7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
From the formation of the earth and the emergence of life, to the advance of man and the growth of civilization, the CGI-driven special History Of The World In Two Hours offers viewers a rapid-fire view of 14 billion years of history - an epic story that reveals surprising connections to our daily lives.
Narrator: Corey BurtonDocumentary | 100% |
Nature | 69% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Polish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Truth in advertising. Never mind the fact that without commercial breaks History of the World in Two Hours 3D clocks in at 88 minutes. Never mind the fact that its 3D presentation is little more than a marketing gimmick. Never mind the fact that a two-hour special couldn't hope to cover 13.7 billion years of chemical, thermodynamic, geological, biological and cultural history in one fell swoop. The History Channel's warp-speed overview of the origins and evolution of Earth is both a mildly engaging greatest hits reel and, if you have children, a fairly entertaining and educational introduction to the building blocks of life, the rise of man, and the development of the modern world. But is it true to its name? Read on...
A&E's 1080p/MVC-encoded video presentation is serviceable, but several issues make it decidedly less magnificent than the birth of the planet. First and foremost, the 3D experience is inconsistent and riddled with anomalies. CG sequences exhibit welcome depth but interviews, archive footage, and historical reenactments are flat and uninvolving. Aliasing is a frequent offender as well, anomalies present in the 2D encode are only exacerbated in 3D, and viewers with crosstalk-prone 3D displays will notice quite a bit of obvious ghosting. The 2D presentation isn't perfect either. Compression artifacts disrupt the integrity of the image throughout, mild to severe banding haunts almost every CG sequence (in space, underwater, or on land), digital noise spikes on occasion, and aliasing makes yet another appearance (albeit to a lesser extent). It isn't a complete loss, of course. Colors are striking, contrast is bright and vibrant, black levels are nice and deep, and detail is good, even if the image isn't nearly as sharp or refined as other history-of-the-known-universe Blu-ray releases I've seen. Interview segments are decent (despite a prevailing softness), CG edges and textures are crisp and well-resolved, and overall clarity is fairly satisfying. Needless to say, History of the World in Two Hours 3D isn't going to win anyone over with the quality of its video presentation alone. It gets the job done, but that's about it.
A&E's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is better, but it isn't going to blow anyone away. The rear speakers are active but rather subdued, only cranking up the chaos when the special launches into space or back to the beginnings of the universe. Since so much time is spent watching man come to power, though, the resulting soundfield isn't nearly as volatile, involving or enveloping as it might otherwise be. The same can be said of the LFE channel, which gets in a few good hits -- especially when dealing with the origins of the planet -- but plays it safe, offering support without any real standout moments. Fortunately, Corey Burton's narration is clean, clear and well-centered, interviews aren't plagued by air hiss or distracting noise, and voices rarely falter. Could History of the World in Two Hours use some extra oomph? Sure. But blame the special's straight forward sound design. A&E's lossless efforts are sound.
I suppose subtitles no longer count as special features. Oh, early days of DVD... I don't miss you in the least.
You'll learn quite a bit while watching History of the World in Two Hours 3D. Nothing you wouldn't pick up from an episode of Jeopardy or by channel surfing through the Discovery networks block, but quite a bit nonetheless. Sadly, a somewhat misleading title, a lack of focus and more complete context, a sometimes debilitating 88-minute time crunch, and a poor 3D presentation begs the question: why is this called History of the World in Two Hours 3D? The Blu-ray edition's average video, adequate DTS-HD Master Audio mix, and lack of extras doesn't exactly help matters, though, so approach with caution. Granted, I could think of far worse ways to spend fifteen dollars and eighty-eight minutes, but a rental is probably the wisest course of action.
2011
History Channel
2011
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2011