Customer Reviews

IMAX: Fires of Kuwait

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The video quality of "IMAX - Fires of Kuwait" is absolutely appalling, a complete shocker! The image displays all compression artefacts that there are in the book, and it does so heavily. It almost looks as bad as a RealAudio movie downloaded from the internet. It is impossible to watch this DVD with any kind of enjoyment at all. There is no excuse whatsoever to use such a poor transfer putting a 35 minute movie on a DVD which holds three hours at a reasonable bit-rate. I simply lack the vocabulary to express how disappointed and aggravated I am with this DVD. To make matters worse, there are not even any chapter stops, the whole movie is "chapter 1". If there was any rating lower than one star, I would have to use it. This DVD deserves "minus five" stars.

I join with the others who expressed great dismay at the absolutely unacceptable quality of this DVD transfer. The manufacturer should recall this product and give each buyer a new version or their money back.

I saw this in the IMAX theater and was blown away. I don't know what the reviewer called 'ptrainor' is talking about. He/she seems confused. Being there in the midst of these huge plumes of flame and nighttime darkness at midday is surreal. I've never seen anything like it, even in today's special effects-laden fictional movies. And the ingenuity and raw determination of these firefighting teams is amazing. I agree with the reviewer who said the scene looks like "hell on earth". If you wonder what the end of the world will look like, it probably resembles this. The cool thing is that this 'hell on earth' was conquered by human creativity, bravery and determination. Get this movie and watch it on a big screen with a good sound system. It's been 12 years since I saw it, and I've never forgotten its vivid images.

Even on the small screen this a fascinating documentary. Seeing what Saddam Hussain did to the deserts of Kuwait made me glad to know that he will soon, at long last, be brought to justice for his crimes against man and nature.

I have always been impressed with the images recorded on IMAX film projects through the years. However, it was always clear to me that the settings (except perhaps "Everest", also a personal favorite) were carefully planned and controlled. This IMAX film is quite different and must be appreciated as such. Rehearsing the aftermath of one of the most craven acts of destruction (economic, environmental, you name it) in modern history (while it happens) is bound to be unforgettable, but not for beauty. Indeed, those commenting on picture quality must consider the atmosphere in which this film was shot. It is clear during the film that everything was covered repeatedly and constantly by aqueous or burning petroleum, its vapor and by-products. This is an existential apocalyptic horror, not a careful video essay.

All of the above said, this film transported me to the middle of a truly unimaginable moment - darkness at noon, the sun (when visible) hanging heavily over the horizon like a full moon rising.

Saddam Hussein is being defended by some even to this day as a legitimate ruler whose deposition was unjust. It escapes me how anyone (especially an environmentalist) could come to such a conclusion given this attempt to poison an entire region. Strangely, this is the same man who later did fatally poison (by chemical warfare) his own Iraqi Kurdish people. In retropect, perhaps the dark mind that lit the Fires of Kuwait was afterward only drawn to greater destruction and human tragedy.

One of the most affecting films I have ever witnessed.

As Saddam's Iraqi army retreated from Kuwait during the Gulf War, his troops set fire to the oil fields, leaving them burning uncontrollably at a rate of over five million barrels of oil per day. If left alone these fields would have continued burning for over one hundred years dumping polluting soot and environmentally damaging byproducts into the atmosphere. This film captures the extraordinary scale of the situation and the complicated task and methods employed to extinguish these fires.

Watched the Imax DVD last night.
The footage is amazing, but quality of
the picture is very poor. Could not
read the final commentary as the words
were out of focus. This is a great
pity. I have rated it 3 stars due
to the poor quality of the transfer.
Also sound at times was not the best.
Will watch it again sometime though.
It is an awesome sight seeing these
oil wells burning.

I share the positive feedback other reviewers have submitted about the film; the images of the afternoon sky almost completely filled with smoke make you shudder. This looks like Hell on earth.

I found the sound quality was not as powerful as on some other IMAX films; the C4 and dynamite explosions do not have the impact they really should, unless you set the volume on your system very high. I also found the video resolution quality was no better on the DVD than on other releases in VHS format. Granted, that may have been due to the extraordinarily difficult conditions.

The only other features offered on the DVD are a brief (around 5 minutes) interview with the producer, accompanied with some of the same footage used in the film, a choice of languages, and a theatrical trailer. Surprisingly, the trailer has the best sound and picture quality. In my view, that is not sufficient to justify the extra cost of the DVD.

For the sake of the importance of the subject matter, this film is recommended, with reservations, in VHS format.

I have seen the film "Fires of Kuwait" in my local IMAX theater years ago. It was, and still is, the best of many great IMAX features.
It shocks me to see this DVD, however. The quality is horrible. The print on DVD is actually out of focus! and the sound is so muddy that I have to use the subtitles to understand what is said. For a technology that has been around long wnough to perfect, they really fouled up on this release. I have seen better quality from bootlegs.
I am returning this print on DVD in hopes to maybe get another that might be in focus. (And I hope this is just an isolated case.) But I have the sinking feeling that this is the fault of the label who transferred it, not the DVD manufacturer.
BE VERY CAREFUL IN BUYING THIS DVD!!!!!!!!!

I purchased this DVD after watching Werner Herzog's Lessons of Darkness. I was sorely disappointed by the DVD transfer quality from the source. The picture was interlaced and blurry. I expected better coming from IMAX.

As for the actual content, I though it was mediocre. The film glossed over too many details. I would have enjoyed more in-depth explanations of the information presented.