Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Even on the small screen this a fascinating documentary. Seeing what Saddam Hussain did to the deserts of Kuwait made me glad to know that he will soon, at long last, be brought to justice for his crimes against man and nature.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed.
Review: I bought this video by mistake. I honestly thought I was buying a "documentary" illustrating the fires in Kuwait in high speed photography (slow motion) that I had seen years ago. What I got was a 39 minute version of John Wayne's 1968 "Hellfighters"-'Behind the scenes'. There is so much detail overlooked, and so much unnecessary commentary, that the photography, and subject, took a back seat. It was designed to be more of a PR vehicle for supporting the Kuwaiti regime, if it had any specific message at all.The movie I _was_ looking for is "Lessons in Darkness" and blows this Discovery Channel excuse for a documentary away in all categories. I eventually got the right film (ASIN: B000059PPP Director: Werner Herzog). Do not, repeat NOT, miss Lessons of Darkeness if this film intrigues you. I don't respect Rip Torn any less for his work on this film than I did after seeing Beastmaster, but a buck is a buck. Content aside, the audio was extremely well mixed for 5.1, especially when 2-way radio traffic was faintly put on the rear effects channels. Video transfer from the IMAX format to DVD was absolutely horrible. Final credits are do bad that many are unintelligible. This was not put together to be visually entertaining, as in LiD. yikes.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed.
Review: I bought this video by mistake. I honestly thought I was buying a "documentary" illustrating the fires in Kuwait in high speed photography (slow motion) that I had seen years ago. What I got was a 39 minute version of John Wayne's 1968 "Hellfighters"-'Behind the scenes'. There is so much detail overlooked, and so much unnecessary commentary, that the photography, and subject, took a back seat. It was designed to be more of a PR vehicle for supporting the Kuwaiti regime, if it had any specific message at all. The movie I _was_ looking for is "Lessons in Darkness" and blows this Discovery Channel excuse for a documentary away in all categories. I eventually got the right film (ASIN: B000059PPP Director: Werner Herzog). Do not, repeat NOT, miss Lessons of Darkeness if this film intrigues you. I don't respect Rip Torn any less for his work on this film than I did after seeing Beastmaster, but a buck is a buck. Content aside, the audio was extremely well mixed for 5.1, especially when 2-way radio traffic was faintly put on the rear effects channels. Video transfer from the IMAX format to DVD was absolutely horrible. Final credits are do bad that many are unintelligible. This was not put together to be visually entertaining, as in LiD. yikes.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Film WASTED with horrible DVD print!
Review: I have seen the film "Fires of Kuwait" in my local IMAX theater years ago. It was, and still is, the best of many great IMAX features.
It shocks me to see this DVD, however. The quality is horrible. The print on DVD is actually out of focus! and the sound is so muddy that I have to use the subtitles to understand what is said. For a technology that has been around long wnough to perfect, they really fouled up on this release. I have seen better quality from bootlegs.
I am returning this print on DVD in hopes to maybe get another that might be in focus. (And I hope this is just an isolated case.) But I have the sinking feeling that this is the fault of the label who transferred it, not the DVD manufacturer.
BE VERY CAREFUL IN BUYING THIS DVD!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this DVD
Review: I join with the others who expressed great dismay at the absolutely unacceptable quality of this DVD transfer. The manufacturer should recall this product and give each buyer a new version or their money back.
Rating:
Summary: Most visually stunning documentary I have ever seen
Review: I saw this in the IMAX theater and was blown away. I don't know what the reviewer called 'ptrainor' is talking about. He/she seems confused. Being there in the midst of these huge plumes of flame and nighttime darkness at midday is surreal. I've never seen anything like it, even in today's special effects-laden fictional movies. And the ingenuity and raw determination of these firefighting teams is amazing. I agree with the reviewer who said the scene looks like "hell on earth". If you wonder what the end of the world will look like, it probably resembles this. The cool thing is that this 'hell on earth' was conquered by human creativity, bravery and determination. Get this movie and watch it on a big screen with a good sound system. It's been 12 years since I saw it, and I've never forgotten its vivid images.
Rating:
Summary: Most visually stunning documentary I have ever seen
Review: I saw this in the IMAX theater and was blown away. I don't know what the reviewer called 'ptrainor' is talking about. He/she seems confused. Being there in the midst of these huge plumes of flame and nighttime darkness at midday is surreal. I've never seen anything like it, even in today's special effects-laden fictional movies. And the ingenuity and raw determination of these firefighting teams is amazing. I agree with the reviewer who said the scene looks like "hell on earth". If you wonder what the end of the world will look like, it probably resembles this. The cool thing is that this 'hell on earth' was conquered by human creativity, bravery and determination. Get this movie and watch it on a big screen with a good sound system. It's been 12 years since I saw it, and I've never forgotten its vivid images.
Rating:
Summary: only a partial success
Review: I share the positive feedback other reviewers have submitted about the film; the images of the afternoon sky almost completely filled with smoke make you shudder. This looks like Hell on earth. I found the sound quality was not as powerful as on some other IMAX films; the C4 and dynamite explosions do not have the impact they really should, unless you set the volume on your system very high. I also found the video resolution quality was no better on the DVD than on other releases in VHS format. Granted, that may have been due to the extraordinarily difficult conditions. The only other features offered on the DVD are a brief (around 5 minutes) interview with the producer, accompanied with some of the same footage used in the film, a choice of languages, and a theatrical trailer. Surprisingly, the trailer has the best sound and picture quality. In my view, that is not sufficient to justify the extra cost of the DVD. For the sake of the importance of the subject matter, this film is recommended, with reservations, in VHS format.
Rating:
Summary: The quality of this DVD is absolutely shocking!
Review: The video quality of "IMAX - Fires of Kuwait" is absolutely appalling, a complete shocker! The image displays all compression artefacts that there are in the book, and it does so heavily. It almost looks as bad as a RealAudio movie downloaded from the internet. It is impossible to watch this DVD with any kind of enjoyment at all. There is no excuse whatsoever to use such a poor transfer putting a 35 minute movie on a DVD which holds three hours at a reasonable bit-rate. I simply lack the vocabulary to express how disappointed and aggravated I am with this DVD. To make matters worse, there are not even any chapter stops, the whole movie is "chapter 1". If there was any rating lower than one star, I would have to use it. This DVD deserves "minus five" stars.
Rating:
Summary: Documentary Treasure
Review: This film is a masterpiece. "The fires of Kuwait" takes you on a visual trip which is as beautiful as it is emotional. IMAX have made a great decision by releasing this one on video. But I guess this year is the 10th anniversary of the gulf war, and the time is appropriate for the release. The film is decicated to the bravery of the fire fighters who helped put off the fires. I think the film is awesome, and to me it stands as witness to the calamities of unconventional warfare. Seldom, if not never, do war crimes make such beautiful documentaries. That is probably why most war crimes are forgotten. Because I lived it, I remember that the war in the gulf led to many shattered lives... including but not limited to brave allied soldiers & over 600 innocent Kuwaiti civilians who were randomly rounded up during occupation- still prisoners in Iraq today. This award nominated film is fun as well as educational... I would highly recommend it to Documentary/History buffs, film students, History students, Environmentalists & people whose lives were touched by the gulf war in one way or another: This is the one piece of memorabilia which you should treasure & it is probably the most telling, compelling and by far the best presented.
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