15. Earth Days (2009, USA)
Documentary with Stewart Brand
This is a responsible objective look at the origin of Earth Day by a
distinguished documentarian with privileged archival access. It is a history of
environmental consciousness in North America which offers a deeply sober look
at the last fifty years of the environmental movement and just how far we
haven’t come.
Writer/Director: Robert Stone (Pandora’s Promise)
Budget: $1,200,000
IMDB rating: 7.1
Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBVGzf-fFl0
A Stunning Visual Portrayal
of Earth:
16. Home (2009, France)
Documentary by Yann
Arthus-Bertrand
Here we have a film which explores our planet from thrilling visual
perspectives (drawn from 500 hours of high quality aerial footage)and a
surprising variety of intellectual and emotional perspectives. Just when you
think you understand the film’s message, it turns a corner. For those without a confident coherent view of the overall circumstance of planet Earth and the deeply interconnected effects of all of our human activity upon it, this film offers privileged and useful vantages.
I saw this in late
2011 and the insights I have since gained threaten to make the film’s
conclusion seem naïve or possibly even suspect in terms of agenda, yet this
does nothing to spoil its value. In the quest for environmental understanding
this remains an excellent step!
Bertrand stated that the “movie has no copyright” and so I borrowed
images from it (with proper attribution) to accompany one of my little songs
called White and Blue which I only record on youtube so that I need not commit to remembering
how to play them, without them being entirely lost. I am not a performer nor
competent musician so you may not wish to follow this link unless you are
feeling charitable!
Narrator: The
cost of our actions is high. Others pay the price without having been actively
involved. I have seen refugee camps as big as cities, sprawling in the desert.
How many men, women and children will be left by the wayside tomorrow? Must we
always build walls to break the chain of human solidarity, separate peoples and
protect the happiness of some from the misery of others?
Writers: Isabelle Delannoy, Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Director: Yann Arthus-Bertrand (Human)
Budget: $12,000,000
IMDB rating: 8.6
17. Manufactured Landscapes (2006, Canada)
Documentary led by photographer
Edward Burtynsky
I cannot possibly describe how enchanting, haunting and perversely
beautiful these images are. With very little dialogue, we are taken on a
constantly surprising and intriguing visual odyssey. This is a masterpiece
which conveys tremendous emotion and coherent storytelling of a thoroughly
visceral nature. Undeniably genuine yet stranger than science fiction!
Says Boston Globe: "…begs
to be hung on the wall, studied, absorbed, and learned from" and also
"taken as a whole, Manufactured Landscapes is a mesmerizing work of visual
oncology, a witness to a cancer that is visible only at a distance but entwined
with the DNA of everything we buy and everywhere we shop." LA Weekly and The Wall Street Journal both include it in their top 10 films of
2007.
Director: Jennifer Baichwal (Watermark)
Budget: unknown
IMDB rating: 7.3
18. Baraka (1992, USA)
Documentary by Ron Fricke
Here’s another film of astounding cinematography. The visuals are truly
breathtaking. Shot on magnificent 70mm film in 26 countries across six
continents, it is a rare privileged look at the world and if there is a specific
message intended, it is pristinely subtle. There is no dialogue at all. The
film uses slow-motion and time-lapse approaches to provide a kaleidoscopic
experience to deepen perspective. It’s like a tool of extraordinary substance
which you may use to further penetrate the mysteries of your world, whatever
views you already subscribe to (or avoid); whatever methods you normally use to
explore; to gain or consolidate your insight.
Try to see the 2008 reissue which was treated to an unparalleled 16-month
digital remastering process which made it likely the highest quality commercial
disc in history. Said Roger Ebert of the blu-ray edition: "the finest
video disc I have ever viewed or ever imagined."
Samsara is its twin-sister film, released 19 years later. It was a
toss-up; which to include in this list. You have to see one or the other! But
my guess is that upon viewing one, you will insist upon seeing the other! And
if all of this sounds intriguing to you, then I suggest you start with their elder
step-sister films Koyaaniqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi in that order and then leave Samsara for last.
Director: Ron Fricke (Samsara, Koyaanisqatsi)
Budget: $2,000,000
IMDB rating: 8.6
Short List:
Samsara (2011, international)
Documentary by Ron Fricke
Earth at Risk: Building a Resistance Movement to Save the Planet (2011, USA) Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith
2 comments:
I haven't seen any of these - some of them sounds captivating.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
I don't know any of these but they look intriguing.
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