6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
'Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk' follows the great Colorado River as it reveals the most pressing environmental story of our time: the world's growing shortage of fresh water. Join environmental advocates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Wade Davis as they set out with their daughters, traveling deep into the Grand Canyon and down the river that runs through it. Your pulse will quicken as you are invited to join this thrilling ride downriver through raging rapids and breathtaking canyons. With stunning photography and sweeping aerial shots the renowned filmmakers capture all the majesty of the Colorado and The Grand Canyon in the largest film format ever made.
Narrator: Robert RedfordDocumentary | 100% |
Nature | 81% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.43:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Blu-ray 3D
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.
Water is the most crucial element on the planet. It covers over two-thirds of the Earth's surface, comprises well over
half of the human body, and is an essential ingredient for the survival of every life form in the world. With its great
importance comes great responsibility in ensuring it not only remains, but thrives, in its natural environments
around
the world. Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk, narrated by Robert Redford, looks at the history,
importance, and dwindling supply of water running through the Colorado River, located along the Southwestern
portion
of the United States. This 2008 picture, released in stunning IMAX 3D, plays as a fascinating tool meant to
educate and inform; it's as much history, geography, and science lesson as it is cautionary environmental tale, and
it's backed
by passionate conservationists and, best of all, breathtakingly grand photography befitting a picture that's not only
environmentally aware and important, but reflective of the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon and desert
Southwest.
Running at a brisk 45 minutes in length, Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk finds just the right balance
that allows its message to be heard loudly and clearly without playing as too heavy-handed, all the while allowing its
audience
to bask in the natural glory of the world around them while at the same time leaving them with something to think
about long after the picture and its gorgeous visuals have come to an end.
At risk.
Image Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk 3D appears to be identical to the title's previous Blu-ray 3D
region free German release. Comparing the two yielded the same quality 3D imagery, the
same wonderful detailing, the same color schemes in various scenes, the same "ghosting" issues at several checkpoints, and similar bitrate
fluctuations
during several sampled comparison scenes. That said, this is still one of the finest Blu-ray 3D titles on the marketplace, live action or animated.
Detailing is
faultless throughout; the various rock formations, cliff faces, sand and dirt terrain, and even rafts and human faces reveal lifelike texturing and clarity
with
every passing shot. Colors, too, are pristinely reproduced; though earthen hues -- shades of brown, yellow, and green -- dominate the image and
appear
incredibly rich and lifelike, the transfer handles more aggressive hues, such as blues and reds seen on clothing and rafts, with equal precision. Both
the
wonderful detailing and accurate colors bring this transfer to life in a way that's rarely matched by the best Blu-ray discs, be they 2D or 3D. With
striking
blacks, accurate flesh tones, no source anomalies such as speckling or scratching, and only minimal banding, Grand Canyon Adventure: River at
Risk
3D looks fantastic, and the generally amazing 3D visuals only make this disc even better.
Even from the main menu, viewers will get a glimpse as to the quality of this 3D presentation. A water bubble appears to hover off the
screen -- and at a relatively great distance at that
-- effectively setting the stage for the screen-stretching visuals that are to follow. Indeed, Grand Canyon Adventure: River
at Risk is a playground for high definition 3D brought to gloriously rich and perceptibly deep life. There's plenty of
opportunities for the film to seemingly splash water into the living room and capture the unique rock formations and
various environmental curiosities with lifelike precision, and never, in that regard, does the transfer let its audience down. By film's
end, 3D viewers will feel like they've been on the adventure down the Colorado and leave the experience everything
but wet. The transfer delivers the natural wonders with a clear and perceptible sense of depth that must be seen to
be believed, and it would seem that the Colorado and the Grand Canyon were the perfect testing grounds to prove
Blu-ray 3D's worth. Unfortunately, the image suffers from moderate-to-heavy "ghosting" effects; everything from tree branches to
individual blades of grass are sometimes displayed with that dreaded "double image" that's easily the most visible and
annoying flaw of these early 3D titles and television sets. The ghosting effect appears to be heavier here than most any of the other 3D
discs released to date -- save for Dinosaurs Alive! -- but the sheer
quality of the remainder of the transfer almost makes up for it. Additionally, several objects appear almost
transparent as a result of some of the most egregious ghosting, but such blatantly heavy and obvious double images
are the exception rather than the rule. No doubt about it, some viewers will be turned off by the relatively heavy
amount of ghosting, but it's hard to ignore how deep the picture looks and how finely detailed and precisely colored it
appears in high-def 3D. Fortunately, it's good qualities far more often than not outweigh the bad. Please note that all screenshots were captured
from the 2D presentation found on Image Entertainment's 3D release.
The English language DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack found on this U.S. release of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk 3D seems to be same used on the aforementioned and previously reviewed German release; note that this U.S. disc ditches the lossless German track found on that nation's release and replaces it with a 5.1 lossy French language option. As to the English lossless track, it's a winner. The picture opens with dialogue that seems to bounce around the walls of the Grand Canyon, and, by extension, the listening area; the disc delivers a nicely-realized echoing effect as the words seem to float about the soundstage and emanate from every speaker in the set-up. In fact, the track delivers plenty of surround information through both the more nuanced sound effects of the natural environment coming alive around the Colorado River and the most potent and engaging effects of powerful water rushing through the speakers. The Dave Matthews score sounds incredibly crisp and smooth, also with a good rear-channel support element but dominated by a flowing, spacious front-half presentation. The low end enjoys a bit of action during the most powerful of scenes that feature rushing water pounding through the listening area. Additionally, dialogue is consistently sharp and clean as it's delivered effortlessly from the center channel. Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk 3D sounds just as good as it looks, and this lossless track makes the ultimate sonic companion to a gorgeous video presentation.
This U.S. release of Grand Canyon Adventure features a few extras, some of which were offered on the German release and some of which were not. Among the repeat features is Making Of (480p, 33:42), a supplement that runs two-thirds the length of the film but covers a nice bit of information, including -- and most fascinatingly -- the difficult process of shooting with complex and very heavy and delicate IMAX 3D cameras in the rough terrain around the Grand Canyon and the raging waters up and down the Colorado River. Also crossing over is the music video Water sung by Tara (480p, 4:06) and Sample the Film Soundtrack (1080p) which allows listeners to hear clips from The Dave Matthews Band's Grand Canyon Railway and Lava Falls. New to this disc is A Message from Teva that contains several comical video clips entitled The Naturist (1080p, 5:56), featuring a bumbling outdoorsman demonstrating survival techniques in nature; Water Saving Tips from Kohler! (1080p, 2:51); and About the Director Greg MacGillivray (1080p), a text-based biography and filmography of the film's director. Trailershow contains previews for a plethora of IMAX features: The Alps, Dinosaurs Alive!, Grand Canyon Adventure, Hurricane on the Bayou, Journey Into Amazing Caves, Mummies, Ride Around the World, Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, Super Speedway, Fighter Pilot, Amazon, The Living Sea, Dolphins, Coral Reef Adventure, Magic of Flight, and Van Gogh. BD-Live functionality is also included.
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk is a breathtakingly-filmed IMAX 3D presentation that abounds with gorgeous photography of some of the Earth's most precious natural resources and locales. The film also delivers something of a cautionary commentary on the current state of the Colorado River and surrounding areas, warning that the dwindling water supply has altered the ecosystem and that future generations may not be able to enjoy its natural beauty or reap the rewards of a healthy, vibrant natural environment. Though the message sometimes overwhelms the imagery, that juxtaposition only reinforces the film's message and seems to make it all the more timely, particularly considering that the latest in 3D and high definition technology only further enhance the natural wonders of the area and deliver the next-best sensation to actually being there. This 3D Blu-ray release of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk looks fantastic, and even moderate-to-heavy ghosting can't diminish how effective the 3D presentation is and how crisp and detailed the image appears. Supported by a few good extras and a high quality lossless soundtrack, this Blu-ray release of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk deserves a spot in every 3D Blu-ray collection. Highly recommended.
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