Customer Reviews

Imax / Greatest Places [VHS]

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

 

 

An Imax film with no real plot or story, its a short tour of some of "The Greatest Places" on Planet Earth. (I would have given the film an extra star if there had been some sort of "connection" for the audience). There are some truely stunning wildlife and location images in the films 40 minutes and because of that it really needs to be seen either at an Imax cinema or on a large sceen TV, but even on my TV at home it looked incredible. The film visits the Amazon, Namib, Greenland, Okavango, Greenland, Tibet, Iguazu and Madagascar spending differnt amounts of time at each. Some of the places visited deserved a bit more time spent on them while others could have been a bit shorter. An interesting feature of this DVD that I'd like to see more of is the seperate Music and Ambiance track. You can turn off the narration, (which is a bit corny at times), and just listen to the music and natural sounds. The only problem with this feature is that the music decreases in volume where the narration would be then comes up again when the narration stops. (Also features a description track for the blind). Dispite this the music and natural sounds are excellent. Well worth repeated viewing for the armchair tourist.

I don't get to travel, so this is my way of experiencing other lands and cultures. I have a friend who has a large screen projector home theater system. This DVD was excellent for this type of viewing and listening experience. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the DVD movie. It was like taking a space ship to another world and having a narrator explain it to you. Colors were clear and vivid, background music was soothing, I found it to be relaxing, and a way to escape the stresses of life.

It's not one of the best IMAX movies out there. But is very interesting and very well presented. The audio and video are of great quality. The only reason I couldn't rate it great was because 40 min. is too short a time to cover 6 great places in the world. I wish they made it at least 60 min.

I watched this DVD shortly after returning from 7 months straight of traveling around Asia, India/Nepal, Arabia, and Australia. I started it up with much anticipation, hoping it would wet my appetite (Which needed and continues to get a rest at the moment) for more travel to places further afield.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with an earlier reviewer. The video skips around so fast and frequently that hardly enough time is given to enjoying the manificient landscapes that the video team traveled too. I found myself replaying certain sections and pressing the pause button. This video could have been so much more. They started with a great idea.

The off the beaten path destinations themselves make me give this video 3 stars. Perhaps the preferred IMAX feature length does not lend itself to such a video that travels to numerous places. Perhaps if the team concentrated on 1/2 as many places the result would have been better.

"The Greatest Places" has a syrupy and cloying narrative. I often used MUTE in order to endure it.

I give it 1 star. If Avery Brooks could only have had laryngitis that day ... this movie could have earned a 3 instead (without *any* narration). The low grade for the movie really isn't Brooks' fault, although he does a superb job of melodically drawing out each sappy line with his highly skilled voice. At the end, watching the credits, I cursed the writer.

Moving on to the cinematography: Some of the images were, as you should expect, quite breathtaking! I was especially engaged by Madagascar and Namib. But the power of this imagery was consistently undermined with choppy editing and many dozens of abrupt cuts (every 15 to 20 seconds) from panoramic landscapes to adorably cute animals and other close-ups.

Arrggghh ... how frustrating! Each time that amazing scenery sweeps over you with its awesomeness and spectacle, it's crudely jerked away and replaced with something to make a first grader go "awww that's cute".

What's the movie about, anyway? Is it supposed to be Places (geography, landscapes) or biology (cute animals and closeups of flora & fauna)? I'm not sure the creators of Greatest Places had a clear idea about their concept.

The frequent changes in scale -- from viewing aerials of miles of landscape and switching to face-shots of baby animals -- are enough to give you vertigo, or at least a headache.

The movie began with a valid concept. But together with a horrible writer, Brooks' outstanding saccharine execution of a juvenile narrative, and "gotta get a little of every shot in here" editing, the entire movie was lost. I wouldn't watch it again (but I would order some 16 x 20 color prints from the movie's imagery.)

For more on "Greatest Places" check it out at Internet Movie Database ... which currently rates it at 4.2/10 with 9 votes).

Greatest Places: IMAX is collectible and awe-inspiring, however, it is a very quick journey to vast expansive landscapes that will require further exploration. Once you are introduced to seven of the most amazing places on earth, you can then look up additional IMAX movies.

The footage in this DVD captures vibrant moments in stunning beauty. An elephant rises from a river in a display of pure power and herds sweep across dry landscapes creating an almost primal glory as hooves thunder across the African plains. Almost indescribably beautiful waterfalls, majestic rivers and towering icebergs contrast with the Namib Desert and Tibetan plateau.

The filming takes place mostly in places with lush vegetation and abundant water, making this especially nurturing and healing. The lives of the animals featured throughout are captured with a sense of artistic perfection.

The extras include Audio tracks in English, French and German. There is also a detailed soundtrack so you can listen to the movie with your eyes closed and imagine the scenery.

~The Rebecca Review

TO WHOMEVER HAS THE POWER TO MAKE SUCH DECISIONS....

This is SUCH a beautiful DVD -- one of the best IMAX pieces of eye-candy I've ever savored (repeatedly, i might add!). The visuals are so staggeringly magnificent that this has to be made into a Blu-Ray... and it is wonderful to watch in its current format, so i can only imagine how gobsmackingly fantastic it would be in Blu-Ray. SO -- all of you who loved this DVD also... I'd like to join you in recommending it to anyone who wants to sit back and be transported to some of the most amazing places on earth. And second, I'd like to encourage you to join me in campaigning for this dvd to be converted into blu-ray. i cannot even imagine it being more beautiful than it was already -- the possibilities are so exciting! So -- yeah -- buy it if you don't have it in DVD...and lets try to earn the opportunity to buy it again in blu-ray! :-)

This is one of the few dvd's i will not be at all annoyed to pay for twice when i buy it again on blu-ray; nuff said.

Awesome. Just awesome. If you have access to a PC projector, watch it on your wall. It is simply awesome.

The movie and the sound is good. I may rate as 5 stars if this movie is not too short. It lasts when you just get relaxed. But despite this,it worths to buy. This dvd means traveling the most interesting places in your home!!

I have enjoyed IMAX films in the past, in particular, "Everest", but this 1998 release directed by Mal Wolfe is comparatively disappointing. The primary problem is one of scope. In the span of forty minutes, we are taken to seven diverse locations around the globe - Madagascar, the Amazon basin, Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina, the Tibetan plateau, the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and Greenland - each of which warrants its own IMAX film. While each segment offers visual treats worth savoring, the consequence of the ambitious scope is that the film feels cursory and the perspective unbalanced. Each locale certainly lends a certain exoticism, but ultimately, the choice of places feels somewhat arbitrary, as one could count off other areas that hold as much intrigue, for example, the Galapagos Islands, Patagonia, the Serengeti, the Australian outback, the Mariana Trenches, etc.

In the film, some areas like Madagascar and Greenland get relatively more time, while coverage of other areas like Iguazu Falls is hardly more than a series of panoramic snapshots. Granted Chuck Davis's cinematography is razor-sharp and often breathtaking, the vertical depth of IMAX films seems particularly cut-off in this film's translation to the TV screen, which at times makes one wonder what is going on below the screen. Compounding the problem is the pretentious script by Pamela Stacey, full of high-minded descriptions that come off rather condescending and remedial as actor Avery Brooks (the Captain on the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" TV series) tries his best to mimic the stentorian vigor of James Earl Jones in his narration. As a result, the film feels targeted toward middle school students taking geography rather than interested armchair global travelers like myself. It's obvious that the film took a lot of effort, apparently three years of effort to complete, but sadly, I have to say it's more an eye-pleasing series of movable postcards that lend minimal insight into the eco-history of these areas.