Originally made to be shown on IMAX screens, Sacred Planet is equally stunning visually on a widescreen television. Like other nature-based documentaries, it takes some beautiful imagery from remote areas of our globe and presents them with an inspiring soundtrack and limited narration. In addition, Sacred Planet shows images of the people who inhabit our globe, from the most remote and rural areas to the big cities.

The main narration is read by Robert Redford, but it isn’t talky. Instead, the people shown generally speak for themselves, as do the images.

Sacred Planet takes the viewer to some of the remotest areas on the planet, previously untouched by man. Filming was done deep in the forests of Canada, on the glaciers of Alaska, in the desert canyons of Utah and Arizona, deep in the jungles of Borneo and under the water, in the ruins of ancient civilizations in Thailand, and in the barren deserts of Africa.

The theme running through the film is the respect for the planet. We have survived as a species this long, largely due to working as part of the ecosystem. Are the cities part of an aberration to this system? That would seem to be what Sacred Planet suggests, with the drastic change in the pace of the images between the two places.

However, looking deeper, I saw more. In the cities Sacred Planet not only captures the businesses, but also a certain beauty to the colors and rhythm of everyday life.

No matter where the pictures are, the cinematography is beautiful. The colors alone are a study in stark contrasts, capturing the vividness and contrasts between the colors in a way that works incredibly well on a large screen. The deep blue of the ocean seems like it has never quite looked that blue; the lush greens in the forests are a deeper green than ever before. The majesty of the mighty redwoods in California takes on new heights.

The underwater shots are beautiful as well. Although I have seen other IMAX productions completely dedicated to the underwater experience that show much more, what is here is as beautiful as the rest of the production. I looked at the shots of an octopus moving in the sea in Sacred Planet, and contrasted that with seeing once recently at a zoo. There’s no contest that seeing a creature in a controlled setting pales in comparison to the natural environment. The movement of the limbs as it propelled itself through the water takes on a beauty all its own.

If there’s one major problem with Sacred Planet, it’s that it tries to be too much and generally fails. Is it an environmental picture? Is it about the people? There’s not much here that really brings it in to a cohesive theme. I chose to ignore it all, and pretty much sit back and enjoy the beautiful pictures.

If you can’t get to see Sacred Planet in IMAX, you can achieve the effect fairly well in your own living room if you own a large-screen television. There aren’t enough bonus features on the disc to really call attention to, and what is there doesn’t have a tremendous amount of substance. However, the pictures contained in this 40-minute film are beautiful and will help you look at the world in an entirely different manner. I know I watch the wind ripple through the leaves in the trees surrounding my home and see much more there now.



BONUS FEATURES:

• The Making of Sacred Planet
• Audio Commentary
• Our Sacred Planet: Unseen Moments in Time