No one knows when man first came to [this place], but native tribes lived here for thousands of years before the European settlers came, worshiping the [insert animal/spirit figure] of [this place]. [Insert re-enactment of skin-clad natives running through the forest] Later, [this place] was reached by several bands of European explorers. [Insert re-enactment of fur-clad explorers trudging through snow]. Now, the majesty and mystery of [this place] lingers to the present day... who can fathom the magic of [this place]?

If you want to know what the IMAX films Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Niagara are like, simply plug in the names of each of those places into the [this place] spots in the paragraph above, and you'll have a capsule summary of each of the three films. Does that give the impression that the films are rather generic? Sadly, that's a correct impression. Despite the incredible wealth of interesting information that could have been presented along with the visuals in these films in the America the Beautiful set, the actual result is three films that are almost 100% content free.

That's not to say that I expect loads of insights from films that are primarily designed for visual spectacle, but I do like a bit of substance; otherwise, the pictures are meaningless. None of the three films even does the minimum of explaining where the area in question is located... a major blunder for a Region 0 DVD set with multiple language tracks, but annoying even for a U.S. native. Just because I've heard of the Grand Canyon (and visited it) doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate seeing its location on a map, or having the narrator briefly explain where it is. In a similar spirit of absence of context, all of the films appear to be allergic to dates as well, blithely showing reenactments of assorted explorers and natives without telling us when this is supposed to take place.

Oh, the reenactments. OK, guys, enough already. The extras may have had a fun time ("Hey look, I get to be a Spanish conquistador in this one!" "Cool – I get to be a grizzly mountain man!") but the actual effect on the films is to water them down even further. Then again, the focus of all three films seems to be much more on the "human element" than on the spectacle of the natural landscapes that the films purport to be about.

Each of the films runs approximately 40 minutes. Yellowstone is actually the one with the most potential for content, as it touches on the volcanism of the area and the geysers, but the material is given a sketchy and unsatisfactory treatment. Niagara and Grand Canyon are even more content-free, threatening to lift off and blow away through pure lack of substance. Sadly, there's not even much by way of spectacular photography in these films. Niagara does have a short segment at the end that shows off the falls and the white water, and Grand Canyon has one nice shot from the perspective of a raft heading down the canyon, but on the whole the films don't manage to capture much of the genuine natural spectacle of each of these places.

The DVD

Video

Each of the features is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, as presented on the large IMAX screens. In each case, I found the image quality to be disappointing, although the condition of the print in some of the clips included in the special features suggest that we may be seeing substantially restored prints of these films, which may have been some of IMAX's earlier efforts: Grand Canyon was filmed in 1984 and Niagara in 1986.

Despite being the most recent of the three films, made in 1994, Yellowstone shows surprisingly poor image quality for what I'd expect from an IMAX film. There is a fairly heavy amount of edge enhancement, and the image as a whole is fairly blurry and indistinct. I also noticed a surprising number of scratches and speckles in the print. Colors were generally satisfactory, though at times there's a slightly reddish tint to the image that doesn't seem natural. The image is free of noise, and looks its best in large-scale views of scenery.

Grand Canyon exhibits heavy edge enhancement and generally lackluster contrast. There's also a substantial number of print flaws and scratches, along with noticeable pixellation in the image. Colors look satisfactory.

Niagara shows a moderate amount of noise, and generally tends to have a blurry look. Edge enhancement isn't much in evidence, but what is apparent is pixellation and aliasing artifacts: there are distinct shimmering effects in many parts of the image, especially along borders and straight lines. Compression may have been an issue, as there are no fewer than seven Dolby 5.1 tracks included.

Audio

First of all, despite the DTS logo on the outside slipcase and on the keepcase of Niagara, none of the three films includes a DTS soundtrack. Dolby 5.1 tracks are provided for all the languages offered on each of the films, which amounts to a substantial number: for Niagara, we get English, Spanish, French, German, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese; for Grand Canyon we get English, Swedish, German, French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Korean; and for Yellowstone, we get English, Mandarin, and German. Whew.

The audio track for Yellowstone is adequate. The use of surround sound is generally very good, with effects like rushing water quite immersive (no pun intended) and occasionally other environmental sounds placed effectively in the side channels. The music is also well spread among all the channels, though I found the musical score to be strangely inappropriate to much of the film. (Light, dainty waltzes while showing blasting geysers and boiling mud?) Unfortunately, the dialogue and narration tended to be at too low a volume compared to the other elements of the track, requiring frequent volume adjustments.

Grand Canyon's soundtrack is the weakest of the three in the set; there are volume variations, some of the narration is frankly mumbled, and the surround effects are fairly low-key.

Niagara's soundtrack is quite good, with some excellent surround effects used throughout the film. The music is reasonably good as well, and there are none of the volume issues that appear on the other films.

Extras

The three DVDs are packaged in individual keepcases that are packaged together in a very flimsy paper case. In all cases, the menu interfaces are very badly designed, with it being completely unclear what the "selected" menu choice is, as well as having mysterious unlabeled arrows and the potential for getting stuck in no-way-out sections of the menu.

Niagara includes a 20-minute making-of featurette that is of mild interest at best. Grand Canyon also has a 20-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that actually includes substantially more information about the park than was included in the entire main feature. Then again, that's not hard.

All three DVDs have trailers for other IMAX films and directions to access weblinks.

Final thoughts

All three of the films included in the America the Beautiful set are a disappointment: each of them appears to miss the point (the spectacular natural beauty of the area the film is about) and expends its energy on pointless reenactments and trivial human-interest stories. Some good snippets of photography are included, but not enough by far to justify the purchase of the set. Information-wise, the three films are also a waste of time; I'm not expecting a detailed documentary, but a few facts about the areas would have been a nice touch. The DVD treatment is not really satisfactory, either; since these films really don't have anything going for them except their visuals, it's not acceptable to have lackluster image quality. For viewers who really want to see an impressive IMAX presentation, in both sound, visuals, and informative content, I recommend picking up Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees, and skipping over America the Beautiful entirely.