Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Over Alaska Blu-ray Movie Review

A magnificent view of the Alaskan landscape is a shallow experience on Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner May 16, 2009

The timing of this review could not have been better, since I just returned from a trip through several towns in Alaska. If I came back with one memory of Alaska, it would be of the unspoiled nature of the land, and the difficult solitude that many Alaska residents endure. I personally would never want to live in a place that’s so utterly cut off from the luxuries and vices of modern society, but I also appreciate the desire to enjoy the beauty and simplicity of nature. I’ll refrain from any discussion of global warming or population expansion, but I will say it’s a rare treat to see several of the magnificent glaciers that flow through the landscape of Alaska, and I hope this wasn’t my last opportunity to view the vast ice walls and crystal spires of these natural wonders.

What I wouldn't give to have that guy's job.....

Over Alaska is one of several entries in a series that was produced by PBS as a glimpse at some of the wonderful landscapes across America. This particular Blu-ray is the first one I’ve viewed in the series, so I can’t comment on how it stacks up next to the prior releases, but I would say Alaska is the perfect territory for a documentary, and contains a wide variety of landscapes and wildlife to easily fill an hour-long running time.

Regarding the structure of the presentation, the disc is divided up into five chapters, that focus on different areas of the Alaskan coastline. Within each chapter, we have multiple segments that contain footage of prominent landmarks, National Parks, or towns, which are identified with crisp yellow lettering at the bottom of the screen. The narration doesn’t focus specifically on the footage we are viewing, but provides a superficial level of information about the wildlife, history, and the occasional legends of the local natives. I didn’t find much of the narration all that interesting, but many viewers will find themselves too busy staring at the visuals to care about whether or not they're being enriched with knowledge about Alaska’s heritage.

The following is a list of the featured locations in Alaska, as well as events and landmarks:

Denali National Park
Mt. McKinley
Wonder Lake
Tolkat River
Alaska Race for Women
Anchorage
Chugach State Park
Chugach National Forest
Mt. Ascension
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
Swan Lake
Skilak Lake
Godwin Glacier
Moose Pass
Kenai Fjords National Park
Northwestern Glacier
Holgate Arm
Brooks Falls
Granite Range
Katmai National Wildlife Reserve
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Kennecott Mines
Pump Station 12
Valdez
Fort Liscum Oil Transfer
Cordova
Skagway
Chillhook Pass
Gold Rush Cemetary
White Pass & Yukon Railway
Glacier Bay National Park
Margarie Glacier
Juneau
Mendenhall Lake
4th of July in Juneau
Sitka
Coastal Rainforest
Metlakatla Tribe
Inside Passage
Alaska Marine Highway
Haines
Petersburg
Ketchikan
Angoon

As you can tell from the list, the documentary manages to cover a number of locations in a relatively brief period of time, which can be good and bad. There were several areas I wish we could have seen more extensively, but taken as a whole, it's still a fairly comprehensive look at the Alaskan landscape.

Now for the downside. I know this wasn't intended to be an in-depth documentary, but I'm scoring the movie value down for the simple fact that it's a superficial feature without much value beyond the visuals. There's so much more to the history of this young state that could have been expanded on in the feature, but it seems the producers took the simple route and merely pulled some occasional facts out of a textbook. Nature documentaries should be more than just eye-candy and the content on Over Alaska rarely scratches the surface.

Over Alaska Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080i utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 32Mbps), Over Alaska's visual presentation is a little underwhelming at times, but still a positive experience. Most of the aerial footage displays a nice level of detail and provides enough texture in the landscape of the mountains or glaciers to please any nature-lover. Unfortunately, the transfer doesn't fair nearly as well in several close-up shots of the wildlife that populates Alaska. During several of the grounded sequences, the fur or feathers on the animals have a tendency to become muddled and hazy. There's still some decent filmwork completed on the ground, such as the Iditarod sequence, or an extended scene of a group of bears fishing, but there were far too many non-distinct shots to warrant a higher rating for video quality. Another disappointing aspect of the transfer was the occasional line jitter and stair-stepping on diagonal straight lines in the aerial footage. It wasn't overly distracting, but will be noticeable to those with larger displays. Aside from those deficiencies, the color spectrum is nicely rendered with natural tones in the scenery, and black levels were appropriately deep even in low-light scenes. The film contains plenty of glacier or mountainous shots with snow covering almost every inch of the frame, but contrast levels never wavered and helped reveal every nook and crack in the glacier surface.

Over Alaska Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio track is the stand-out disappointment on the disc. Presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, the English track is exactly what you'd expect from a stereo mix. I suppose I can't complain too much, since the only audio elements are the narration by Ken Boynton, and a combination of flute and/or synthesizer music that's meant to convey a subtle Native American sound; but I still felt we were missing half of the Blu-ray experience by not including a heavy use of nature sounds. On the positive side, volume levels were well-balanced (narration with music in the background) and the dialogue had sufficient clarity for a lossy track.

One last thing to report from an audio standpoint, is a brief blip at the 21:54 minute mark of the feature. The narrator is in the middle of a sentence, and when he says "Mt. McKinley", the complete audio track cuts out for a split second. It's easy to notice when it occurs, and I played the same section twice to confirm the timing of the blip.

Over Alaska Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Nothing to report here.

Over Alaska Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'd hate to deter anyone from purchasing this budget-priced release on the sole basis of it's superficial content, but those interested in the title should be aware of what their getting into. From a technical standpoint, the visuals are competent, but the audio quality is subpar in comparison with other documentaries on the market. If your capable of being captivated by visuals alone, this is a highly-recommended purchase. For anyone else, I'd recommend it as a rental, since you won't likely watch the film on a regular basis.