The Secret Life of Plants

This is a pretty interesting film. Its a little bit trippy/hippie, but still tries to remain scientific.

I was inspired to watch this film after listening to the great soundtrack by Stevie Wonder and seeing what inspired the album. Little did I know I would stumble across one of the most interesting documentaries from the 1970's that has gained a cult following despite its limited release.

I can see why this film has a following especially by plant and "tree" enthusiasts even though I watched this film in an awful 360p upload on YouTube. Still if you ignore the questionable scientific methods done throughout the film you can appreciate the passionate work done by the scientists as well as the beautiful scenery throughout the film.

In short, the visuals in this film are wild and the people keep things interesting. Check it out if you can!

The Secret Life of Plants is a fascinating documentary featuring time lapse photography, historical film clips, and the music of Stevie Wonder. The best parts were the scientific experiments where people all over the world hooked up various plants to oscilloscopes, lie detectors, etc. to see if they feel pain, fear, etc. The film tries to prove that there is some sort of global consciousness. I don't really believe that, but am still amazed by the results of the experiments. For instance, a cabbage had a reaction when smokers blew smoke at it. In another test, an office plant hooked up to a lie detector started reacting when its owner thought of burning it.

I saw this Paramount flick quite a few times, back when I was a projectionist just out of high school at the local art movie house, (this was circa 1982). I remember it being a mixture of dry documentary stuff and wonderful musical bits. Of the docu part I remember a scene where they hook a plant up to electrodes and measure it's sensitivity while they chop a head of lettuce in front of it (the plant freaks out on the machine's readout). I also remember a cool time lapse sequence with flowers blooming while they play "Here Come's The Sun". And the bits with Stevie Wonder wondering through a field of flowers was cool (and comical, as there was nothing for him to bump into). I've searched for years for this on video but I'm sure it's held up in musical right's limbo (that and the fact that no one's ever heard of it).

The Secret Life of Plants is a long, rambling documentary built around New Age pseudoscience - seeds communicating with distant stars, laughably dubious "experiments" such as a telepathic cabbage identifying the "murderer" who mutilated a fellow vegetable, etc.

But if you can get past the crackpot stuff, it's an audio-visual treat. Spectacular cloud forests, stunning macro and time-lapse photography, and an astounding original soundtrack by Stevie Wonder.

The soundtrack stands on its own, and is available on CD; the movie remains unavailable on DVD or VHS, but turns up occasionally in art house theatres.

I saw this movie with my wife many years ago in a small theater in Baltimore, Maryland, after hearing the great soundtrack. I have tried unsuccessfully to purchase/sees any copy of it via the producer, distributor to no avail. Other viewers/fans unite! contact me.