June 5, World Environment Day, is the date when the documentary 'HOME' is
released simultaneously in movie theaters, on TV, Blu-ray, DVD and online. Shot
in HD in 54 countries and 120 locations over 217 days, the all-aerial filming style
highlights the Earth's wonders as well as its wounds and provides a perspective to
approach the changing environment.
The BD is released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It is presented in
1.78:1 1080p video, and features English 5.1 DTS HD-MA and French 5.1 Dolby
Digital audio. The English narration is by actress Glenn Close.
Proceeds from the world launch will go, after production costs are covered, to the
GoodPlanet organization run by film director Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
You can watch the whole film (with English, French, German or Spanish
narration) until June 14 here. It will also air on
National Geographic Friday evening.
There is some nice scenery, but overall I must say I am very disappointed. I was actually going out to buy it earlier tonight until I checked and found that Best Buy closed an hour earlier than I had thought. I checked it out on NG HD and on YouTube, and I found the tone to be rather dismal and hectoring. I don't necessarily disagree with much of it, but the whole "look at what you and your fellow humans are destroying!" tone got old really quickly for me. I ended up skipping around, and every segment I skipped to was the same relentlessly dreary lecturing. Finally, toward the end they at least started offering some positive solutions to the problems (solar energy, etc.).
Even the cinematography kind of got old after a while. Rolling aerial shots are nice, but after seeing them continuously I just wanted them to stop moving for a little bit here and there.
This is definitely no Planet Earth 2.
Probably a rental for me at best. I've DVRed and will watch some more of it tomorrow. If it engages me more than it did tonight, and I want to see it in its full glory, I'll Netflix the BD.
