The Movie

Crop circles are amazing things. They come in all shapes and sizes, and range from the seemingly simple, to the staggeringly complex. They appear in every corner of the globe, and can materialize overnight, or in a matter of minutes. They create a sense of wonder, amazement, and skepticism in all who see them. And no matter whom, or what creates them, no one can deny their exquisite beauty. But with all the publicity they have generated lately, especially with the release of M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, no one has definitively uncovered the mystery behind the origin of these remarkable crop circles.

There are many theories circulating as to the true origin of crop circles, and William Gazecki's intriguing Crop Circles: Quest for Truth, attempts to explain all of them. From natural occurrences, to geological changes, to chemical imbalances, to hoaxes, to extraterrestrials, and even higher levels of consciousness, you get to see it all on this DVD. And with a run time of two hours, a lot of screen time is dedicated to "experts" and normal folk like you and me, offering their personal accounts and explanations of these baffling crop field designs. But what stands out most in this wonderfully directed documentary are not the explanations, but the crop circles themselves, in what has to be the largest assembly of crop circle photographs and videos ever brought to the screen. Coupled with award-winning composer David Hamilton's mysteriously appropriate score, Crop Circles: Quest for Truth is a wonderfully absorbing documentary.


The DVD

Video: Crop Circles: Quest for Truth was filmed in an aspect ratio of 1.85.1. Most of the time the video looks a little grainy, but this varies greatly because the source material changes so often. Many segments have come from personal camcorders, so the video quality can significantly change from shot to shot. It's because of this that one cannot be too critical of the outcome. So considering the nature of the film the video quality is to be expected. However I would have liked to see a sharper picture in the segments filmed by Gazecki.

Colors are represented well when the source material is of exceptional quality. This is most evident in the photo gallery, where the numerous pictorial accounts of crop circles appear so vivid and bright, you almost feel as if you're there hovering over the actual crop circle site.

Oddly, many scenes have a "stretched" look to them. A special lens was most likely used to create this effect, however this artistic detail proves distracting in the "director interview" scenes on the DVD's special features. If there was a certain look Gazecki was trying to achieve, I'm sure it wasn't the "I'm bloated and stretched like a melting Gumby doll" look he was shooting for. Thankfully, not all of the scenes were given this treatment.

Overall the video quality is average at best, but given the materials needed to produce this documentary, I never felt that this was a direct problem associated with the video transfer.

Audio: The audio is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo Surround. And although a 5.1 track is not included, the stereo surround audio track does a fine job of separating the music appropriately. Most of the audio is dialogue anyway, so the lack of a 5.1 track is of no real concern. The audio sounds as good as it needs to be.

Menus: The menus, although sparse, are bright and colorful and extremely functional. Each menu is easy to navigate, and thankfully time is not wasted between selections with flashy transition animations. The scene selections menu is a static affair, giving you a picture and a brief description to clarify each chapter.

Extras: I was not expecting much for special features with this being a documentary film but was pleasantly surprised after viewing all of the features on this DVD. Included are: The Movie Trailer, Additional Footage, a Photo Gallery, and Interviews with the Director.

Trailer: This is the theatrical trailer released for the film.

Additional Footage: These segments were very entertaining. Included is additional footage of interviews that were not used in the original film. After viewing some of them, it's clear to see they were cut for pacing reasons, but I'm glad they were kept for inclusion on the DVD. Here you get to see interesting stories about crop circle researchers and their encounters with the C.I.A, more detail about crop circles and the presence of mysterious magnetic particles, and the very peculiar encounters with military helicopters and dancing balls of light. These stories are fascinating and really force you to wonder if the government knows more about crop circles then they're letting on. (Where's Fox Mulder when you need him?)

Photo Gallery: As you might expect, this is a compellation of what must be the entire gallery of crop circles used in the movie. But instead of having you click through each picture one at a time, it is played out as one 26-minute-long music video. This is an ingenious approach to DVD photo galleries, and hopefully DVD developers will continue with this trend. The gallery is wonderfully soothing to watch, and is without a doubt one of the best attributes of this DVD. Many of the pictures are vivid and pop right off the screen. And with the accompaniment of David Hamilton's score, it makes a perfect conversation piece to have playing when company comes over.

Interviews with the Director: The interviews with Academy Award-nominated director William Gazecki are interesting and offer good insight into Gazecki's own feelings about the subject. I only wish the segments would have been longer and more detailed. The five interview segments are titled: Crop Circles & UFO's, Farmers and Crop Circles, Hoaxing, The Crop Circle Experience, and The Croppies.


Final Thoughts

Crop circles have always fascinated me, and their rise in occurrence and ever growing complexity continues to draw me into this captivating subject. Crop Circles: Quest for Truth is extremely informative and enjoyable for anyone interested in learning more about crop circles. With its unmistakable X-Files-like feel, this DVD offers every scientific, psychological, and just plain kooky idea out there attempting to explain what causes crop circles and what their significance is. After watching this DVD you will be savvy to almost every conceivable hypothesis explaining crop circles, yet strangely you'll be even less sure as to what you truly believe. Crop Circles: Quest for Truth does its job admirably in exposing the general public to the beautiful yet unexplained phenomena that invade our fields by the hundreds every year. It is artistic, haunting, visually mesmerizing, and if you're interested in the subject matter, worthy of your collection.