5 comments about Hidden Hawaii (Large Format).

1. IMAX always delivers great movies with even greater scenery. This movie focuses on the scenery that is nearly inacessable to the normal person. It takes you all the way from the edge of volcano at 10,000 feet, to the depths of 4,000 feet under the ocean to watch the newest island being formed.

   Hidden Hawaii does show the hidden aspects. It shows you the Silversword flower that only grows in Hawaii, and also the Alula plant that clings to the steepest and highest cliffs. This movie will surely not dissapoint.

   The only downfall of the movie, like most IMAX movies, is that it is rather short. It's a great 35 minutes, but I would have loved more.




2. I am a huge fan of IMAX films on DVD because they all seem to produce a picture quality next to High Definition. This was not the caase with this DVD.Out of all the IMAX films I have seen I have never written about poor picture quality and never expected to. However, this is absoultly the worst transfer to DVD that I have seen for any IMAX fi. It is grainy and blurred at times, and comes nowhere close to the quality I am use to with IMAX DVD. This is the ONLY IMAX DVD I have seen that in my opion is not up to standaard with IMAX film-to-DVD transfer. I am not into the techcal aspects of film transfers but all I can say is I was completly surprised to find grain on this one.Also, the technical aspects states that this is available in "widescreen" and it is not.Regardles of widescreen or not, ALL IMAX films (besides Hidden Hawaii) have a high deffinition quality to them and are the best looking picture quality on DVD available.



3. I have a large collection of IMAX DVDs. I enjoy them because the video quality is usually stunning. Playing them on my 65 inch screen normally produces a very fine picture. I dont know what happened with the transer on this film, but it is poor at best. Black and shadow areas are filled with artifacts and the overall picture quality is very grainy and rough appearing. The company responsible obviously chose to go the cheap route on the video tranfer. Also, I agree with the previous reviewer about the cliff climbing botanist. Too much time was wasted on this guy climbing a cliff without a line or safety helmet. The whole sequence may have been staged. I cant believe anyone would be so dumb and reckless to do this without some basic protection. This DVD will not be a keeper in my collection.



4. This is the most boring IMAX presentation I have ever seen. It is painfully slow moving. I couldn't play it through. It is only 35 minutes but it seemed like 2 hours. I couldn't make it anywhere near the entire 35 minutes.



5. I don't see captions on my DVD, but the subtitles are adequate (although no musical description, sounds, etc.). The annoyance was that I had to turn the player OFF when I realized captions weren't showing because simply stopping and restarting the player didn't take me all the way back to that menu.
   
   At any rate, it's pretty close to the kind of Hawaii DVD I was looking for--lots of scenics of flora and fauna. I could have stood more plant and flower pictures, but, then, I guess most of them aren't hidden. :D
   
   I really wish I'd gotten the set with the Alaska production, too.

1 comments about History Of World Travel Wheels Across Africa.

1. What's strange about this film is that it didn't plan on being an important documentary, it was created as a long ad to demonstrate how tough Chryster cars were and that they could survive the african trip.
   
   Almost by accident they managed to record the life and times of Africa right before the industrial revolution would change everything, so they created one of the most rare documentaries there is and the last one ever to capture African life quite this way. It goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.

No comments about Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Season 1 - Episode 2: New Jersey.

3 comments about Windham Hill - Winter.

1. Anyone who is thinking about buying this DVD and assuming that they cleaned up the film, digitally remastered the music and remade the experience for the Year 2000, think again. The DVD is grainy like a film, (you can actually see a hair(?) in part of an early shot) and was not really aligned properly with the frame. It is not in 8:5:1 format, so it shows like a television video. In other words, the format of the DVD was extremely disappointing for the price charged.

   Beyond that, it does serve the purpose I bought it for: watching something peaceful on my laptop while waiting, flying, etc. The snow shots don't hurt when you live in Dallas.




2. There are some great winter scenes here (with some exceptions), but it's clearly a bad VHS transfer. The pictures are extremely grainy on a high def TV.



3. wish i could have bought it on a cd but
   ill take it........NICE

No comments about Destination: Canada.

4 comments about Nautilus.

1. I have to give this movie a big thumbs down. It was lacked the technology that it should have had. The Port hole that was the "Main Viewer" for the Nautilus was opened by Hand using a hand crank of some sort which I thought was hilarious that a submarine that could travel thru time would have something that had to be operated by hand...

   Many other flaws but I will let you decide..

   I am a Sci-Fi fan so I gave it 2 stars




2. Any movie which focuses heavily on a time travelling submarine is doomed to start with. Yet the creators of this movie managed to make it even worse than expected. The main feature of this giant submarine was a giant hand lever that actually operated something. Then to top it all off the submarine had lavishly furnished room complete with an abundance of artwork. Wouldn't you suppose that on a time travelling submarine space would be at a premium, and you wouldn't want a hand crank doing anything?

   Apparently the creators of this movie disagree. They seemed to be more focused on the super drill which can bore to the center of the earth and provide power for the world. Little does the money grubbing drill owner know that this will cause the end of the world and a drastic outbreak of toxic shock. And apparently this toxic shock can affect the male population and is indeed caused by bad drinking water. I think some writer was sleeping during his junior high health classes.

   Even though I give this movie one star, I think you should see it. It's so terrible it's funny. While you're at it, rent Octopus too, that is another submarine classic. That way you can explore the ocean to your heart's content.




3. "Nautilus" begins at a swift and entertaining pace in a moody South American setting where the film's hero, portrayed by Richard Norton with his dependable excellence, eludes his opponents down the corridors of a crumbling hotel. The scene
   mixes a comedic tone with action -- not always a successful
   combination in the hands of lesser actors. Norton strikes his marks and the fun never lets up as the plot moves into a futuristic world of time travel aboard the high seas. With his able supporting cast, Norton and company make the film a first rate adventure. It is a DVD that action fans will want to own!



4. NAUTILUS is one of those time wasters that you wonder why you bothered.
   A tepid script, amateurish special effects and a fairly wooden cast all add up to sink this movie. While it does have an unexpected twist at the end, getting there requires a lot of patience and suspension of belief. I appreciate the conundrum time travel movies generate, but once you take the plunge, the director should at least strive for consistency and a competent cast.
   Richard Norton, starting to show his age, but still in pretty buff shape uses his nonchalant machoism, which doesn't serve the urgency of the plot. Hannes Jaenicke (Venomous, Mom's Outta Sight) usually does better, but he's as comatose as Norton in this one. Miranda Wolf tries, but only her lithe beauty keeps her interesting. Christopher Kreisa as Captain Brann needs to return to acting school; he can't carry this kind of role.
   Not recommended.

5 comments about Photon - The Idiot Adventures.

1. i saw this series in fansub format about 2 years ago... and loved it. as soon as i found out that Central Park Media was going to release it, on DVD at that, i had to get it! i have watched it about 5 times now and i still laugh at it. but when i brought my girlfriend over to watch movies she picked this particular one out of all the rest. she was a little... shocked at first (nudity i do believe) but then she was paying attention to what they was doing and saying to each other and she was laughing just as hard as i was. this is a really great comedy anime, with the usual touch on risque subjects.
   oh yea, the villan of the series, Poppachan, is so inept... he is just laughable.



2. Let me start off by saying the ending seemed rushed, and made little sense. The emperor suddenly showing up, and the strange battle, as they tossed the words a-ho and una-ho around so much it made no sense what tehy were talkign abuot after a while. But in teh end they get him. It seemed like that series should have been longer, so the fight could make better sense.



3. This is a very funny series. The scenes in the spa where you just hear the woman talking is great. It's a little over 3 hours long (6 episodes). Although there is one major plot, there are several small ones throughout the series including stories about a "holy object" (very funny once you realize what it is), rock star, food, and even marriage.

   The DVD-Rom features are also nice. Not only do they have the full cast and credits, but several images from the series. They even include the dialog for the series if you want to redub it.

   There are a couple minor downsides, though. First off, some of the technology is never fully explained. The animation itself tapers very slightly as it progresses. The big difference was the "doodle" (You'll learn a new word in japanese) that was on one characters forhead changed to just a couple of dots towards the end. The ending is a little rushed and very confusing; I had to watch the last two episodes a couple times to understand it.

   One important note I feel I should mention. On the box it is labeled for 13 and up. I really think this is too low. There's nudity throughout the entire series and there are constant jokes about nudity and anatomy that really shouldn't be viewed by young children. It is also very graphic (think nosebleed only 10 times worse) Use your discretion.

   This is one of those animes that you should get. No collection should be without this.




4. This one of the best anime I have ever seen.
   Not only will it make you laugh but the sweetness
   will touch a special place in your heart. The last
   two episodes were the most touching but I found all
   the episodes uplifting with their sense of japanesee
   style humor. I would recommand this to anyone with a
   sense of humor.



5. A master piece, great characters,amazing backgrounds,an outstanding villan. The strangness captures you. Every night I pray to the anime gods that there will be more made. This is definatly one to own!

1 comments about Worlds Fair: Prominent Twentieth Century World's Fairs DVD.

1. This is the type of DVD you buy as a gift and that's exactly what I did. My brother lives in Seattle and loved teh footage about the building and unveiling of The Space Needle at their worlds fair. I liked the New York footage, but that is simply a matter of personal taste. It made me wonder why we never see World's Fairs anymore, because they looked like a lot of fun. I was intersted in how the people at the fairs saw the future -which is teh time we live in today. It made me think about our future and what amazing things we will find.

No comments about Come Aboard the Queen Mary 2 to Rio.

4 comments about Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker (1989) / Natalya Arkhipova, Irek Mukhamedov, Yuri Vetrov, Andrei Sitnikov, Ilze Liepa, Alexander Kopilov, Bolshoi.

1. I took my grand-daughter to see the San Jose Ballet do The Nutcracker, and was reminded of how much I liked it. I used to have the old Kirov version on tape, and I loved it, but it's gone, so I bought this Bolshoi version. I love it! I also bought the Baryshnikov version, and have to say that he's a great dancer, but definitely an inferior choreographer. This version is vastly superior (I gave the Baryshnikov away). I should add that this Bolshoi version is all about the dancing, and only slightly about child entertainment. But my grand-daughter wants to be a ballerina now (she's 2 3/4), so I think the dancing is what should matter most. Of course, the music and presentation are excellent.



2. This DVD received a 5 star review, yet upon close examination it has serious problems.
   
   First, the transfer appears to have been from a mediocre video tape, yielding a very soft image - many details are missing especially in the dark scenes.
   
   Second, the print has much video noise and often flickers light to dark.
   
   Third and most serious, is the problem of the playback speed. The time is listed here as 112 minutes, yet my box says 101. It could be a typo mistake, but this DVD appears to have been time-accelerated. All the dancers and action appear to move too fast. Some movements are just blurs - very unnerving. If this frantic speed didn't make one dizzy it might have been funny instead. Unfortunately this flaw renders this performance mostly un-watchable for me.
   
   The (accelerated) sound is OK, but the audience sounds as if they were either under water or on a cell phone.
   
   My recommendation is to avoid this DVD and look for another Nutcracker. There is another DVD of this same Bolshoi production from a few years earlier which has problems of its own that is neither recommended.



3. I am sorry to disagree with one of the reviewers, but I have a completely different view of this DVD. In the first place, the DVD box says the ballet lasts 101 minutes and the DVD actually does run for 101 minutes. If Amazon's review says it lasts 112 minues, then Amazon has made an error. This is no reason to blame the producers of the DVD.
   With regard to other areas of complaint, I did not find the video image to be very soft, I found no details missing, there was no excess video noise, there did not appear to be any time-acceleration in sound or performance, and there were no flickers light to dark. The only item about which I agree with the other reviewer is that the applause seems to be coming from some sort of echo chamber, but I did not buy the DVD for the applause. (You can easily avoid the applause by hitting the "Next" button on your remote to take you immediately to the next track.) This is not a Kultur video. (Unlike Kultur, this video gives you a beautiful brochure with information about the ballet and a track-by-track description of the dances in the ballet.) I bought two copies of this DVD, one of which I gave to my granddaughter because she loved it so much. I think the other reviewer got stuck with a defective copy and should return it for another one.
   I rate this DVD only four stars instead of five because I have two very small problems with the performance. In the first act, the boys try to annoy the girls with their trumpets. However, there is only one trumpet and no girls are around at the time except Clara. In addition, the boys are halfway across the stage from her. The second item is in the second act. In the Dance of the Mirlitons, two dancers are pulling a sheep on wheels. That part of the choreography leaves much to be desired. What happens if the sheep tips over? Luckily it didn't this time.
   All in all, however, this is a marvelous disc. To the best of my knowledge, it is one of few versions that play ALL of the music COMPLETE. There are NO cuts as there are in most ballet performances of most ballets. However, the Dance of the Mirlitons and Mother Cigogne are combined into one track, which is no big deal since they are played complete. On the positive side, there is no obnoxious "ritardando" and pause at the end of the Waltz of the Flowers as is found in so many other versions. The music simply flows naturally to the end of the dance.
   One of the very best "character actors" of ballet is Yuri Vetrov. He plays Drosselmeyer in this DVD. He is marvelous, as usual, and I especially love the way he lifts and moves the dolls (real people) around as if they actually WERE dolls.
   The Nutcracker is a children's ballet, so much fun to watch with gorgeous music and marvelous dancing, especially in the dances in the second act. This version is beautifully performed and should be at the top of your list.



4. Natalya Arkhipova and Irek Mukhamedov, are the "Best of the Best". Their performance in this ballet was mesmerizing. The supporting cast was also outstanding along with the fine accompainment by the orchestra.
   
   Our entire family loves this DVD. Especially our one year old granddaughter!!
   
   Many thanks to the Bolshoi Ballet for this fantastic rendition. They truly are the World's Best Ballet company!!!