Blending humor with seriousness, innocence with wisdom, an African griot uses the evocative language of myth and fable to relate the birth of the universe and the stars, the fiery beginnings of our planet and the appearance of life on earth - but this is a true story, the story of all of us. He tells us of time, matter, birth, love and death. Animals are the main players in this flamboyant, modern, yet timeless GENESIS.
P**Z
Perfect for your new Plasma Widescreen UHDTV
We go out and buy the latest, coolest video monitors, plasma TV's, HD and widescreens, then what do we watch? Terrible sitcom TV programming, sports (ok, how many grassy helmets can we see in vivid XCU HDTV?), cartoons, and movies with enough car chases and explosions to bore Tarentino. NO LONGER!Genesis is just amazing, as a date movie, for the kids (careful of the sex scenes though mom), and ESPECIALLY to take that new HD or widescreen technology for an awesome spin. The cinematography is just stunning, from close ups of the anglerfish eating a shrimp, to sky high views of Africa. Sure, it's been on cable on and off, but the DVD, although not the equivalent of movie quality due to compression, is still one of the most striking you'll ever add to your library. I've read that death counsellors are even showing this to terminal patients because it is such an "upper" about life in general, with hints at the continuity of consciousness.The little bits of philosophy ("my atoms were a cloud in me and will become the wing of a butterfly" etc.) are non-denominational and not controversial. We've had friends over ranging in age from 14 to 60 and each one has raved about the "experience."Grab this one for a real treat, or give it as a gift that will be appreciated for years. Why do we buy a dvd anyway? After a few viewings we can recite the script by heart. Just to give us another jewel case to dust? Not so here, the images keep adding new dimensions after multiple viewings. This is the kind of DVD that the media and monitors were made for!
K**E
Excellent Treatment
We first saw this on Dish Network, and decided that we would like to own it so that we could easily share it with out grandchildren. It is beautifully organized; from the opening artwork that abstractly conveys the processes of life as it forms and grows to the final scene of the narrator leaving the forest, it is a superb treatment of fundamental characteristics of living things in accessible images and language. It has the feeling of poetry, while remaining true to the technical foundations of its subject matter.My only problem with it is that I wish that I spoke enough French to be able to hear it in the narrator's language, rather than being aware of the lip-sync problems of dubbing into English. Fortunately, the material is such that its effect is not seriously impacted by the problem.
S**S
Visual Feast
Summary: Wise Old Sage Meets Science...or something. This is a very different approach to biology and what makes life, even if you don't totally agree. Without a doubt, at least very nice to look at.
T**A
In The Beginning
One of the best videos I have ever seen.Stunning photography.Beautiful story of the development of life on Earth.Extremely accurate from a scientific viewpoint.I plan to watch it again just to enjoy the experience.This is an excellent movie to show to kids of any age(but probably better to wait until they reach an age where they can really appreciate the science).
J**N
Its great
Love it
O**
Unwatchable
Unwatchable honestly. I was so excited because I love microcosmos but it’s unwatchable specifically because of this guy in a cave narrating over the whole thing in this, believe it or not, unwatchable way.
B**R
Where are We Coming From
In Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou's Genesis we are introduced to an African griot (Sotigui Kouyate) who tells in simple mythical language of the creation of the earth and the life upon it. This is a simple not scientific vision that will be quite appealing to younger audiences. The most impressive thing about this film is not the story, but rather the incredible images of nature. The film took six years to make. In the film we witness the birth of the cosmos, the planet fire, the planet ocean, the first living things that pulled themselves out of the water to walk upon the land, and finally the eventual coming of chaos or decay in which life loses its battle with time.This is an amazing film to watch. The lower rating is not based on what is presented in the film but rather upon the fact that I had witnessed the BBC series Planet Earth before I saw this one. Planet Earth presents the ecosystems of the planet using much the same imagery. Genesis presents us with the birth of animal life instead. If there is a real problem with the film its that it is presented in a dubbed English version with no option for the subtitled French language track.The film presented in the standard DVD format loos amazing eventhough it is letterboxed to fit my screen. The Dolby Stereo 2.0 adequately captures Bruno Coulais score. The edition features a trailer gallery and an image gallery.While this may no longer be the greatest nature documentary made; that distinction now goes to Planet Earth it is well worth watching. Its imagery and story will appeal to a large audience and its simple message is both heartfelt and eloquent.Rent it .
D**E
Should be in hi-def
At first it seems ro be a primitive African savage telling a myth. Then you realize that everything he says is true. With incredible photographyand narration this is one of the best DVD's ever.
V**V
Génial !
J'ai pourtant vu de nombreux documentaires, mais les scènes qu'ont choisies les auteurs sont épatantes, attendrissantes, drôles, poétiques... Extra !Mes jeunes enfants ont moins apprécié le conte, qui nécessitera plusieurs visionnages pour être perçu dans toute sa richesse.J'ai hate de le revoir, et de regarder les bonus :-)
S**D
Perfect SERVICE !!
Perfect !!
M**E
Splendido
Ma quando stupidi siamo a considerarci la razza dominane del pianeta. Ma quando assurda è l'idea che noi si abbia il diritto di rovinare tutto quello che ci circonda. Fatevi un giro nella bellezza dell'emanato e riflettete una volta per tutte sul vostro ruolo, e sullo scopo dell'esistenza!!Chi non si emoziona e un deficiente, nel senso etimologico del termine.... gli manca qualche cosa !
F**S
Vision poética de origen de la vida. Didactico
Es una vision muy hermosa del origen de la vida con unas imagenes sugerentes, narrativa poetica y relajada. Pesan mucho las imagenes, asi que resulta muy didactico como anexo a la introduccion mas profunda de los conocimientos que tenemos hoy en dia de como evoluciono la vida en la tierra.Pros: ameno y relajadoContra: muchas imagenes, pocos datos. Material divulgativo relativo, dependiendo su utilidad de lo que se quiera profundizar en el tema
H**N
Wahnnsinn
Der Film ist wirklich wahnsinnig bildstark und faszinierend: Ein Medizinmann sitzt vorm Lagefeuer und erzählt den Ursprung und die Entwicklung des Lebens und mit wahnisnnsguten Bildern werden dies Worte des Mannes ästhetisch und faszinierend visualisiert. Achja, und die Tonspur kann sich ebenfalls sehen lassen! Wer sich auf diesen Film einlässt, erlebt eine wunderbare Meditation über das Leben.
