Customer Reviews

National Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe [Import]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

National Geographics "Journey to the Edge of the Universe" is exactly what the name implies. A 90 minute voyage using state of the art computer graphics that starts at our moon and continues right out to the edges of the known universe. The first 45 minutes explores the solar system jumping from planet to planet to our sun and a few of the major moons as well. Then the next 30 minutes explores our galaxy touching on everything from our closest neighbours like Alpha Centauri to stellar nurseries like the Horsehead Nebula. The final 15 minutes goes out from our closest galactic neighbours like the Andromeda galaxy right to the edges of space. The CGI graphics are first rate and the audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix with plenty of bass. It's quite a production.

And there in lies the problem for some folks. If you're expecting actual pictures of the stars, you won't see any. This is an all CGI production. If you're expecting some expert to come on and comment on a particular feature, you won't get that either. All narration is done by Alec Baldwin. What you will get is a superb visual and audio journey of 90 minutes length that will give you tantalizing insights into the entire cosmos. Think of it as an astronomy 101 introductory course. One or two minutes on this moon here, a couple of minutes more on that planet over there, a couple more on that quasar out there. Kinda the astronomical version of a Cliff's notes. Just enough to give you a passing grade.

If you want more details than you can get here, I'd recommend the Discovery Channels "How the Universe Works" instead of or in addition to. (See my review. How The Universe Works) It's the same all CGI, Dolby Digital production done by the exact same folks (Pioneer Productions) as this disc but consists of eight 45 minute episodes spread over two discs that go into much more detail. So where Journey spends a couple of minutes on a couple of Jupiter's moons, it spends an entire 45 minutes covering all of the solar systems moons as one example.

So consider Journey to the Edge of the Universe as a wonderful little primer on the universe. Perfect for beginners or just when you want to see everything in one sitting. And pick up How the Universe Works when you want to go into details on one specific subject, be it the Big Bang or other galaxies.

J. A.

Its unfortunate but this whole movie is animated rather poorly. Most of these types of documentaries are computer generated but this one just looks cheesy. The fact that it is in Blu-ray format is bit of a waste considering none of the images are real. It's not completely uninformative but I had to knock a star off for the completely ridiculous narration by Alec Baldwin. As my Wife said it sounds like William Shatner trying to sound like Alec Baldwin trying to sound like William Shatner. Consider buying "Wonders Of The Universe [Blu-ray]" Much more interesting and incredible to look at in HD.

My husband wanted this disc but turned out I enjoyed it just as much as he did! Well done, an incredible journey!! Also very please at how quick it arrived! -Another happy amazon customer

It's spooky how incredible this dvd is. The 'driver's seat' simulator-style narrative is very in depth. It's very informative and creates a sense of curiosity and mystery about what is out there. I just wish there was more actual images vs the computer simulated images. Highly recommended