Nature: Fortress of the Bears Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Nature: Fortress of the Bears Blu-ray Movie Review

A year without salmon

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 20, 2012

The life of the American bear is a demanding existence of hunting and evading, constantly on the lookout for predators and prey necessary to the animal experience. It’s not an easy cycle of survival, often merciless when it comes to displays of aggression, but it’s nature in motion, carrying on unmolested for centuries in the great wilds of the world. “Fortress of the Bears” travels to the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska, where a community of Grizzly Bears and Brown Bears embark on this yearly process of endurance, awakening from their winter slumber to gorge themselves on the bounty of the river, which pipes in thousands of salmon every spring and summer to the delight of these furry rulers. However, feeding bears is only a small portion of the salmon function, and when that lifeline is disrupted for any reason, it creates a chain reaction throughout the land, robbing trees, insects, birds, and bears of the routine they rely on to make a life for themselves. Although it’s cliche to remind readers of the “circle of life,” the truth is no joke. Without salmon, the bears are forced to survive beyond their instincts, a development that could cause cataclysmic damage to this lush land of astonishing wildlife personality.

Although a year is never established (a frustrating oversight), the production team behind “Fortress of the Bears” arrived on Admiralty Island prepared to cover the daily life of the bears that inhabit the land. With the salmon season approaching, this area, once thawed, would be brimming with bears on the hunt for a meal, leaving the camera to capture feastings, displays of dominance, and general behaviors worth a closer examination. Admiralty Island is a place of abundant life, with 200 inches of rain per year guaranteeing a flush of water reaching out across the land, feeding rivers and streams, providing a red carpet arrival for salmon spawns, which flock to the freshwater area to carry out their multifaceted purpose. Set to photograph wondrous predictability, the production instead greeted the aftermath of a weather pattern that lowered the local waters by two degrees, thus making the streams too cold for the salmon to work their fishy instinct. With nature paused for the summer, the filmmakers could only sit helplessly and watch the balance of life be knocked out of alignment, leaving all those who rely on the salmon to wait patiently for a food source that would likely never arrive.

As with most “Nature” productions, “Fortress of the Bears” isn’t entirely about the concerns of the titular beasts. The absence of salmon would come to affect all of Admiralty Island, with the lack of fish carcasses unable to provide nutrients to trees, while birds, trained to snatch leftovers, would also be in danger of starvation. The program assigns a great deal of screen time to the concerns of the fringe players, supplying an understanding of how one little change can create a massive disturbance throughout all walks of life. Without fish for the summer, confusion would come to overtake the region, finding all sorts of creatures left hanging, without the intuition to reach beyond the norm and find alternative food sources.

For the bears, the scarcity of fish has resulted in a few enterprising efforts. With the tide comes an influx of clams, who announce their presence through a squirting process intended to cleanse their system of sand. Instead, the clams essentially blow their cover in the mud and kelp, allowing clever bears to use their massive claws to penetrate outer shells and devour the slimy prize. Also present are crab, a crustacean not normally eyed by bears as an appetizing meal. However, hunger creates need, and the production observes one bear moving beyond her instinctual might to forcibly beat and crack the crab shell open, working diligently to seize a substitute source of food that might cover for the salmon departure. Of course, for many of these Grizzlies and Brown Bears, the lack of fish causes devastating famine, with the population unable to pack on the pounds necessary to prepare for another winter’s hibernation. We watch as they stroll up and down the river, waiting for a run that never arrives. As if food depletion wasn’t enough of a problem, the bears are faced with constant aggression from peripheral members of this fortress -- the producers focus on the plight of one inexperienced mother who starts the season with three cubs, unknowingly crossing the fertile meadows while her fellow bears search for anything to eat during this troubling time. While photographed tastefully, the implications here are macabre.

Nature: Fortress of the Bears Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Distance is crucial to the cinematography of "Fortress of the Bears," an understandable point of safety when photographing such volatile wildlife. The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation holds to disappointingly softer image befitting a careful position far away from the subjects of the show. It's not a particularly potent HD viewing experience (brief glimpses of salmon footage appear pulled from the PBS archives, revealing a downgrade in video quality), with a great deal of animal textures such as fur and facial particulars diluted by camera distance. However, numerous moments of programs captures the details of Alaskan life, providing an adequate study of woodsy areas and expansive shots of naturalistic glory. Colors are stable and expressive, enjoying a wealth of grassland greens and woodsy browns, while fur and feather color provide an additional snap of hues. Shadow detail is acceptable for fur study, though dense forests tend to lose their sense of depth as the sunlight loses intensity, solidifying blacks.

Nature: Fortress of the Bears Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound mix is more comfortable than dynamic, with a strong frontal presence that balances deep, penetrating voiceover work from Chris Morgan with landscape changes, including an enveloping sense of rushing river water. Surrounds are limited, basically employed to support scoring needs, which sound healthy yet unobtrusive. Animal activities are also preserved well, blending a widespread sense of life with birdcalls, bear growls, and salmon rushing, which supplies a pleasing atmosphere of water pressure to set a distinct mood. Most importantly, the sensation of the outdoors is represented on this track, forgoing vigorous directional activity to offer a simple yet evocative listening experience.

Nature: Fortress of the Bears Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

Nature: Fortress of the Bears Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Fortress of the Bears" yearns to project a haunting message of man's influence on the ecosystems of the world, but it never traverses into glum sermonizing. Instead, the program simply accentuates the tragedy, peppering the events with subtle reminders on dips in water temperatures and the loss of naturally robust winters, permitting the viewer to process the sting of these developments in an organic manner. While the situation is grim for these bears (a second summer with the stars of the show isn't offered, thus losing a proper resolution to the story), their experience over the season includes a few moments of joy to combat the potential doom. "Fortress of the Bears" is certainly informative, especially when focused on unnatural bear behavior, revealing a spark of survivalist imagination from a typically blunt master of the hunt. Combining anxiety and concern, the program finds a fascinating tone of discovery, creating a full sense of drama out of a painful riverside waiting game.