Product: Imax / Extreme [VHS]
Rating: 5.0
A WONDERFUL MOVIE!
I saw this film six times when it played in IMAX theaters about seven years ago, often taking friends who had not seen it. Since then I have been annually pestering the people at Extreme as to when a DVD might be available. This year's email turned up gold; it's out!I think this film is utterly extraordinary. To me it's actually a serene meditation on art, beauty, elegance, and the human spirit. I'd been hoping for a DVD release because I periodically felt a need for an Extreme "fix"; and it simply has not been available at regional IMAX theaters anymore. I would love to see it occasionally when I need reassurance as to what is worthwhile in the human spirit!The previously released soundtrack is also one of my favorite albums. And the pairing of that music to the film is unbelievably inspired, For example, Morsheeba's "The Sea" is played during a snow/mountain episode, not during the surfing -- and it works so PERFECTLY! Whoever coordinated the soundtrack is a genius imho! It's right up there with "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and just a handful of other movies as having perfect soundtracks (again: imho!). Along these lines, when the film was showing at our local IMAX theater, a reviewer wrote a basically good review -- except that he criticized the soundtrack. He said the music should have been more driving -- hard metal or some such. I just shook my head and wondered at how he could so totally and utterly miss the point of "Extreme." I guess he thought it should have been some kind of testosterone fest with pounding music to drive home the point. I'll stick with my assessment of the film as a meditation!