The symmetrical spherical wonderment of radiolaria became a micro-metaphor for Haeckel's growing assertions that the universe was a self-guided organism working toward its highest good (of which, of course, European man was the then current apex of creation). Haeckel's shallow water discoveries of these fascinating structures was only heightened years later when the HMS Challenger found literally thousands of the creatures at depths heretofore unimagined and Haeckel was hired to catalog them. His stunning representations of them are still in use today, and in fact Haeckel once considered giving up a scientific career to pursue art, something this documentary shows would have been quite easy for him based on his lovely landscapes which are featured in abundance.

Proteus does an engaging job of weaving together some pretty disparate strands, as Haeckel himself did in an almost mystical fashion by finally coming to the conclusion that religion and science were basically two sides of the same coin. Intercutting lots of etchings by such renowned artists as Dore with some brilliant longer montages of incredible varieties of radiolaria (set to an appealing 7/4 passacaglia by composer Yuval Ron), Proteus helps make visceral the wonder that Haeckel must have felt as he became entranced by these fascinating microorganisms.

With Marian Seldes' soothing narration leading the way and excellent voicework by such pros as Richard Dysart, filmmaker David Lebrun explores some unexpected niches, as when he concludes rather convincingly that Haeckel's influence spreads to such unlikely media and movements as D.H. Lawrence's nature fiction to the Art Nouveau movement. Proteus is never less than visually arresting, with so many fascinating tidbits dropped along the way that it never seems to be a standard biography at all. Haeckel certainly deserves to be better remembered than he is, and Proteus will hopefully help right that wrong as more people are exposed to him via this new DVD release.

The DVD

Video:
Unfortunately the transfer of this DVD is not up to the imagery of the piece. The unenhanced 1.78:1 image is full of aliasing and moire patterns which erupt from the many woodcuts and etchings used throughout, not to mention the labyrinthine architecture of the radiolaria themselves. A lot of the problems start as soon as the motion control cameras begin to move, and things settle down as soon as the image is stationary again. Most of the images are black and white, with occasional tinting, and in that regard all look fine.

Sound:
The Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is perfectly fine, with an excellent mix of voices and underscore. Fidelity and separation are both perfectly fine, with no problems whatsoever. No subtitles are available.

Extras:
The longest extra is a 45 minute or so frankly sort of dull documentary on the making of Proteus. While Lebrun obviously has a lot of history with the project (it took him over 20 years to get made), this particular piece consists of him sitting at his desk talking into the camera and holding up books, with occasional intercutting to actual animated sequences. It makes for a very listless presentation, even though the actual discussion is quite interesting. There are also text biographies of both Haeckel and Lebrun, a pretty cool photo gallery of various radiolaria, a resource guide and a preview of Lebrun's other recent DVD release Breaking the Maya Code (which I'll be reviewing shortly). There is also the usual gallery of First Run Features previews.

Final Thoughts:
Lebrun got his start doing filmed elements for psychedelic concerts back in the 1960s in L.A. It's not hard to see the evolution (pun intended) to Haeckel and these at times hallucinatory radiolaria. Proteus is an at times hypnotic piece unlike any biographical documentary you've seen, and it comes Recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet