watched. I saw it on YouTube, where it's simply called "Castles of Clay" (and unlike the professed narration by Orson Welles, this narration was from Derek Jacobi). But most importantly, the narration was delayed several minutes! How'd that happen?!

Okay, if you can ignore that, then it's one fine production. We get to see a lot of the animals of East Africa's serengeti going around doing their stuff. Lots of fun.

I showed this to my 6th grade class about 17 years ago and the students loved it. I loved it, too. The story of the termites and their interaction with their environment is amazing. The cast of creatures is deep and they all play their parts well. The battle between the two cold-blooded titans is truly classic footage.

Alan Root has done some incredible camera work and this should have won the Best Documentary Oscar. The copy I have doesn't have Orson Welles narrating it (Derek Jacobi) and it isn't called the "Mysterious Castles of Clay," just "Castles of Clay." This makes me think that it must have been done with Welles added for star power and an Oscar push.

I was lucky enough to find this VHS just recently and it is now my children's favorite movie. They brought it to the latest family gathering instead of a Disney movie. If you can find this movie you are indeed lucky.

I watched the documentary when I was 20, at the Wildlife Conservation Centre in Nairobi National Park, Kenya. I have never gotten over the impression it made in me. No wonder the Bible exhorted is to learn from ants (Proverbs 6:6)!

Alan Root is perhaps the world's leading wildlife and natural history filmmaker. When he made CASTLES OF CLAY, it was considered a bit of a risky venture, for it had no "charismatic mega-fauna" of the sort seen in most wildlife films. Instead, it is a portrait of the giant termite mounds found in Africa, which are indeed literally "castles of clay." Root managed to find (or construct) story, drama, and adventure in these unusual structures and the creatures that build and inhabit them.

A quarter century later the film is still highly regarded, and can be seen occasionally in the US on the Discovery Channel.

-- Derek Bousé