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Kilimanjaro - To The Roof of Africa
Slingshot // Unrated // October 8, 2002
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Director David Breashears gained great fame from directing "Everest", one of the most popular and high-grossing large-format IMAX films of all time. While a informative and well-filmed picture that followed a group of climbers up Mt. Everest, "Everest" also showed the tragic story of another group of climbers on the mountain at the same time who passed away during a fierce storm.
Before "Everest", Breashears became an experienced cinematographer, working on such Hollywood productions as "Cliffhanger" and "Seven Years in Tibet". Breshears once again does both tasks for "Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa", his latest directorial effort, which is one of the most incredibly beautiful large-format features I've seen in quite some time. It's one of those IMAX DVDs where I wish I had the chance to see it on the stories-tall IMAX screen.
The film is narrated by Jacob Kyungai, a mountain guide who has taken travelers up the mountain - a dormant Volcano - for thirty years. He guides and narrates the journey by a small group of people from various ages and backgrounds. I was pretty stunned to see a couple of fairly young kids, who looked to be in their early teens, on the journey (kids, don't try this at home!). On the way up, the film pauses to discuss the history of the mountain and point out some of the more interesting animal and plant life, as well as how they adapt to the harsh conditions. One fascinating sequence has the film pondering why many animals make the trek up the mountain, only to pass away once they reach the top. It doesn't have an answer, but it's one of the film's few interesting questions left unanswered.
Once near the top of the mountain, the travelers run across several ice caps, which are actually part of the remainder of the ice age that took place thousands of years ago. Along the way, picture-in-picture clips of the climbers talking reveal their thoughts about the journey; their tidbits aren't informative, but they add a somewhat enjoyable element. While the viewer can share their feelings of triumph towards the end of the film, their discussions of being tired or sore or otherwise during the majority of the rest of the film really doesn't add anything. At the end of this film, I found myself amazed by the visuals, many of which were memorable, but I really found that I hadn't learned a whole lot about the mountain. Overall, this is a technically exceptional film, but a little uneven in other aspects.
The DVD
VIDEO: Slingshot presents "Kilimanjaro" in 1.33:1 full-frame. While this is not a flawless presentation, it generally achieves the enjoyable level of image quality that most of the studio's IMAX fare offers. Sharpness and detail are quite pleasing - while not all of the scenes are crystal clear, most of the film's transfer offers fine detail and depth.
I was a little surprised at where the presentation ran into trouble. This is a new IMAX film whose release was this year and, as such, I was surprised to see some noticable specks and marks occasionally on the print used. While some mild edge enhancement and some other artifacts are occasionally seen, I didn't find them too terribly bothersome. The film's color palette is generally subdued, given the area, although occasionally, brighter colors (some plants, some clothing that the climbers wear) really stand out quite nicely. Some areas of this transfer could have been a bit smoother, but it was still an enjoyable viewing experience.
SOUND: "Kilimanjaro" is presented by Slingshot in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. This isn't one of the most aggressive IMAX soundtracks I've ever heard, as the film's tribal score is really given the most presence in the soundtrack. The surrounds kick in quite a bit throughout, but mainly to reinforce the score. Still, there were a few scenes that presented some pleasant, distinct ambience, such as wind, in the rear speakers. Narration and dialogue is also clear throughout. In terms of comparing the two soundtracks, I was surprised at how much stronger the DTS soundtrack was. The tribal score, occasionally filled with drums and other dynamic instruments, sounded much richer and much more powerful. Narration also sounded crisper and clearer.
MENUS: Animated main & sub-menus, with the score in the background.
EXTRAS: A 22-minute "making of" documentary is almost as interesting as the film itself. As with all of the IMAX "making ofs", this isn't a promotional feature that simply tells us about the story, but an impressively in-depth look at the kind of struggle it takes to film a trek up an enormous mountain and capture that trek with the very large IMAX cameras. The "making of" gives a greater sense of the challenges in the trek, while also giving the viewer into both the director's approach to the film and the people who star in it.
Other supplements include the film's theatrical trailer, trailers for other IMAX DVDs, trivia and a slide show of production images.
Final Thoughts: "Kilimanjaro: To The Roof Of Africa" captures the area superbly, providing some of the most spectacular imagery I've seen in an IMAX film recently. However, I felt as if there was more to learn about the mountain and that the discussions of the trekers didn't add much to the experience. Slingshot's DVD offers good audio/video quality and a few solid extras. Depsite some reservations, I'll still recommend this to IMAX fans. Younger viewers might also find this interesting, as two of the film's stars are in their early teens.
Director David Breashears gained great fame from directing "Everest", one of the most popular and high-grossing large-format IMAX films of all time. While a informative and well-filmed picture that followed a group of climbers up Mt. Everest, "Everest" also showed the tragic story of another group of climbers on the mountain at the same time who passed away during a fierce storm.
Before "Everest", Breashears became an experienced cinematographer, working on such Hollywood productions as "Cliffhanger" and "Seven Years in Tibet". Breshears once again does both tasks for "Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa", his latest directorial effort, which is one of the most incredibly beautiful large-format features I've seen in quite some time. It's one of those IMAX DVDs where I wish I had the chance to see it on the stories-tall IMAX screen.
The film is narrated by Jacob Kyungai, a mountain guide who has taken travelers up the mountain - a dormant Volcano - for thirty years. He guides and narrates the journey by a small group of people from various ages and backgrounds. I was pretty stunned to see a couple of fairly young kids, who looked to be in their early teens, on the journey (kids, don't try this at home!). On the way up, the film pauses to discuss the history of the mountain and point out some of the more interesting animal and plant life, as well as how they adapt to the harsh conditions. One fascinating sequence has the film pondering why many animals make the trek up the mountain, only to pass away once they reach the top. It doesn't have an answer, but it's one of the film's few interesting questions left unanswered.
Once near the top of the mountain, the travelers run across several ice caps, which are actually part of the remainder of the ice age that took place thousands of years ago. Along the way, picture-in-picture clips of the climbers talking reveal their thoughts about the journey; their tidbits aren't informative, but they add a somewhat enjoyable element. While the viewer can share their feelings of triumph towards the end of the film, their discussions of being tired or sore or otherwise during the majority of the rest of the film really doesn't add anything. At the end of this film, I found myself amazed by the visuals, many of which were memorable, but I really found that I hadn't learned a whole lot about the mountain. Overall, this is a technically exceptional film, but a little uneven in other aspects.
The DVD
VIDEO: Slingshot presents "Kilimanjaro" in 1.33:1 full-frame. While this is not a flawless presentation, it generally achieves the enjoyable level of image quality that most of the studio's IMAX fare offers. Sharpness and detail are quite pleasing - while not all of the scenes are crystal clear, most of the film's transfer offers fine detail and depth.
I was a little surprised at where the presentation ran into trouble. This is a new IMAX film whose release was this year and, as such, I was surprised to see some noticable specks and marks occasionally on the print used. While some mild edge enhancement and some other artifacts are occasionally seen, I didn't find them too terribly bothersome. The film's color palette is generally subdued, given the area, although occasionally, brighter colors (some plants, some clothing that the climbers wear) really stand out quite nicely. Some areas of this transfer could have been a bit smoother, but it was still an enjoyable viewing experience.
SOUND: "Kilimanjaro" is presented by Slingshot in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. This isn't one of the most aggressive IMAX soundtracks I've ever heard, as the film's tribal score is really given the most presence in the soundtrack. The surrounds kick in quite a bit throughout, but mainly to reinforce the score. Still, there were a few scenes that presented some pleasant, distinct ambience, such as wind, in the rear speakers. Narration and dialogue is also clear throughout. In terms of comparing the two soundtracks, I was surprised at how much stronger the DTS soundtrack was. The tribal score, occasionally filled with drums and other dynamic instruments, sounded much richer and much more powerful. Narration also sounded crisper and clearer.
MENUS: Animated main & sub-menus, with the score in the background.
EXTRAS: A 22-minute "making of" documentary is almost as interesting as the film itself. As with all of the IMAX "making ofs", this isn't a promotional feature that simply tells us about the story, but an impressively in-depth look at the kind of struggle it takes to film a trek up an enormous mountain and capture that trek with the very large IMAX cameras. The "making of" gives a greater sense of the challenges in the trek, while also giving the viewer into both the director's approach to the film and the people who star in it.
Other supplements include the film's theatrical trailer, trailers for other IMAX DVDs, trivia and a slide show of production images.
Final Thoughts: "Kilimanjaro: To The Roof Of Africa" captures the area superbly, providing some of the most spectacular imagery I've seen in an IMAX film recently. However, I felt as if there was more to learn about the mountain and that the discussions of the trekers didn't add much to the experience. Slingshot's DVD offers good audio/video quality and a few solid extras. Depsite some reservations, I'll still recommend this to IMAX fans. Younger viewers might also find this interesting, as two of the film's stars are in their early teens.
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