Earth (2007)

Jack won the bet but he wouldn't name the stakes. I was convinced that some of the mind-boggling images in this documentary were computer generated or touched up and he said they were all real. He was right (and said the satisfaction of knowing we could trust our eyes was reward enough)! We went on a Sunday afternoon where lots of families joined us, but James Earl Jones' dulcet tones carried through the chatter and chewing, as did the soundtrack, composed and conducted by George Fenton (who won an Emmy for scoring Planet Earth, the 23-hour 2006 BBC-TV series on which this feature was based, and was nominated for Oscars, but no wins for The Fisher King (1992) (oh, I loved that one!), Dangerous Liaisons (1989), Cry Freedom (1988), and Ghandi (1983), among his many credits) and played by the Berliner Philharmoniker Orchestra. 

The main event is the visuals: DO NOT WAIT FOR THE VIDEO. Wipe off your glasses and see the crisp (unenhanced!) images on a big screen in a theatre with the highest quality screen images in your town. Dozens of photographers contributed work to this Disneynature opus, but you probably won't read the credits (available from this site->about the film->production notes->download the press kit), even though you won't be tempted to leave as they're rolling. That's because next to the credits the fourth wall is dissolved and we get to see footage of the crew working on location, which is also marvelous. I don't know a lot about the cinematographic technology used (described generally in the first link), other than many more frames per second were captured than a conventional film camera can. Time lapse photography was also used, as a whole forest went from spring to fall color in a matter of seconds. And they had zoom capability not available to the average Joe (or Babette). There was no violence because the hunting sequences were cut short (good for the G-rating) unless you count big fish with littler fish in their mouths. 

My favorite part was the bird of paradise mating dance. I wonder if any "birds and bees" conversations will be initiated by the sequence. The black feathers just pop and the birds are so cute! I really can't think of anyone who wouldn't like this movie. Just go.