IMAX/Image Entertainment Blu-ray 3D Wave: Dinosaurs
Alive! (2007)/ Grand Canyon Adventure (2008)/Wild Ocean
(2008/Image Entertainment)
3D Picture:
B/A-/A- 2D Picture: B/B+/B Sound: B+/B+/B Extras: C+ Films: C+/B-/B-
The
Blu-ray 3D format continues to arrive and the titles continue to be top rate,
with three new releases from IMAX and Image Entertainment offering the first
large-frame format derived 3D and first authentic live action 3D (versus lame
conversions) we have had a chance to look at and the three titles include two
we have covered on regular Blu-ray before and two that are must-own titles.
Links are
provided on the titles we covered before, which lead to more great IMAX
material. These are fine early choices
and are often as impressive as any of the CG or motion capture digital features
we have covered in our first four titles reviewed. All of these titles have demo footage of some
kind.
Dinosaurs Alive! (2007) is the oldest and most
commercial of the three, with more computer animation than the others, solid
narration by Michael Douglas and a production made to capture the tail end (no
pun intended) of the dinosaur-mania the first Jurassic Park feature caused many years ago. Fortunately, the animation (more than usual
for any IMAX release) is accompanied by trips to key locations (New Mexican
sandstone buttes, Mongolia’s
Gobi Desert) as real life paleontologists
reveal key discoveries about the creatures that once were. I would have liked more science, but this is
nicely done and Douglas’ work is actually an
involving plus.
Grand Canyon Adventure
(2008)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8918/IMAX/Image+Entertainment+Blu-ray/D
To recap
the previous coverage, narrated by Robert Redford with others who appear on
screen joining in, this fine documentary does a solid job of showing and telling
us how water is being depleted from the Grand Canyon
in a way that would have been unthinkable not that long ago. At 45 minutes, it is rich, beautiful,
engaging, often incredible and its arguments (scientific and otherwise) are
pretty full proof, sound and valid. It succeeds
in making the big statement about how bad things are and is a must-see IMAX
film for all, now even more so in Blu-ray 3D and it is amazing how starkly
memorable this is.
Wild Oceans (2008)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9546/Volcanoes+Of+The+Deep+(2003)
As
environmentally relevant as Canyon,
we recap as this was shot off of the coast in Africa, is one of the richest of
many great IMAX films featuring sea life and though many such shows have popped
up on TV lately shot in the latest High Definition video, nothing can beat the
best shots from the original 70mm IMAX film frame. This runs a healthy 45
minutes and is another great piece of work, now even more impressive in
3D. I really like some of the shots here
and this is still a standout as compared to so many other documentaries on
oceans and ocean life, which is not easy.
I just wish it were longer than 40 minutes.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 MVC-encoded 3-D – Full Resolution digital High Definition image on all
these Blu-ray 3D releases have highlights and demo material, but Dinosaurs falls a bit short since its
digital animation was limited to begin with and has not aged well. However, enough of the 3D effects work and
enough of the live action 70mm footage looks good that it is still worth
getting, but many scenes still do fall short including some 3D that does not
work as well, so know it is the disc and not your equipment. The 2D version has some of the same problems,
with both 3D & 2D versions showing some slight staircasing for whatever
reasons despite this release being conceived for 3D to begin with. Color, Video Black, Video White and the
source are just fine. The 3D on Canyon really delivers some of the best
3D I have seen in the format to date as expected, looking so good in the 2D
Blu-ray we reviewed before, I could imagine what it was going to look like, but
this 3D version even surpasses those expectations. The 2D here is the best looking 2D of the
three releases here, but the 3D is even more amazing and is strongly recommended
as an early disc to get. Ocean is just about as impressive, but
even more so because of the gap between how great the 3D image plays versus
some of the shortcomings of the 2D edition and version on this new
release. The way the water reproduces
will amaze you and the ocean life is as stunning as ever. Depth on these latter two films, along with
great 3D performance to match will sell 3D systems more than just about
anything we have seen to date.
All three
titles also feature DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mixes that are also
great, though Ocean still has its
voice over narration can be too much towards the center channel. However, all were originally issued in the
IMAX state of the art Sonics-DDP sound format, so they all have great soundfields
and will impress anyone playing them on a great home theater system. The mix on Dinosaurs helps to make up for its visual issues, while Canyon lands up with the best
picture/sound combination of the three in 2D and especially 3D. I can’t wait to see more IMAX productions in
the Blu-ray 3D format and after seeing these, you’ll feel the same way, proving
that the format is more than just for kids and families.
Extras in
all formats include BD Live interactivity, trailers for other IMAX releases (some
in 3D) and behind the scenes/making of featurettes. Dinosaurs
adds the Meet The Creatures
Educational Section with text and video on the title characters, Canyon adds a Music Video, Conservation
Tips, Sample The Soundtrack feature,
text & video on Director Greg McGillivray and intended-to-be-humorous Naturalist video clips. Ocean
adds an Interviews With The Directors
featurette and three shorter video clips of interest: Kwazulu Natal During The Run about the African province’s annual
sardine run, Recording Wild Ocean
sound recording process and Shooting Wild
Ocean showing the production through a series of stills.
For more
IMAX Blu-ray 3D coverage, try these links:
IMAX Deep
Sea 3D
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10895/IMAX:+Deep+Sea+3D+(2006)+++Pol
IMAX: Under The
Sea 3D/IMAX Space Station 3D
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10548/Cats+&+Dogs+%E2%80%93+The+R
Ultimate Wave Tahiti/Dinosaurs:
Giants Of Patagonia/Mummies: Secrets Of The
Pharaohs/Ultimate G’s: Zac’s Flying Dream
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10879/The+Endless+Summer+(1966/Monter
- Nicholas Sheffo
