Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Herzog's Antarctica, 29 Dec 2008
Werner Herzog is one of those unique directors that never give you quite what you expect, but always satisfy. This film, in amazingly clear and crisp "blu-ray" makes you feel as if you are on Antarctica and underwater. In fact, you feel every scene as Hertoz has a talent of pulling you into the picture. There is no dispute that a blu-ray player and a good flat screen television is just about as great an experience that you can achieve nowadays and Herzog takes it to task.
The scenes are massive in scale and include glaciers, mountains, underwater breathtaking scenes, human interaction and a thorough dissection of the land and the people that occupy this one outpost. Hertoz narrates the film with not just his comments on the amazing scenery, but his personal interactions with the people living there to study. There is plenty of heartbreaking and amazing history throughout the film (i.e., Shackleton's journey). The characters are both normal and odd. Traveling to this location in a huge specialized plane shows the crew in each of their unique positions; sleeping in bags on the floor, strapped into less than comfortable looking chairs, tents set up inside the aircraft, conversations both normal and strange. At times explaining their interest in the areas conditions and their own methods of survival - some of which are quite funny, if the consequences of dying were not so real.
The cinematography is the real star here and with copious amounts of blue and white surrounding you, the feeling is surreal. There are no cute penguins or whales, just great shots of bizarre looking starfish that move and clams that snap open and shut as they travel through the water. The underwater visibility is impeccably clear. The ice cutting, severe wind and blizzards make the experience real. This is another place with unique individuals all filmed in magically and frightening real circumstances.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
not another film about penguins, 9 Sep 2008
In his later years, Herzog seems to be flourishing - his documentaries have all been gripping, bizarre stories about humanity, and even at the End of the World he finds more people. In Antartica he finds those who desire to "fall off the edge of the map", and they are all as eccentric as him. He portrays them all sympathetically and enthusiastically though, perhaps one of his finest qualities. Encounters... is memorable for many reasons - of course his meetings with people are notable, but so too is his cinematography. He shows Antartica as it truly is, including industrialised settlements and the less picturesque places usually ignored by other documentaries of this kind. And his underwater footage is astounding - a different quality to that of Planet Earth, but filled with etheral, otherworldly beauty. Add to this Herzog's natural humour and deadpan narration, and the result is a stunning film, completely worthy of the Best Documentary Award it won at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008. This is a film I could happily ramble about all day, suffice to say it is absolutely worth a watch. And if you're still not sure, here are two scenes to entice you with: the sad journey of a suicidal penguin, and Herzog wandering around in the snow with a bucket on his head.
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