Alby Mangels
Encyclopedia
Albertus Zwier "Alby" Mangels (born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch
-born Australia
n adventurer and documentary film-maker widely remembered for his "World Safari
" adventure travel films (World Safari
, World Safari II, and World Safari III).
to Australia as a child in 1956, worked in a large variety of jobs, his last being in Murray Bridge
doing brickwork.
s were active, and becoming involved in a number of unusual business enterprises. Mangels discovered that audiences responded to his risk-taking behaviour and featured more and more of it in his later films. While he may have played up the risks in some cases, he and his companions suffered a number of serious accidents and injuries along the way, the most notorious being an accident during the early filming of "World Safari II." An accident resulted in his friend, Piers Soutier, becoming a quadriplegic
and eventually dying from complications a year later. Mangels postponed the continuation of the film to remain with Piers, looking into the available facilities for disabled people during this time. The accident prompted Mangels to design a new form of wheelchair (which won Australian design awards including the Premier's Award for Design Excellence) and to found the charity DAD (Disabled And Disadvantaged children) with his sister, Maria Snel.
Mangels (and Field) also spent some time living with the local inhabitants in many locations, often working for room and board or just to get to know the local culture of each area.
Mangels became famous for an array of attractive female travelling companions, with a quota per film approaching that of James Bond
. Mangels did point out (on-camera in his third film when meeting another one who had seen his previous films) that with the years it took to make each film the numbers were not so unusual.
Mangels also has a strong conservation
theme running through all of the films. Mangels' voiceover narration for the films, as well as the many places he chose to visit, often emphasizes the need for the preservation of both wild places such as forests, and wild animals such as gorillas.
He was one of the pioneering travel advocates of the 1970s, showing the possibility of traveling as a way of life, similar to what Peter Jenkins
and William Least Heat Moon had done with their bestselling travel books of the 1970s and 1980s.
After the financial failure of the third World Safari film in the late 1980s, Mangels dropped out of the public eye in Australia for several years but produced during this time produced his "Adventure Bound" series that aired all over the world and received some of the highest ratings ever achieved on the US Travel Channel. Fans have been bemoaning the lack of Alby Mangels material since the show finished but finally Alby has placated his fans with the recent release of over seventy titles (including some never before seen material) digitally remastering his entire back catalogue for commercial sale on DVD at his official website.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n adventurer and documentary film-maker widely remembered for his "World Safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
" adventure travel films (World Safari
World Safari
World Safari is a documentary film released in 1977 made from footage of Alby Mangels and John Field's six year journey around 56 countries and four continents in the 1970s...
, World Safari II, and World Safari III).
Early life
Mangels, who immigratedImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
to Australia as a child in 1956, worked in a large variety of jobs, his last being in Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge, South Australia
Murray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is located east-southeast of Adelaide and north of Meningie....
doing brickwork.
Work
He set off in 1971 with friend John Fields on what was supposed to be a one-off trip. It turned into a six-year odyssey through several continents, which they filmed. The resulting film, first shown in Australia in 1981, was a considerable success and Mangels continued to travel through the 1980s, filming all the way. Two more World Safari films were made from this subsequent material.The films
The films featured Mangels and his constantly-changing cast of companions travelling, on a shoestring budget and seemingly with little forward planning, throughout various wild areas. Mangels took a cavalier approach, both to natural and human hazards, relying on a variety of rickety vehicles, losing his ship to fire, travelling through a number of areas where guerrillaGuerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
s were active, and becoming involved in a number of unusual business enterprises. Mangels discovered that audiences responded to his risk-taking behaviour and featured more and more of it in his later films. While he may have played up the risks in some cases, he and his companions suffered a number of serious accidents and injuries along the way, the most notorious being an accident during the early filming of "World Safari II." An accident resulted in his friend, Piers Soutier, becoming a quadriplegic
Quadriplegia
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
and eventually dying from complications a year later. Mangels postponed the continuation of the film to remain with Piers, looking into the available facilities for disabled people during this time. The accident prompted Mangels to design a new form of wheelchair (which won Australian design awards including the Premier's Award for Design Excellence) and to found the charity DAD (Disabled And Disadvantaged children) with his sister, Maria Snel.
Mangels (and Field) also spent some time living with the local inhabitants in many locations, often working for room and board or just to get to know the local culture of each area.
Mangels became famous for an array of attractive female travelling companions, with a quota per film approaching that of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
. Mangels did point out (on-camera in his third film when meeting another one who had seen his previous films) that with the years it took to make each film the numbers were not so unusual.
Mangels also has a strong conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
theme running through all of the films. Mangels' voiceover narration for the films, as well as the many places he chose to visit, often emphasizes the need for the preservation of both wild places such as forests, and wild animals such as gorillas.
He was one of the pioneering travel advocates of the 1970s, showing the possibility of traveling as a way of life, similar to what Peter Jenkins
Peter Jenkins
Peter Jenkins may refer to:*Peter Jenkins , British diplomat*Peter Jenkins , British journalist*Peter Jenkins , Canadian politician...
and William Least Heat Moon had done with their bestselling travel books of the 1970s and 1980s.
After the financial failure of the third World Safari film in the late 1980s, Mangels dropped out of the public eye in Australia for several years but produced during this time produced his "Adventure Bound" series that aired all over the world and received some of the highest ratings ever achieved on the US Travel Channel. Fans have been bemoaning the lack of Alby Mangels material since the show finished but finally Alby has placated his fans with the recent release of over seventy titles (including some never before seen material) digitally remastering his entire back catalogue for commercial sale on DVD at his official website.