Customer Reviews

IMAX: Solarmax [Blu-ray]

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

 

 

I just sat through the whole video and I must say I won't be doing a rerun anytime soon. I jhad expected to see great videos of the sun but instead almost 90% of the videos was spent on earth rather than in space where the sun is. There were long narrations of the methodologies involved in this production, the locations where the images were shot as well as the instruments itself. There were not enough visuals of the sun itself and I had expected to see how the sun was born in relation to our galaxy, graphic representations of the sun's surfaces and its behaviour. Even the Solarmax itself (changing of the sun's poles every 11 years) and its consequences were not adequately depicted graphically and that is supposed to be the title of the dvd. Also the narration was drowned out by the author's voice every now and then. So unless you are a member of the scientific community I don't see how this dvd can hold one's interest. I had thought that the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) would be the saving grace. Unfortunately the resolutuion of that phenomenon was inadequate (certainly no 1080p) and I had seen much better images in other programme. All in all, a big disappointment.

I first viewed this film back when it was released into IMAX theaters back in 2001. In all honesty it was and still is my single favorite IMAX film. It was simply breathtaking watching this on an IMAX screen as I had never seen the sun in such detail before. I have always been a huge Astronomy junkie as I was introduced to the subject at a very young age by my father who was also a huge astronomy fan. He always had the cutting edge telescopes that let us view everything from the the moon to the planets and even distant galaxies and nebula. The one thing that just seemed to slip by was our own Sun. This is most likely because we didn't have the types of telescopes that allowed us to view the sun. Hence it just wasn't one of the things that we focused on and that stayed with me all the way up to the day I viewed this film. Then it all changed.

I walked out of the theater so awe struck by what I had just seen that I immediately went home and started looking into acquiring my own solar telescope. I wanted to be able to see the sun, in real time, like I had just seen it on the big IMAX screen. To make a long story short, 6 months and over 200 eBay sales later I finally ordered my own solar telescope. Its kind of ironic that the solar telescope that I wound up purchasing had the same name as this film, The double stacked Solarmax 90 from Coronado. It was VERY expensive but it was worth every penny. The first time I was able to set up my solarmax and view the sun with my own eyes, well lets just say it was one of the most memorable moments in my life. I sat there for hours literally mesmerized by the beauty. My interest in the sun has only grown over time and photographing the sun has become a major part of my personal work. Its just an amazing side to both photography and astronomy and I owe it all to seeing Solarmax in the theater that day. Funny how things work out sometimes.

I have seen some reviews criticizing this film for not having enough footage of the Sun and for not taking a more scientific approach in regards to the narration. I will openly admit that there wasnt as much footage of the sun as I was expecting to see however with that being said the footage that is present is simply mind blowing and realistically had they added more footage of the Sun, it simply would have just been more of what you had just already seen. The one thing about the Sun in regards to imaging is that there just isn't a lot of variety. Only a few telescopes are even able to image the Sun in high quality and IMAX definitely used the best telescope for this documentary, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory better known as SOHO. If you really want to see more footage of the sun simply rewatch those parts of the documentary as its basically no different than what you would have gotten with additional footage added. Would a few additional minutes of footage from the same telescope really have made that much of a difference? I for one think not.

As for IMAX not taking a more scientific approach to the narration, I think that it was ultimately a very smart decision to make. This is a film that is meant to appeal to as many people as possible. Focusing the narration on the scientific aspects of the sun would have ultimately made this film far less enjoyable for a lot of people. This is after all an IMAX film and not a normal documentary. You see IMAX films are not like normal documentaries. They are in fact short films whose main purpose is to entertain through the use of amazing imagery and that is actually quite different from a standard documentary as a standard documentary's main purpose is to educate. The narration that was used for Solarmax was perfect IMO as it made it enjoyable for everyone, not just the people who are interested in the scientific aspects of the sun. In all honesty if I want to see a scientific documentary about the sun then I will go to BBC, N. Geographic, or the Discovery Channel, not to IMAX.

Anyways if you haven't seen this film and have even a little bit of interest in the Sun then this film should be put on the very top of your to see list. Not only does it give you amazing images of the sun, it also gives you a very interesting historical look at the sun and the effect that it had on different cultures in the world. One of the most fascinating parts of the film is when it shows you the oldest building still standing. Its basically a building that houses a sun room and the interesting part is that for only 1 day a year the back "Sun room" is illuminated. The other 364 days of the year, the sun isn't at the proper angle for sunlight to enter this room. The IMAX camera's capture this extremely fascinating event in amazing detail.

As for the hi Def upgrade, it simply must be seen to be believed. Its simply stunning and out of all the IMAX films that need to be seen in HD, this one ranks right a the top of that list. The imagery of the sun that this film contains is stunning in standard definition but in HD it takes on a whole new level of detail that again simply must be seen to be believed.

The Bottom line - This is easily one of the best IMAX films ever produced and I recommend it as much for children as I do for adults. This film inspired me to the point where Solar Viewing is now a daily part of my life. It may just have the same effect on you. Even if you already own this film in SD, you simply must upgrade and experience it in HD. Its like watching it for the first time all over again.

Dont let the naysayers fool you. 5 Stars all the way. Absolutely Brilliant!!

Solarmax is a phenomenal IMAX film that explores the connection between humanity, Earth, and our Sun. Using IMAX cameras on Earth and footage from various satellites such as SOHO and TRACE, this film brings images that are truly stunning and amazing.

This blu-ray transfer is flawless, featuring amazing video in full widescreen 1920x1080, and fantastic audio in Dolby Digital 5.1.

There is one issue that needs to be addressed; the menu allows for NO option to turn off subtitles. This doesn't mean you can't turn them off, just select the last option for subtitles (Korean) then play the feature, once it starts use your control to "toggle" to the very next option of subtitles (none). It is a small inconvenience but it isn't a deal breaker.

This is an astonishing film with one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard, I'm having the same the same subtitle issue...just rebought it to get it on Blu-Ray only to find that there is no way to shut off the subtitles. Saw it in Omnimax years ago with no subtitles and even the DVD version doesn't force them upon you.

I just bought a copy of Solar Max on Blu-ray today Monday, January 18, 2010. I have wanted this title since I saw it on cable a few years ago. I get it home, pop it into the player and hit "play movie". It plays and the picture is beautiful but there are subtitles on the screen at the bottom. I go to the "special features" section of the disc menu and you can choose from different audio selections and below audio is the subtitle languages. But, there is no selection for no subtitles.

Does anyone know if this IMAX film originally had subtitles on the print? I can't imagine that though.

We should be able to see this great film with NO SUBTITLES on the screen. Or at least a way to turn them off. I did not see a way to disable the subtitles.

Has anyone else encountered this problem?

I've seen a lot of IMAX films, and this is easily one of the best I've seen (I was even lucky enough to see this in the OMNIMAX). If you're a big fan of the Sun, like myself, then you'll love it. Intense images from SOHO combined with an awesome soundtrack equals pure GOODNESS.