Customer Reviews

Proteus

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As an avid fan of sequenced graphics used to animate a story-line, this 20 year labor of love tells the tale of the radiolarian discovered(?) and lavishly illustrated (4000 drawings) by Ernst Haeckel. As fantastic as the story is in describing the effect that this single-celled organism had on the world of its time, it is the behind the scenes making-of by the director that reveals a dedicated researcher and phenomenally patient compositor. I started my career in animation & then computer graphics some 20 years ago, and know full well the tedium that single frame animation places on the animator prior to computer aided pieces. Add to that a fabulous and captivating story, plus brilliant displays of this unique and unequaled protozoan, and the viewer will be transported to a time where discoveries opened the minds and hearts of a curious population. A must see.

Please buy this and do not try to download it for free anywhere. The effort that went in to producing this by the solo editor, writer, animator should be aptly rewarded with as much capital as possible.

This movie could only be made because two individuals made it their mission to do the impossible. First, we have Ernst Haeckel, the zoologist, who became fascinated by the symmetrical structure of single celled organisms and discovered thousands of new species. Then he undertook the Herculean task of drawing all these different types that he viewed under his microscope. Then we have the filmmaker who decided to painstakingly photograph a thousand of these wonderful drawings of nature, turn them into animation cells, and produce a kaleidoscopic visual feast of their nearly infinite variety.

The first task was completed in about a decade...the second task two decades. So the final product is simply astonishing. Along with the visuals of these extraordinary protozoan structures is a biography of Ernst Haeckel himself and the relationship of his scientific journey to the metaphysical journey of Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his poem of the "Ancient Mariner."

Consider this a unique DVD - nothing like it has ever been made and will be made.

Despite my extensive studies of mid 19th-century biology, wherein Ernst Haeckel was often mentioned, I knew very little about his life and philosophy. Thus, this 60-minute documentary was revelatory. The film ably presents the religio-philosophical background of natural science at the time and the various discoveries that had begun to challenge and change this perspective. Art, science, technology, and religion weave in and out and merge, making the film unusually multidisciplinary. The use of contemporary illustrations--photographs, watercolors, and etchings--provides a feeling of the novelty and excitement of Haeckel's explorations and discoveries. The radiolaria crystalline skeletons of such great variety, like snowflakes, are fascinating, especially when viewed as a rapid animated series. The later expansion of Haeckel's worldview, grounded in Spinoza and Goethe, is evidenced by his later treatises and landscape paintings from his many world travels. The film was a 20-year project of David Lebrun; his labors in cinematography in an era before electronic graphics, as explained in bonus features, are itself extraordinary, as much a technological divide as an old manual typewriter and 'white-out' versus modern computerized wordprocessing. A cohesive soundtrack was provided by composer Yuval Ron plus sound effects. Thus, the film is a worthwhile though esoteric documentary. For a related book, see: "Exploring the Invisible. Art, science, and the spiritual" by Lynn Gamwell.

This incredible and beatiful documentary is one of the best compilation of the modern field Biology's tales and art I've ever seen before! You will not even blink! Amazing history and production of the Ernst Haeckel's life and early foundations of comparative and evolutionary Biology of the nineteenth century. Astonishing soundtrack, narrative and picture animation!

I am extremely happy that someone made a film about this scientist. Packed full of information, I was surprised to learn so much about Ernst Haeckel.

What I found bizarre was that the filmmakers didn't celebrate the other half of Haeckel's passion illustrating hundreds of other sea creatures like echinoderms and cnidaria, of which exist a number of stunning visual examples. Many, if not all, are in the public domain. Theres mention of several plates, but this man created GORGEOUS illustrations which didn't get recognized.

I do applaud the filmmakers, but I was a little let down by the film being entirely a graphic-panel animation/documentary. And with the narration done by a single voice, I felt like I was stuck in an academic lecture more than being engaged as an audience member. I was hoping for slow moving, lush visual images accompanied by contemplative music, but some of the animation sequences were quite jarring.

I'm going to watch this again on a flat screen and see if my opinion changes. After watching it on an older CRT-style television set, I may be surprised.