In the 1990's, MacGillivray Freeman became the go-to producers of IMAX nature documentaries. Usually running between 30 and 45 minutes, these documentaries were perfect to be screened at museums across the country that had the money to build an IMAX theater. Their best known film was 1998's Everest, but they have 28 other films in their catalog including Tropical Rainforest which is being released this month on Blu-ray for the first time.
Tropical Rainforest is a fairly straight-forward nature documentary. There's a lot of footage of butterflies, the giant treetops, and scientists collecting samples for their research. The narration is done by Geoffrey Holder who is best known as the narrator from Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or as Punjab from 1982's Annie, and his script is mostly made up of observations of the wildlife (“Look at this beautiful butterfly.”) and thoughts on logging (“Look at that human cutting down the tree.”). I was surprised at the lack of facts or substance in the commentary, and I kind of expected more.
I think the biggest problem that MacGillivray Freeman films will run into releasing their films on Blu-ray is that first of all, they were meant to be seen on an IMAX screen. They are more about spectacle than substance. When a person walks out of Tropical Rainforest at an IMAX theater, they are supposed to think, “Those rainforests were pretty, and it's terrible that people are cutting them down.” Audiences aren't pushed to think much more than that, and if audiences watch it at home on their TV, they won't get the same level of spectacle and will miss the substance even more.
I believe that the biggest obstacle facing MacGillivray Freeman films is that they will have to compete with other nature documentary filmmakers that have perfected spectacle and substance for the smaller screen. The best example out there is Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series, and having seen Tropical Rainforest and episodes of the Planet Earth series, I'm not sure that Tropical Rainforest can compete. I am sure that the team behind MacGillivray Freeman films is very talented and that they care deeply about their work, but they will have to bring more than they have in the past if they want to stay relevant.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The only feature included on the Blu-ray is a trailer reel for other MacGillivray Freeman films.
"IMAX: Tropical Rainforest" is on sale July 12, 2011 and is not rated. Documentary. Directed by Ben Shedd. Starring Geoffrey Holder.
