Customer Reviews

Journey to the Edge of the Universe

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This program will be marvelous when it can be watched uninterrupted by commercials. It is almost a meditation on the awesome splendor out there. Awesome is a word that has lost much of its value these days but this program invokes awe. I can't wait to put the headphones on and disappear into the interstellar spaces. After watching it I found it a real challenge to balance the depressing things going on down here with the billion year beauty out there. Splendid graphics, excellent narration, it weaves a spell. Thank you National Geographic I have waited years for a program like this. This is what computer graphics were made for.

This documentary is, hands down, the most well made documentary on the Universe I have ever seen. I have been watching Discovery Channel and other channels like it since I was a child.

I've seen a thousand documentaries on our universe. Nothing even comes close to this. I have spent many years contemplating our place in the universe both from religious and philosophical standpoints. I can honestly say that this documentary has played a pivotal role in shaking me out of my "bubble" on how I view nearly everything. After first seeing it on National Geographic, I spent months thinking about it. When I look out at the Ocean now I am aware of who I am and where we really are.

When you finish this video, you will walk away from it with an awareness that you never had before, of the unseen astronomically massive universe that we float around on like a spec of dust in the ocean. The most brilliant and awe inspiring thing about it, is that its all completely true. This video takes you on a journey through the universe as if you are watching a Sci Fi adventure. Yet you constantly have to remind yourself that what you're seeing is really out there. This is all fact.

Someone else aptly described this video in better words than I can:

"it was as if time were standing still. The narrator takes you on an amazing journey from the face of the earth to the edge of the Universe (as we know it) in a stunning visual articulation of the cosmos. I have literally watched this almost everyday since first seeing it on TV. The graphics are top notch and extremely smooth. It feels as though you are right there, soaring thru the galaxies at home and way beyond. The verbage in this program is comprehensible and the terminology basic enough for these in-depth concepts of Physics and Geology to come to life and understanding for even the most un-mathematical type of minds. This program is the most fascinating and knowledge envoking of any I have seen yet about the Universe."

Let me keep it simple and state what I liked first:

It has some amazing animation which looks superb if you have a Hi-Def set
Flows very nicely, never feeling lost with technical talk
It's probably the best (Resolution) CGI filled disc on Blu-ray
It based on current facts and theories
I had fun learning while watching



What I didn't like:

Too much talk about humans coming from Mars (I don't disagree but it was overkill for me)
Felt very anti religious at times (Doesn't bother me too much but it will for others)
Would have liked more footage or facts of the planets visited
The warp speed animation was recycled too much


In short, if you own a Blu-ray player, there should be no reason not to have this. This feature is Pure Eye Candy which will awe you.

This DVD tries to overawe rather than educate. While scientists are over cautious this DVD has gone far too far in the other direction. There is very little attempt (I will not say none) the explain the objects, just to hype them up when no hype is actually required.

Some examples. Just as you pass the asteroid belt on the way out from the Sun, there is talk about looking back in time to the point of creation. A bit premature at this point? Venus is global warming gone wild! We might all be Martians (without any real evidence). Maybe squid are swimming under the ice on one of the planetary moons. Star formation is the birth of a new universe. Just too much speculation, and it becomes difficult to distinguish fact from fancy. In the end the credibility is lost.

I do not want my mind boggled; I want the facts placed into context. For me it just did not work at all. National Geographic are not up to their usual high standards. "The Universe" and "Cosmic Voyage" are far more entertaining and at the end you will come away with feel for how the universe works as well.

I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers that the documentary is visually fantastic, which gets it 4-stars. However, The script that Alec Baldwin is reading from is extremely tedious. The facts presented are not terribly informative or thorough. Writing the script from the perspective of a traveller, which some may like, did not particularly appeal to me. "Woah, what's that?" doesn't really belong in a documentary. The emphasis placed on an extraterrestrial source for life on earth is annoying and a distraction from the purpose of the documentary.

I agree with the criticisms offered by the last reviewer.

Visually, great. So-so on being informative. The narraration may have you pressing 'mute.'

When I first watched this, it was narrated by British actor Sean Pertwee. I was instantly mesmerized by and drawn in to his skillful narration. It was such a wild ride through the cosmos and I enjoyed every second of it. Sadly, I didn't know his name at the time. When I rushed in to buy the BD version, I was surprised by the different narrator.

Visually, it still is a sight to behold with some of the most amazing CG I have seen in a documentary about space. However, the overall experience seems lacking. It is nowhere as good with Baldwin's flat narration. I also wish it was 1080P instead of 1080i seeing how this is a new program with fast moving action. The BD also seems to be region-free as no region is specified on the cover.

Oh well, I guess I have to wait for the UK release.

I can't help but feel that I am not able to do this video justice as any words I choose come no where close to the awe inspiring experience it was to watch this video. The video graphics and production quality for this presentation are superb. The video takes you on a journey first from the earth to the Sun stopping at Mercury and Venus along the way, then from there you fly to the outer edge of the solar system stopping at the other planets and some of their moons before leaving the solar system and then our galaxy. You see stars born, stars die, travel through some of the most beautiful bodies in the heavens, and then to the beginning of time as we know it. The grand scale of the universe is incredible.

While the Amazon description of this video list Sean Pertwee as a narrator unfortunately he is nowhere to be found on this version. The USA version is narrated only by Alec Baldwin. I double-checked the audio options and there's only two audio tracks (Stereo and Surround). I personally found Sean Pertwee to be the better of the two narrators. Baldwin does an okay job, but Pertwee speaks as though he's actually experiencing the environments; he speaks as though he is reaching into the soul of these heavenly bodies and voicing their rage, their serenity, their destructiveness, their creativeness, their artistry, and their power.

If you only want a animated "trip" through space, then maybe you won't be disappointed like I was. I was expecting much more information to be conveyed than what Mr. Baldwin actually delivered.

Instead, if you're like me and want to actually know what's happening out there and what the current theories of the day are all about, then I recommend The Universe series from the History Channel. Much better and much more thorough investigations.

Hope that helps someone!

jk

Excellent visuals and very compelling material. Writing can be overly dramatic/a bit cheesy. Alec Baldwin does a good job with what he's given to work with.

This is a visually spectacular journey from our solar system to the outer reaches of intergalactic space and to the edge of our universe. Using state of the art computer animation along with photos from the Hubbell telescope (and also a fly-by spacecraft whose name I don't recall), the visuals are truly striking and enjoyable to watch. The narration done by Alex Baldwin is excellent, the only problem is the technical level of the script, which is about 8th grade level at best. If you're a fan of the BBC Planets series or Carl Sagan's Cosmos, there won't be anything new here from an educational or scientific standpoint, but if you have children this would be fine for the entire family to watch since it would be accessible to non-scientists or children. Five stars for the visuals and three stars for the script, four stars overall.