Chartres Cathedral - A Sacred Geometry

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing!
Review: I bought this hoping it would be a thorough historical, architectural and artistic explanation of Chartres, and it really provides very little of such information. It's mostly an hour of repetitive visual shots accompanied by chants. Really a waste of money.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I love this DVD!!

I hope someday I can see Chartres Cathedral for myself, but for now, I am thrilled to have found this DVD. I had no idea about the sacred geometry involved in the construction of a medieval cathedral, the direct relationship of its proportions to the proportions of the human body, and so much more.

It's exciting and provocative to realize that people in medieval times had a wealth of knowledge that we have lost in our scientific, materialistic era. They understood that there is another dimension to life beyond what we can grasp with our senses, and they managed to incorporate this knowledge into their sacred architecture. The deep faith which drove their loving, intentionally anonymous work may have been largely left behind in the intervening centuries, but we still yearn for something beyond what our day to day lives offer. And entering into an ancient cathedral like Chartres affects many people in unexpected and deeply profound ways. Can the spiritual concepts which informed the architecture have something to do with this reaction?

I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who is fascinated by the spiritual dimensions of the architecture of Chartres, or of medieval cathedrals in general; and also to anyone who simply wants to get a close look at one of one of the most awesome buildings in the world.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I thought this would be an art history product with primary focus on the architecture, stained glass and statuary. Instead, much of the disc is devoted to discussion of the spirituality of the cathedral, how it makes one feel. A fair amount of the 1-hour DVD is spent on showing a speaker's head and shoulders rather than showning the building.

The "editorial review" shown on this site actually is the blurb from the back of the box.