The tenth dimension part

The tenth dimension part 2

Users can also choose from two different audio tracks to accompany the slate of ever-changing imagery a selection of world music or an assortment of natural sounds. Not to dredge up ancient history, but remember when high definition was still fairly new, a certain format war was taking place, and various people were experiencing their eyes bugging out with Planet Earth? High def may be almost passé to some by this time, and we dont have a format war to argue over anymore, but the mad acclaim for Planet Earth does seem to have died down a bit in the intervening years. If youve wondered what all the fuss was about, but havent wanted to invest in either the time or money it takes to experience all of that magnificent Discovery Channel series, you have a Clifs Notes version of sorts here in this quite wonderful National Geographic documentary, Atmospheres: Earth, Air and Water. And even better yet at least to this reviewer, who sometimes can do without portentous voice overs spoiling the lovely scenery, theres not one word of narration, just your choice of either the natural sound environments or a soothing music soundtrack mixed with those natural sounds. As the subtitle to this documentary might suggest, Atmospheres: Earth, Air and Water is a trifold look at various wonders which surround us on this amazing planet, split into three fairly discrete segments focusing on one element. Atmospheres may have, in its title at least, seem to have forgotten the fourth element, fire, but as this piece starts with volcanic activity, you can see that, as the alchemists used to claim, each of the elements blends with the others, and so earth is wed to fire in this opening segment. In fact, in what is either a nice piece of serendipity or some very smart thinking, the first scenes actually combine all three elements named in the title, plus fire, as we get a great aerial tracking shot of lava spilling into the ocean creating huge plumes of steam. Swirling panoramas of lava look almost like close-ups of a Van Gogh sun at times, with furious oranges and reds dissolving everything around them. All four elements combine as lava fire and earth pours into the ocean, creating huge steam plumes. You may remember that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal came in for a little criticism when he took a federal volcano watch program to task in a nationally televised speech he gave. As someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest, and who in fact was here when Mt. Helens erupted, I personally can tell you volcano watches are necessary for this part of the world, and Atmospheres makes that abundantly clear as it provides up close and personal views of the at times weirdly calm destructive capability of flowing lava. The savage fury of volcanoes is truly unbelievable if you havent experienced it personally; I still remember how amazed I was a good ten years after St. Helens had blown its top, and I had purchased my first house. I got up on a ladder to do some gutter repair and was shocked to see inches of hard-crusted ash still almost welded to the interior of the gutters. And Mt. Helens is over 100 miles by road from Portland! Atmospheres may take a somewhat more languid approach to the subject, but the slow, Shiva-like dance of lava footage is both beautiful and slightly alarming. The swirling oranges of lava make a neat transition to the similarly burnt rust look of the strange and beautiful rock formations of the American southwest, strangely enough another area Ive spent a great deal of my life, having been born and raised in Utah. This region, made famous in many westerns directed by John Ford, is a barren yet compelling landscape, full of patently weird rock outcroppings which jut at odd angles against a stunningly blue sky. We then get an amusing little cameo of a couple of beetles trying to make their way through a desert sand hill, which leads to an almost balletic sequence featuring ants, including one brave soul that mounts and repeatedly traverses the head of a napping Gila monster. A lovely sequence featuring Africa follows, with some frolicking lions, including some adorable cubs, as well as some of the most patently weird looking birds youve ever seen in fact, I wish there had been some sort of identification offered in the extras for some of these more exotic species. Monkeys and elephants complete our tour of wildlife before Atmospheres moves on to some stunning images of mist enveloped hills and some equally neat time lapse photography of various flowers coming into bloom. Earth closes its roughly 30 minute segment with a cute sort of mini March of the Penguins segment, featuring our favorite tuxedo clad creatures waddling and flapping about in all their glory. The Air segment opens with several impressive vistas of various cloud formations, and then moves on to some visceral storm footage that looks like it was shot in Americas heartland. Even more cloud footage follows, but this time its some very cool time lapse photography that shows a huge cloudbank growing over time, almost in fact like a volcanic eruption. After a brief sequence of slow motion birds in flight, one of the highlights no pun intended of this Blu-ray is offered in a truly stupendous longer segment featuring the Aurora Borealis. This cosmic lightshow is a wonder of blues and greens, with tons of shooting stars, and the shots here are simply magical. As any fan of Planet Earth will attest, some of that series strongest sequences were the underwater ones, and Atmospheres matches the longer form series in that regard. The final third or so of this documentary is filled with beautiful and wonderfully clear underwater shots of strange flora and various sea life. Its really amazing to see the unbelievably bright colors that exist beyond our everyday reality, hidden beneath the veil of the oceans. The final moments of this piece move above the water for some lovely shots of island landscapes, with sea lions and other creatures, before finishing off with Niagara Falls. This 90 minute documentary obviously doesnt have the depth or scientific inquiry attitude of Planet Earth and its Discovery Channel siblings, but over the course of its hour and a half, the viewer is treated to some spectacular imagery. This may be ambient television an emerging genre Ill be dealing with in several upcoming reviews of other similar product, but its gorgeously shot and surprisingly involving. Atmospheres looks spectacular in its 1080p/AVC encode, with the same sharpness and astoundingly popping color palette that made Planet Earth such a sensation a few years ago.