“Home” Blu-ray Review
Documentaries about Earth (a very classy planet) have been around since…well, I don’t really know the exact date, but tuning to Discovery Channel or Animal Planet on any given day will show you some absolutely beautiful scenery and shots from our planet. But Fox is hoping to do one better with Home, a new documentary that explores Earth like never before, going all around the globe and filming shots that are nothing short of spectacular. Of course you may ask yourself “do we really need another documentary with shots of Earth in high definition,” to which I reply: yes, you dolt, of course we do. What better way to enjoy our planet than in 1080p, as I’d apparently rather watch from my TV than go explore myself.
Synopsis
Experience the wonderment of our world in a way that will enthrall, captivate and inspire you! Award-winning aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and narrator Glenn Close take you on a spectacular voyage around the world in Home, a unique film with such breathtaking imagery, you’ll want to enjoy it time and time again.
Demo disc? Yeah, that’s what this is. I don’t quite know how to review what is essentially two hours of nothing but shots of Earth, especially since it doesn’t really ever attempt to do anything but inspire wonder and awe in the viewer. There is an environmental message of course (the press release for this film even says it’s in the “tradition” of An Inconvenient Truth), as for all of the wonderful and gorgeous shots of Earth that we see, we also see a few its faults as well (which are manmade, naturally). So in that regard it’s a bit more than you’d expect from a standard high-definition shot of a small river running through a mountain, but in the end that’s what I took away from this film.
Which may be not what was intended, because this really is a “take care of Earth!” educational video wrapped up in a gorgeous 1080p transfer, but honestly you get this same message from all angles nowadays that it almost feels late to the environmental table. Anyone who isn’t aware of the Earth’s changing environment is either living somewhere without any form of media access or someone who thinks global warming is baloney. Still, I guess more education is never a bad thing so in that regard it’s still moderately engaging.
While this is hardly something you’d just sit down and watch (it’s two hours long—a bit long to spend in front of a TV watching something with no plot [though plenty of people do that with reality TV now so I guess that’s not much of an argument]), it’s something that could definitely be better enjoyed through installments or just something that would play in the background. It also doesn’t hurt that the film was released simultaneously worldwide, on both DVD, Blu-ray and via the internet, so your options and choices of where to watch it are wide and varied.
Overall this is a solid documentary and one worth checking out if you aren’t tired of the environmental message. You can pelt me if you want, but I have grown a bit tired of it (have I attempted to reduce my carbon footprint? Sure, but being constantly reminded to do so actually makes me less inclined for some reason), so being reminded of it either subtly or not so-subtly can become a bit cumbersome. Luckily there’s just a ton of beautiful shots of Earth to go along with this one, so it’s far from irksome. Recommended.
The Blu-ray
That comment I made about the choices of where to watch this wide and varied? Yeah that’s pretty much bullcrap, as after watching this Blu-ray release you won’t want to watch it anywhere but on a big ol’ high-definition screen (the kind that uses less energy, mind you). The disc itself arrives in the environmentally-friendlier Elite Blu-ray case (the one full o’ holes) and only the disc inside and the menu is simple and easy to navigate and.
Video arrives in the form of an AVC encoded 1080p 1.78:1 transfer that, as I’ve touted, looks fantastic. This is what you think of when you hear the term HD, pure and simple. It looks great and the sound, a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, also impresses with its range, although most of its time is spent in the front channels with Glenn Close’s narration.
There are no extras and when it comes to a documentary like this, you don’t really expect there to be. The entire disc is devoted to the two hour film (which may be also why it looks so damn good).
Overall a solid release, but this is really more of a Rental, unless you plan on passing it around to friends as it’s really one of those “watch and share” type of films.
Home is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and online.