Tropical Rainforest Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Tropical Rainforest Blu-ray Movie Review

This IMAX offering is a little soggy.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 20, 2011

Are you old enough to remember those old “Uncola” commercials for 7-Up with the impossibly big voiced black man? That was one Geoffrey Holder, whose voice became in its own way as well known as a kind of Trinidadian version of James Earl Jones’. Holder actually has an incredibly rich curriculum vitae, one which includes such well-remembered film roles as Shakespeare X in the Rex Harrison musical version of Doctor Dolittle, Punjab in the film version of Annie, as well as one of the bad guys in Live and Let Die. Holder also has legitimate stage credits in all sorts of genres, including as an actor and dancer in such musicals as House of Flowers. Rather incredibly, Holder also directed (as well as designed costumes for) the original Broadway version of The Wiz, the African American re-do of The Wizard of Oz. So what’s he doing, even as a voice over artist, in the sort of silly IMAX enterprise Tropical Rainforest? Everyone needs a paycheck, evidently. Our good friends of Amazon aver that Tropical Rainforest was one of the first commercially released DVDs, but one has to wonder what the audience for this less than stellar presentation could ever be. While undeniably scenic, as most IMAX outings are, it is filled with a bunch of quasi-mystical hooey voiced in Holder’s stentorian (and heavily accented) tones, hooey mixed in with actually kind of funny quasi-scientific pronouncements that may have more inquiring minds asking, “How? Why?” When someone with a voice like Holder’s says something along the lines of, “A hundred million years later, other sorts of trees appeared,” the propensity is to just believe him (after all, would you want to argue with someone who sounds like that and who stands six and a half feet tall?). But upon a little further rumination, yep, you guessed it, you might be asking yourself, “How? Why?”

If you think the current debate over climate change and man’s contributions to the dissolution of Planet Earth’s living conditions is bad, simply journey back almost twenty years to 1992, when Tropical Rainforest first hit IMAX theaters. We were still in the early years of a growing alarmist trend about climate change, and melting polar ice caps were probably still only a twinkle (if that’s the right word) in Al Gore’s eye. And so in a way Tropical Rainforest seems eerily prescient, as it is without a doubt one of the most unabashed screed-like IMAX films, at least of its era. Many IMAX films have of course focused on the environmental impact Man is having on the planet, but few have been so blatantly nightmarish in depicting the calamities humans are visiting on various species, whether they be leafy or four legged. Again, as voiced with the authority of Holder, some audience members may simply be hanging their heads in shame as the narration takes us all collectively to task for our bad behavior.

Another at least potentially problematic area for Tropical Rainforest is the huge swaths of time, geography and information it attempts to cover in a really rather brief forty or so minute running time. When a film manages to bridge about half a billion (yes, that billion with a b) years in its opening few seconds (yes, seconds), you know you’re in for a lot of information. Despite its supposed narrow focus, Tropical Rainforest might have done better to have concentrated on one ecosystem, rather than spanning the globe to provide a number of disparate locations that may be linked by a certain similarity, but which may still be too widely placed and varied to really give the documentary the cohesion it’s aiming for.

And yet there is great beauty in Tropical Rainforest, as might be expected. Sights of towering ferns (according to Holder’s extremely certain sounding narration, the first plant life in these ecosystems), gorgeous canopies of tangled trees, and a variety of bizarre and often extremely colorful wildlife keep this piece visually interesting. Some of the most gorgeous photography is of the daily rainstorms, one of the defining features of these ecosystems (albeit one that evidently is in danger of disappearing due to a number of environmental factors). Watching clouds suddenly gather like some sort of heavenly flash mob and then letting loose with a brief but torrential downpour is an amazing example of nature in all its beauty, majesty and mystery, and it’s one of the more bracing visual feasts which Tropical Rainforest offers.

Ultimately, though, Tropical Rainforest spends too much time scolding the audience for its idiocy and not enough time providing more examples of why (there’s that niggling question again) these ecosystems are so remarkable. The documentary springs vibrantly to life when it peeks into the nooks and crannies of various life forms hidden away in the recesses of marshy tree and plant life, but then it just kind of comes to a screeching, nagging halt when it tries to supposedly “educate” us on deforestation and other calamities facing rainforests worldwide. It’s interesting to contrast Tropical Rainforest’s too supercilious approach with other IMAX environment-friendly outings like River at Risk, outings which are a bit gentler in their admonishments, and which are perhaps much more effective as a result of that approach.

IMAX films are of course meant (mostly) to be seen and not necessarily heard, which is probably the biggest mistake that Tropical Rainforest makes. A relentless downer like this tends to make people shut everything out, which completely defeats the purpose. As some wise person, possibly your mother, once said, “It’s easier to attract flies with honey than with vinegar.” That’s especially true of the exotic winged creatures that flit about the world’s rainforests, and it’s a lesson the creators of Tropical Rainforest would have done well to have taken to heart.

Tropical Rainforest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Usually these large format IMAX films would appear to be tailor made for release in the Blu-ray format, but unfortunately that's not the case with Tropical Rainforest, presented here with an AVC codec in 1080p and 1.78:1. This is one of the most strangely soft looking IMAX features I've encountered. I frankly never saw this piece theatrically and so can't comment on how it looked originally, but this Blu-ray is hobbled by an overly fuzzy image, low contrast and just a generally muddy look. At times, especially in some of the extreme close-ups of the various weird and wonderful wildlife inhabiting these lush climes, we do get something approaching a real hi-def look. And it can't be argued that colors, especially with regard to some of the incredibly beautiful tropical birds on display, are appropriately robust and extremely well saturated. But this presentation pales in comparison to any number of other IMAX Blu-rays we've seen.

Tropical Rainforest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tropical Rainforest sports lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks in English, French and Spanish. The English language track is rather nicely done, resplendent with Holder's unforgettable voice and also some wonderful music from South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo. From the opening drone of a didgeridoo to some gorgeous choral singing, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track presents this underscore in a nicely spacious way, utilizing all of the surrounds. Also quite impressive and at times incredibly immersive is the ubiquitous mixing in of environmental ambient sounds, especially lots of water noises, which filter through the surrounds and evoke the forest quite admirably. Fidelity is spot on on this track and dynamic range is also excellent.

Tropical Rainforest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only supplement is a selection of Trailers for other IMAX releases, and I never count trailers as part of the "official" supplement score.

Tropical Rainforest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tropical Rainforest is one of the rare misfires in the IMAX canon. While it's undeniably scenic, at least when it's not depicting chainsaw wielding "bad guys" mowing down everything in sight, we're offered a nicely varied look at several really amazing ecosystems. The problem with this feature is it is simply too dogmatic for its own good, and it's probably going to turn more people off than it probably meant to, despite its obvious good intentions. What might have saved this release would have been an opportunity to turn off Holder's narration and just be able to see the images and listen to the lovely music, but, alas, that's not an option here. If, however, you're feeling the need to atone for some kind of sin, watching Tropical Rainforest will probably infuse enough guilt into your soul to aid you in your goal of becoming penitent.