Lost Worlds - Life in the Balance (Large Format)

Rating:
Summary: Great Visceral Experience
Review: After the first 10 minutes of Lost Worlds, I was quite blown away. The visuals, including some nifty computer generated imagery, along with the outstanding sound presentation, are awe-inspiring. But by the time I finished the film, I realized the "plot" or message, so to speak, is rather fluffy and not concrete.

Narrated by Harrison Ford (a devoted environmentalist), the film gets off to a compelling, mysterious start as we see a black jaguar lightly padding through the misty ruins of the ancient city of Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala. Great intro. The first thing I noticed was the great sound of this dvd. At the first peal of thunder in a storm, I was blown away by the totally encompassing surround track with deep bass and a very wide soundstage. A dolby digital 5.1 track as well as a dts track are included, and both sound very impressive. The video presentation is quite good, with good color and crisp defintion in its 1.33:1 aspect ratio (full screen). This enables the viewer to enjoy the lovely nature imagery, where the highlight is without doubt the other-worldly Tepuis.

In southern Venezuela, you'll find the amazing Tepuis mountains, shrouded in cloud and mist. We get a one of a kind look at them here, and it truely is like something from another planet. We even get to see a frog that avoids danger by climbing rocks only to roll up in a ball and roll back down the rock when the danger has passed. This amazing footage of these mountains is so rare, that it alone is almost worth the price of admission. The entire feature is only 37 minutes or so.

Sadly, the narrative script is bland to the extreme. Harrison Ford does a great job with what he has, but the script is so superficial it never stirs the emotions. Its like a sugar coated "nature good, cities bad" message, with no attempt made to offer suggestions for improving our relationship with the ever dwindling wild places on the planet.

Oh well, never mind, this video is still worth a look for the beautiful and unique look at the stunning Tepuis mountains. A good running director commentary is included, as well as a couple of decent behind the scenes featurettes. If you're a nut for this kind of stuff, then pick it up. Otherwise a rental might be the best way to go.

Rating:
Summary: Great Visceral Experience
Review: After the first 10 minutes of Lost Worlds, I was quite blown away. The visuals, including some nifty computer generated imagery, along with the outstanding sound presentation, are awe-inspiring. But by the time I finished the film, I realized the "plot" or message, so to speak, is rather fluffy and not concrete.

Narrated by Harrison Ford (a devoted environmentalist), the film gets off to a compelling, mysterious start as we see a black jaguar lightly padding through the misty ruins of the ancient city of Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala. Great intro. The first thing I noticed was the great sound of this dvd. At the first peal of thunder in a storm, I was blown away by the totally encompassing surround track with deep bass and a very wide soundstage. A dolby digital 5.1 track as well as a dts track are included, and both sound very impressive. The video presentation is quite good, with good color and crisp defintion in its 1.33:1 aspect ratio (full screen). This enables the viewer to enjoy the lovely nature imagery, where the highlight is without doubt the other-worldly Tepuis.

In southern Venezuela, you'll find the amazing Tepuis mountains, shrouded in cloud and mist. We get a one of a kind look at them here, and it truely is like something from another planet. We even get to see a frog that avoids danger by climbing rocks only to roll up in a ball and roll back down the rock when the danger has passed. This amazing footage of these mountains is so rare, that it alone is almost worth the price of admission. The entire feature is only 37 minutes or so.

Sadly, the narrative script is bland to the extreme. Harrison Ford does a great job with what he has, but the script is so superficial it never stirs the emotions. Its like a sugar coated "nature good, cities bad" message, with no attempt made to offer suggestions for improving our relationship with the ever dwindling wild places on the planet.

Oh well, never mind, this video is still worth a look for the beautiful and unique look at the stunning Tepuis mountains. A good running director commentary is included, as well as a couple of decent behind the scenes featurettes. If you're a nut for this kind of stuff, then pick it up. Otherwise a rental might be the best way to go.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money / time
Review: I was very disappointed in buying this DVD. Harrison Ford's voice is probably best heard in Indiana Jones movies and definitely not suited for a Nature DVD. Computer animation lacks sadly and appears stretched to a limit some times. The only saving grace is some stunning views of the Venezualan mountain ranges.

Rating:
Summary: Good film, educational, and cool scenes.
Review: The film overall was great and worth seeing. I especially liked the different view points of how we as civilizations are using up all of our resources. It touches a little on a lot of different subjects, so its hard to fully get into the film.

Rating:
Summary: a few dollars in the balance!
Review: This has to be one of the most un-inspiring Imax films I have had the misfortune in buying. What is touted as a spectacular criss-cross viewing of such sights as the mysterious mayan structures with the panther stalking it's ruins is nothing as spectacular as it is made out to be. This film is so dull and dreary, with Harrison Fords monotone narration, hardly helps to enthuse one watching this. The opening shots of the panther rummaging through the ancient mayan sites lacks any enthralling feeling whatsoever, considering the premise of this potentially awe-inspiring image. You get the feeling that this was not shot in IMAX at all. There are no wonderful unique scenic views that are a trademark of imax films here; instead, you move from one dull episode to another, of a camera zooming into a family's high-rise flat in New York. Wow! And then we get to see an intimate journey of where our drinking water comes from-all the way from the ocean! What a surprise! This film then wastes so much time following the path of a scientist who carries out some experiments out in the Venezualen outback. Great-one would expect great imaxy scenic shots here-but you'd be lucky to remember just one! This film really lacks any depth and is so uncaptivating, you just can't help but feel that the makers of this film actually forgot that they were making an Imax film, because it clearly shows. Do not purchase this. Rent out just to stamp out your curiosity and then you will forget about it. Good imax films like Cosmic Voyage clearly show the contrast between a good and bad imax film and the comparison between these two titles does the job well.