Customer Reviews

Hidden Hawaii (Large Format)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I ordered this DVD as I plan to visit Hawaii in November, and wanted to see what I could look foward to. This DVD did not deliver however. It's very cinematic (thanks to the Imax filming) and the music/commentary is good, but don't expect shots of mainland Hawaii or the islands. The DVD is good if you want to know about the botanical and geological aspects of the islands, but not if you are looking for a traveller's guide. The smart money (IMHO) is with the Lonely Planet guide to Hawaii - much more insightful, and more useful. And it lasts considerably longer than 30 minutes!

There are few redeeming qualities I can point to in this very boring presentation. I kept hoping it would just end already. While there are moments of majestic Hawaiian views, they are few and far between. Much time is wasted focusing on a self-important "naturalist" who just tries to show off that he climbs rock faces without a safety line. Please. I wanted more waterfalls and volcanoes, not sedating ego trips. Too late for a refund?

IMAX always delivers great movies with even greater scenery. This movie focuses on the scenery that is nearly inacessable to the normal person. It takes you all the way from the edge of volcano at 10,000 feet, to the depths of 4,000 feet under the ocean to watch the newest island being formed.

Hidden Hawaii does show the hidden aspects. It shows you the Silversword flower that only grows in Hawaii, and also the Alula plant that clings to the steepest and highest cliffs. This movie will surely not dissapoint.

The only downfall of the movie, like most IMAX movies, is that it is rather short. It's a great 35 minutes, but I would have loved more.

This is a rambling look at natural aspects of Hawaii (all the islands). It is very rambling. The music score is not memorable, the photography is outstanding, as in many IMAX films. I was disappointed. Reader's Digest 'Hawaiian Paradise' laser disc was more interesting and better done.

I am a huge fan of IMAX films on DVD because they all seem to produce a picture quality next to High Definition. This was not the caase with this DVD.Out of all the IMAX films I have seen I have never written about poor picture quality and never expected to. However, this is absoultly the worst transfer to DVD that I have seen for any IMAX fi. It is grainy and blurred at times, and comes nowhere close to the quality I am use to with IMAX DVD. This is the ONLY IMAX DVD I have seen that in my opion is not up to standaard with IMAX film-to-DVD transfer. I am not into the techcal aspects of film transfers but all I can say is I was completly surprised to find grain on this one.Also, the technical aspects states that this is available in "widescreen" and it is not.Regardles of widescreen or not, ALL IMAX films (besides Hidden Hawaii) have a high deffinition quality to them and are the best looking picture quality on DVD available.

If you are looking to see a fine and attractive picture on your TV, this one is for you. I enjoyed watching it for the photography but I didn't find the presentation interesting.

This is a great film for seeing how the earth has changed, and is changing. Its sort of a behind the scenes look at Hawaii's newest island--not due for a thousand lifetimes yet. But I was hoping for more shots of beautiful beaches, and crystal blue water.

This DVD is worth the money for the film of Kaua'i alone, but it is truly only going to be appreciated by someone who has been to the islands or desires to visit in the future. It makes a perfect postcard to remember one of Earth's most beautiful places.

I don't see captions on my DVD, but the subtitles are adequate (although no musical description, sounds, etc.). The annoyance was that I had to turn the player OFF when I realized captions weren't showing because simply stopping and restarting the player didn't take me all the way back to that menu.

At any rate, it's pretty close to the kind of Hawaii DVD I was looking for--lots of scenics of flora and fauna. I could have stood more plant and flower pictures, but, then, I guess most of them aren't hidden. :D

I really wish I'd gotten the set with the Alaska production, too.

This is the most boring IMAX presentation I have ever seen. It is painfully slow moving. I couldn't play it through. It is only 35 minutes but it seemed like 2 hours. I couldn't make it anywhere near the entire 35 minutes.