Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World Blu-ray Movie Review

Summer school.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 29, 2012

There is no place like it on the planet.

Pause for a moment and look back at the recently-published review of Mill Creek Home Entertainment's National Parks Exploration Series: Yosemite - The High Sierras. Take that text, change a few key words, and insert it here. National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World is basically the same thing, a few minutes longer and focused on a different subject, another corner of American grandeur, but at its core it is a film that captures pretty much the same rhythm and focus as its counterparts, both the Yosemite release and other Mill Creek titles within the Exploration series. But in this case, more of the same thing isn't a bad thing. These National Parks Exploration videos offer focused Documentaries of great educational value. While these releases may not be the kind of thing towards which home theater gurus might gravitate, they admirably serve an equally admirable purpose of shining a high-definition light on some of the United States' greatest natural wonders. And considering the price, general Blu-ray collectors and causal fans of Nature documentaries will find these to be of high value given the eye-opening price-to-content ratio.

Steep.

Spread out around the famed "Four Corners" area of the Southwestern United States are more regional National Parks and Monuments gathered in closer proximity than in any other area in the world. Known as "Red Rocks Country," the Colorado Plateau -- larger in size than several of the nation's larger states combined -- was once home to the great ancient Anasazi culture, as well as the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo Native American tribes. It's also home to the spectacular Grand Canyon, considered by many to be the eighth natural wonder of the world. This film examines that area in some detail, focusing on the region's natural beauty, its geology, the physical altercations to the landscape that have given it the shape seen today, the area's many National Parks, the influence and impact of ancient human history, and much more.

At its most basic, National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World is a virtual tour, historical overview, and soulful glimpse into the Grand Canyon region and the splendor that awaits each and every visiting soul, a splendor that may be replicated, but not duplicated, even on high definition home video. The film covers a wide assortment of basics -- and covers them rather thoroughly -- in a fairly compact 80-minute runtime. The film studies and displays the area's natural beauty and recalls how and why it appears as it does. The film also takes its time in remembering the human history in the area and putting on display the remnants of long-ago tribes and the eerily extraterrestrial-in-appearance cliff drawings that remain visible and intact today. It also focuses on surrounding National Parks and ancient abodes, chiefly cliff dwellings and pit housing. Also highlighted is the area's natural vegetation, tourist allure, and the mental and emotional and creative catalysts which seem to flow freely from the mere sight of the region, having inspired countless artists of all persuasions and talents over the years. The film manages to deliver a wide assortment of informative and educationally-important materials in a relatively short period of time, making it ideal to show in pieces or in its entirety over two class periods or a single double-long session.

From a more technical perspective, National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World does indeed follow in the footsteps of previous National Parks Exploration videos. Though shaped by narration and expert interviews, the film is at its most basic a moving travelogue, a collection of video images capturing some of the world's most spectacular vistas. Slow camera pans and zooms are often the only moving pieces, save for a few shots of gently rolling waters or wind-blown vegetation. The program would work as well as a pleasant background ambient film as it does a classroom tool. But for those interested beyond the visuals, this one captures the same basic feel as embraced by its peers. The same music, the same narrator, the same energetic and often poetic script, and a general sense of awe and rhythmic awareness of the natural beauty define the presentation. Even if the image quality suffers a bit, and the video cannot do absolute justice to the area, the film often manages to inspire and impress, even if the sense of downright awe is suppressed by the very nature and current technological state of the visual medium.

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World features a shaky but acceptable 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Mill Creek's video presentation won't dazzle videophiles or even causal viewers, but the transfer offers a relatively crisp, stable image that should work well in the classroom setting blessed with a Blu-ray player and high definition monitor. The image rarely captures much definition at a distance; long shots of even the grandest formations and natural wonders appear rather lifeless and flat, impressive in a very general sense but not necessarily in terms of replicated visual wonder. The HD video photography fares better in close-up shots, which reveal far more complex rock face textures and the area's scattered natural vegetation to a visually-satisfying extent. Colors are fine, whether the reddish, earthy rock formations of the Grand Canyon or various cliff dwelling sites, natural greenery, interviewee attire, and blue skies. There's some motion jitters and the occasional blocky background, but this is otherwise a fairly stable image that should work well for its intended purpose.

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with Mill Creek's other May 15, 2012 natural wonders release -- National Parks Exploration Series: Yosemite - The High Sierras -- National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World contains only a no-frills Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Certainly, this is a Documentary not in any particular need of any sort of superior soundtrack, and the limited, fairly rough-around-the-edges source wouldn't benefit all that greatly from anything else. The feature is built largely around slightly boomy narration and author/historian commentary. Such plays at a slightly high volume in comparison to the remainder of the track, but play with sufficient balance and clarity. Of note is a chapter six tour guide commentary where lip sync is way off for the first few minutes of the presentation, but appears fixed following a short break. As with the High Sierras Blu-ray release, random wind noises occasionally gush into the listening area throughout and crumpling paper beats up against a shirt-mounted microphone in one scene, both competing with dialogue as they crunchily flow from the speakers. Music is generally smooth and adequately spaced across the front, though it occasionally rattles and rumbles with a slightly unkempt tone. Most listeners will find this to be perhaps the most basic soundtrack they've encountered on Blu-ray. Both the original source and the Blu-ray presentation are concerned with information delivery, not sonic accuracy. Home theater enthusiasts will scoff, but this is a sufficient track suitable for classroom duty.

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mill Creek Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World contains no bonus materials.

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

National Parks Exploration Series: The Grand Canyon - A Wonder of the Natural World satisfies as a nicely-assembled Documentary made for the classroom but passable for a cheaply-priced journey into one of the world's most spectacular locations. Audiences familiar with previous series entries know exactly what to expect, in terms of both content and Blu-ray presentation, so those who enjoyed those other releases should consider a buy, and those who felt they came up short of expectations should skip.