Alaska: Spirit of the Wild (IMAX) [Blu-ray]

This is a well done travelog of Alaska, with beautiful photogragh and narration by Charleston Heston. Anyone interested in "The 49th State" will find this a welcome addition to their film library.

Great documentary, a little short but worth the price. The rendering on my TV (Panasonic 42", 1080p) is absolutely amazing. If you like these type on documentaries you might want to look at Planet Earth. I also own it and it is an amazing documentary, a bit pricier than this one but well worth it. If you like Alaska, you are on a budget and want to see how a blue ray DVD looks on your TV, buy this DVD.

I really enjoy the visual beauty of Alaska in this film. But, this is in no way "high definition" It looks the same as the regular DVD (It's only $1 more, so not worth the hassle of returning)

I have the DVD version of this film and think it is great, I live in Alaska and think it does a great job of showing what Alaska is about. So I decided to buy it on Blu-ray. When we watched it on Blu-ray, I could not tell a difference in quality than the DVD version. I have watched other blu-ray movies and see a huge difference, so I know its not the way I have things set-up. It was the video.

The spectacular scenery and fascinating wildlife of Alaska are seen at their most intriguing in this film, which was nominated for a Best Documentary Academy Award. The history of the land from the height of the last great ice age 18,000 years ago is also explained, showing in some well made graphics how man and beast were able to cross into Alaska on the Bering Strait from Asia. With marvelous aerial photography, as well as some underneath a stampeding caribou herd, and underwater for the hatching of the salmon and swimming seals. Other animals seen hunting and at play are the brown, black and polar bear, bison, musk ox, eagle and red fox. Beavers building their homes, whales in unison making bubble circles to catch herring, sea lions, and their predators, the Inupiat (Eskimo), who survive their year around existence in the harsh environment eating seal and whale meat.

It follows this great "land of extremes" from spring to spring, a land that took the lives of hundreds of men seeking wealth during the gold rush, as well as their pack horses, shown here in some historic still photographs.
Directed by George Casey, and written by Mose Richards with clarity as well as an almost poetic grace, it is narrated by Charlton Heston, who is gifted with a voice that is always a pleasure to listen to.
Educational as well as glorious to look at, this is an excellent documentary on America's least explored state.
Total running time is 40 minutes.