The First Emperor of China (Large Format)

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Docu-drama
Review: A lot of care was taken in producing this DVD. Besides being extremely informative, this DVD has some of the best surround sound currently available.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time and money
Review: I can't believe IMAX allowed their name to be connected to this film. I teach Chinese history and I had high hopes when I bought this DVD - needless to say - I'm trying to figure out a way to get rid of it!

Rating:
Summary: First Emperor of Chine not IMAX's best
Review: I was dissapointed with IMAX's First Emperor of China documentary, it's a very light approach to this great passage in history. Terrible sound where background sounds get confused with actors scripts. Colors and photography are terrible, this is not IMAX's best, neither from the technical nor artistic point of view. Very short documentary I do not recommend it at all.

Rating:
Summary: Not up to the IMAX standards
Review: I was very disappointed with this video - I've seen much better on the History Channel.

Rating:
Summary: If you like Chinese movies . . .
Review: OK, so this is not good IMAX fare. That should probably be confined to mountains and wildlife. What the Chinese did was to make a pretty normal Chinese historical epic. There are tremendous sets, and armies numbering in the thousands. Colorful costumes. Tough-looking warriors and beautiful women. And lots of fighting. If you like that as I do, then you know already what this is and you will think it's fine. If Chinese movies hold no appeal for you and you don't care about Chinese history, it isn't fine. It is essentially a lavish documentary about the "First Emperor of China", and that concept will either grab you or it won't.

Rating:
Summary: Poor use of the format
Review: This is a poor IMAX production. Although informative regarding an early period in China's history, it is without doubt the worst directed and photographed IMAX film I have seen. The color is bland, the camera never moves and the production suffers from the lack of any real vision. The costumed production showed promise but the lack of effort by the production staff is disgraceful. It should have been shot in 16mm. Do not waste your time or money.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing.
Review: This is not a documentary. It is a poorly made docudrama of the story of the first emperor of China. Only a couple of minutes of archival footage of the Terra Cotta Army at Xian are shown. The audio and video are of poor quality. The film was produced by the National Film Board of Canada and China Xi'an Film Studio. The dialogue is in Chinese with English subtitles and narration.