Product Details

• Format: Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Miramar
• VHS Release Date: December 6, 1994
• Run Time: 35 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303314767
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,450 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The visual equivalent of environmental sounds to soothe away those after-work tensions. Musically accompanied by the likes of Tangerine Dream, the superbly photographed, time-lapse footage of these pieces encapsulates the majesty of such locales as Monument Valley. Any fan of film Westerns, and John Ford Westerns in particular, will be thrilled with this portion of the disc, since Monument Valley has played such an indispensable part in American Westerns. You might be justified in suspecting this to be merely the filmed backdrop for a friendship card, or "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy." But the award-winning photography of David Fortney makes this truly breathtaking. Other places worthy of time-lapse footage include the Canadian Rockies, Niagara Falls, Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Death Valley, and the Nevada High Deserts. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not that great or relaxing, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Earthscapes (DVD)

After reading the rave reviews of this DVD, I was excited to pop it in and relax with it. The things you need to be aware of are #1 the soundtrack is of the really ultra schmaltzy meandering new age variety. It is not ambient enough to take your mind off of it, but not good enough musically to make you want to listen intently, so therefore it is in a BAD middle ground. I prefer a popping a cd in along with it. #2 The first couple of scenes are shot in TIME LAPSE. For those of you who are familiar with time lapse filming, while it looks somewhat cool, the pace is accelerated and frenetic, if anything. Billing this disc as a "chill out" DVD sure seems off here as well, given that clouds are literally RUSHING by as though you are in a jet airplane. The camera also pans wildly back and forth, so you do not even have the opportunity to pause and reflect on the imagery for a moment. Far from relaxing. Later in the disk is a water "ballet" which is poorly orchestrated with video edits, and if anything, cheesy and trite. Finally, SOME of the footage is of superb quality, but a good deal of it is also edited footage that appears to have originated on 16mm, video, or WORSE. Simply spliced in with the more quality footage combined with the quality of the DVD image, it really stands out. Overall, I give the disc a 2, because I feel that it has some merits, but do be aware of what you are buying, because, I for one was disappointed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful background video, March 5, 2001

By 

James Hawk (Chevy Chase, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Earthscapes (DVD)

This was done by David Fortney, a master of time-lapse photography and is a technical tour de force. The music fits-in very well, but I often will just let it play as a moving artwork. Someone else claimed the video quality was bad, but I suspect a faulty player - it looks great on mine ! If you like video as artwork, check out "Canyon Dreams" and "True North", both on the Miramar label.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stunning timelapse photography & music!, December 11, 2001

By 

Joy Bernstein (NY,NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Earthscapes (DVD)

If you love time-lapse photography, this is a surreal and mesmerizing experience-truly a piece of art & beauty. The music is wonderful making it a stimulating music video of nature, light, and weather. If you like Earthscapes, or just want a more relaxing and 'natural' experience, check out 'virtual' seascapes with award winning "Hawaiian Dreams." Unlike, Earthscapes, it captures only the natural sights and sounds of the sea without music or quick editing. Both of these DVDs are spectacular!