Journey into Amazing Caves (2001)

Must See Movie...

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The scenery is breathtaking, the explorer/scientists brave and adventurous. What "Journey Into Amazing Caves" does is take viewers on an excursion to several caves -- virtually impossible to reach, in some cases never before seen by the human eye caves, spectacularly remote caverns tucked away in some of the Earth's most extreme landscapes. And they do it not so much for the joy of the journey as for, potentially, the benefit of mankind.The theory behind these grand, yes life-threatening expeditions is that if organisms that can live in the earth's least friendly enviornments, if they can thrive despite extreme heat or cold or other hideously harsh conditions, they might well provide clues to cures for human disease.The name for these extraordinarily hearty organisms is "extremeophiles," and the "stars" of "Journey Into Amazing Caves" set about reaching and collecting samples of these admirable little forms of life, from caves cut into the walls of the desert mountains of Arizona, and the ice caps of Greenland, and the deep seas and lagoons of the Yucatan Penninsula of Mexico.At minimum, "Amazing Caves" is a collection of glorious moving-picture postcards, the likes of which you surely have never seen. At best, it is an inspirational look at some amazing feats that humans accomplish in order to fulfill, well, curiosity. As the credits rolled today when I saw this film, the audience cheered. Take yourself on an expedition this summer, see planet Earth as you've not seen it before, give yourself something to cheer, go see this movie.

I first saw this IMAX film in Sydney on my trip down under. Not only was it amazing to see some of the most beautiful footage on a screen that is over 8 stories high, but the story was also very interesting to me. It had some incredible climbing scenes...112F in the Grand Canyon, 500' down into ice caves in Greenland, Bats in Georgia, and underwater cave diving in the Yucatan. It not only deals with the sport of caving, but one of the ladies in the film is a micro-biologists who is collecting rare extremophiles, microorganisms that live in extremely harsh environments, for scientific research. It was narrated by Liam Neeson with music by The Moody Blues. I bought it on DVD, knowing it would lose a lot visually going from the IMAX screen to my TV. I'm glad I did, because it has a "making of" documentary that was just as interesting as the IMAX movie, showing both the technical aspects of what went into the shoot as well as the personal side of those involved.

What a great film! Usually Imax/Omnimax titles put me to sleep, but this one had me on the edge of my seat. Liam Neeson's narration is phenomenal, the soundtrack (featuring the Moody Blues) is haunting and enchanting. You really care about Hazel and Nancy, and the work they're doing. Not to be missed on a domed Omnimax seen, so make sure you see it when it's in your area.

By far the most involving IMAX movie ever. It takes you to some of the most far-reached and hazardous place on Earth and makes you feel like you are actually there.(Enough with the corny stuff and on with the good part)This documentary not only educates, but takes upon itself to share with the audience the passion, the danger, and the excitement of extreme speleology. A task that is accomplished in one swift stroke. The voyage takes us with experts Hazel Barton and Nancy Aulenbach to rocky caves in the Grand Canyon, icy caves in the Groenland and underwater caves in the tropics, in search of "extremophiles" (meaning love of the extreme), which are microorganisms which reside in once thought to be inhabitable habitats.We soon understand that they are themselves extremophiles, as they deeply love what they do and are always ready to embark on one perilous mission after the other. They risk their lives on numerous occasions and show courage and devotion in the name of science... and hey, because it's a lot of fun!!The camera work is impeccable and makes maximum use of the IMAX technology to immerse the viewer in the fantastic experience. The directing is of high quality and creates a mood, a feel and a pace that keeps you captivated throughout. Stephen Judson, the director, utilize all the tools to make you part of what happens and make you understand the drive and desire that push those people to such limits. They come up with a perfect mixture of wonder, learning, adventure and tension.The aesthetic composition of the visual arrangements recaptures admirably the natural splendor of the exotic surroundings. The flowing narration is combined with sincere and appropriate dialog (I don't think there exists one superfluous comment in the whole movie)From beginning to end the feature never falters, and when you start to feel the fantastic journey skillfully build to the ending, you are suddenly struck with fondness and admittedly yearn for more. That's when it gets even better! It ends perfectly.To see in original IMAX projection, preferably.