Rating:  -
Seen on a small screen, this video will entertain you for a half hour, and then start to lose you. I can just imagine how much more involving it would be on a huge IMAX screen. It is just over 40 minutes long, so you will be bored for about 10 minutes.
When plankton and krill are being discussed, I really wanted to see one. Couldn't they show us what a krill looks like? When the songs of whales were given, there were times when music was played by musicians, and that shouldn't happen. If you are letting us hear a whale, then be silent.
One of the whale songs sounds a lot like I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.
I wish they didn't hire Captain Jean Luc Picard to do the narration. That is distracting. I know what they're going for. They are going for the status of having a famous actor in their video. But the subject is whales. The subject is not famous actors. Focus on the whales. If that isn't enough of a show for you, don't make the video.
And don't hire one of these perfect speech, perfect pronunciation people either, people who don't dentalize their T's and who pronounce every word perfectly. That is very annoying. I don't want to hear someone who speaks beautifully. That's nonsense. I want someone who communicates. IMAX tends to hire speakers who are much too polished, who represent IMAX to the world, and that is extremely annoying and statusy. It is just way too effing proper. Just communicate, and stop being so damn proper. The story is the words, not the way they are spoken. This world is way too image-conscious. Hearing these perfect speakers is as annoying as seeing just how picture perfect every soap opera actor looks, or every model. Stuff it.
I can't say this is a great nature film. It isn't. It isn't creative or absorbing enough. It's okay.
Rating:  -
This film on whales, originally shown in Imax, has excellent footage on whales and chronicles of their annual migration. It is narrated by an actor who starred in many films.
There are a suitable number of underwater scenes to make this an all around good presentation, but don't expect footage in quantity to equal it to "The Blue Planet", or "Secrets of the Ocean Realm" films. There are underwater clips to marvel at here. One of these is when the camera swims over a rocky ground, which contains killer whale skeletons. The best ocean scene of all. However, it is an excellent comparison and an essential film to own.
The VHS film quality is fine. The digital transfer is all right, nothing significant. The music looks good, playing as if recorded immediately after the Imax premiere. Your best buy, however, would be the newly mastered DVD.
Rating: -
Great family show! We saw this movie as an IMAX (Virginia Beach Marine Science Museum) film with our 3 & 5 year old boys. Now they love whales. Especially my 5 year old. He keeps amazing me with the facts that he remembers from the film. Breathtaking footage,especially the humpbacks feeding. This is a movie I won't mind watching again and again.
Rating:  -
I picked this DVD up for my kids not expecting too much. I was pleasantly surprised with the absolutely stunning cinematography and crystal clear sound. You get to see some really amazing footage of whales underwater as well as plenty of above water shots. Patrick Stewart narrating was a nice treat too. I also appreciated the strait forward coverage of whales and their life without the normal wacko environmentalism and evolution theories. You get whales and whale facts beautifully filmed. I highly recommend this.
Rating: -
When I saw this movie for the very first time (National Geographic Theatre, Victoria BC, Canada) I was stunned! It is just beautiful! The music, photography and story-line (narrated by Star Trek's Patrick Stewart) and the quality of sound and vision altogether made this DVD a must-have! I still watch this movie time after time, it simply still amazes me...
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