To the Limit is a nice piece of IMAX eye candy: as long as you put your brain on hold while you watch it, there's nothing to interfere with appreciating the admittedly quite nicely done footage of human endeavors at the limit of the body's capabilities.

The 38-minute program is loosely centered around the amazing human body, using three real-life examples of how people push their bodies toward their own vision of perfection. We get to see a rock climber tackling death-defying rock faces in Yellowstone, a champion downhill skier facing a twisting 60 mph run, and a ballerina practicing for her role in Russia's Bolshoi Ballet. In each case, the camera alternates between a third-person view and a first-person one, giving us a glimpse of what it might be like to actually participate in that activity at that level of intensity. While the rock-climber scene is milked a bit too much for drama at the end, the "you are there" footage of the ski run is quite impressive, though undoubtedly not as much as on the full-sized IMAX screen.

Interspersed with these action sequences are informative pieces about how the human body works, although "informative" is stretching it a bit. The narrator outlines a few basic facts about the way the human body works as an overlay to actual views of the inside of a human body, filmed through an endoscopic camera (although I had to read the back of the DVD case to find that out, as the film itself doesn't even specify that these are real images rather than CGI, which some of the shots do resemble). By "basic" I really do mean "basic": is there really anyone over five years of age who will find it interesting to learn that the heart pumps blood throughout the entire body? If I hadn't resolutely put my brain on the shelf before watching To the Limit, I would have been frustrated by the lack of content; for instance, most of the inside-the-body images are presented without any information being provided about them at all. We might as well be watching random squiggles on the screen.

To make sure that none of the viewers are tempted to actually turn their brains on during the film, the film also makes sure to water down any potentially intriguing facts to almost nothing. For instance, in the ballerina segment, the film briefly mentions that she makes use of the body's "sixth sense," the sense of where the body is. Even leaving aside the fact that the concept is not explored at all, what's irritating is that the film doesn't even tell viewers what this sense is called. (It's called proprioception, for those who are interested.)

But as I said, the images are quite lovely, so if you're looking for some athletic-themed eye candy, To the Limit has it. And unlike the other MacGillivray Freeman films that I've reviewed, this film does have a certain dignified simplicity to it; it doesn't have any content to offer, but at least it doesn't try to pretend that it does.

The DVD

To the Limit is a two-DVD set, with both discs in a single-wide keepcase. The first DVD has the full program and special features, and the second DVD has the program in high-definition format, accessible through a PC running Windows XP.

Video

To the Limit appears in two formats: a widescreen version (at the 1.85:1 aspect ratio) and a 4:3 version, which reproduces the typical IMAX aspect ratio. It looks to me as though the film was framed with both aspect ratios in mind, so you can safely choose whichever one fills up your screen more, since the whole point of an IMAX film is to create a strong visual impression with as large an image as possible.

If you have a widescreen set, though, the widescreen option does look more attractive. It's anamorphically enhanced, and it actually includes more information on the sides of the image, compared to the 4:3 image. This results in a more filmlike and visually impressive experience on a larger screen.

The image quality is very good, with the picture looking bright and clear for nearly all the shots. Some do have a moderate amount of noise in the picture, but for the most part it's clean, although edge enhancement creeps into some of the otherwise clean shots. Colors are bright and vibrant, and overall the film looks very nice.

Audio

Viewers have the choice of a DTS 5.1, Dolby 5.1, or Dolby 2.0 track (and unlike the other MacGillivray Freeman DVDs, all three tracks are available regardless of whether you choose the widescreen or the 4:3 video option). The sound is quite good, but the DTS track doesn't really have a lot to offer over the Dolby 5.1. The sound is clean, but there's little use of the surround channels except for the background music, which oddly enough sometimes seems to shift from one side to the other for no particular reason. While the narrator is generally easy to understand, his voice tends to be overly quiet compared to the volume of the background music.

Extras

There are just a few minor special features here. A text blurb gives some background on producer Greg MacGillivray, and a seven-minute featurette does the same for his film company, MFF. There's a trivia quiz on the contents of the film, trailers for other MFF films, and a text blurb for a companion book to the DVD.

The second disc of the set has the complete feature in a high-definition transfer. As there are currently no high-definition DVD players, this version of the film is intended to be played on a PC running the Windows XP operating system.

Final thoughts

To the Limit is a watchable but essentially content-free IMAX film that celebrates the human body and whose who try to exceed their own physical limits. For what it is, it's OK, and given that it has a nice anamorphic widescreen transfer, I'll suggest this as a passable rental if you're looking for some athletic-themed eye candy. Rent it.