Blue Planet (1990) User Reviews

Good but dated

[FaithFallen · 8/10 · 17 August 2007]

You have to understand... this movie was made in 1990. That's about the time half the members of IMDb were born. (sorry, couldn't resist).

This movie is a spectacle to see, but only visually. For a lot of the commentary is either common knowledge now or the circumstances have changed.

As you watch this film, you'll understand why the world is the way it is today. That is, even the "experts", the people who made this film, did not know what would happen in the future.

But those who say this film is nothing to shout about, well, they're just wrong. This movie is a pioneer in environmental awareness and most of all, an achievement in filming as scenes in this movie were never seen before by man.

So, if you ever see this movie and say "oh, it's nothing new..." Think before you speak. This movie was made when the Green House Effect was "imaginary"...

Important message

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 28 February 2016]

"Blue Planet" is a 42-minute American movie from over 25 years ago written and directed by Ben Burtt and Toni Myers. This is still from the days when IMAX documentaries were not narrated yet by famous actors and actresses, so Myers does the narration herself. Probably not the best decision. I am not saying that they should have gone with the likes of Harrison Ford or so, but another narrator may have been a blessing. I found the narration very sterile and monotonous for the most part and it truly heart the important message from this film. It can be a very emotional subject, but it never really felt like this because of the narrator. Quite a pity. This is my only major criticism though. The contents were fine and informative, even if the film may have dragged a bit if it had reached the 1-hour mark. But this has to do with the narration once again. As a whole, the film tackled many different areas and I believe they did a good job putting such a broad topic like our planet into under 45 minutes. Quite a challenged and they succeeded. It's a bit of everything and nothing that really goes too much into detail and this may be a good thing too. I recommend checking it out. Thumbs up.

beautiful views of Earth, even with the pollution...

[yortsnave · 10/10 · 18 July 2000]

I saw this movie at the National Air and Space Museum's Langley Theater in Washington, DC. The views of Earth from space are intense and beautiful, made even more so by the large-screen IMAX format. Highly recommended.

Spectacular IMAX film

[dphelan-1 · 26 August 2005]

This was my first IMAX film and I later bought it on DVD. I am surprised how critical some are of this film. It is fantastic. I have never seen the earth this way and the revelations that the film makes clear about drought and ecological damage are brought home in the visuals. But more than that, the film lets the audience revel in the planet we call home as seen from outside. It is a truly humbling experience to see the vast oceans and continents and to put the whole planet in perspective. I admit that it loses something on a smaller screen but it is still great. On IMAX it is a spectacular event and one I will never forget. I still think and talk about it more than 15 years after I first saw it.

Pretty views but....really? Did they have to go there?

[kherald · 3/10 · 20 December 2007]

I purchased this on Blu-ray earlier today and watched it with my dad tonight expecting it to be something like the wonderful Planet Earth series. We really enjoyed the first half of the film due to the high quality of the IMAX cameras. The views of the Earth from the space shuttle were magnificent to say the least. But then at the half-way point the documentary took a 'left' turn and became nothing more than a tree--hugger/bleeding-heart piece on how Man is destroying the planet. I mean it was just "Ozone layer this"... and "Rain forest that"... and "Man is making extinct hundreds of undiscovered species every minute". They literally said that; "Undiscovered". OK, if they're undiscovered then how do we know we're causing they're extinction?

Listen, I'm not the kind of guy that would throw his Big Mac wrapper out the window of his Hummer while driving through a nature preserve but... Come on! Do these people really think they need to dupe Americans in to buying their liberal B.S. by marketing it as "A spectacular look at Earth like you've never seen before"?! I am sure that some people will/do love this documentary for everything it stands for. But if you're like me and you don't want to be preached at by someone who feels that the best thing you can do for Mother Earth is to kill yourself... then don't bother. Somehow, I'm getting my money back!

Wonderful portrayal of planet Earth.

[gardeliano · 4 November 2002]

I just saw this 42 minute IMAX DVD documentary on a Sony H.D. TV system. Breath taking views of the Earth from various Space Shuttle missions are especially captivating but so are the shots at the ground level and under water.

Highly recommended.

Good, but not great for IMAX.

[winstonsmith_84 · 30 August 2002]

This was a good watch, and would have been even better on the IMAX screen. Unfortunately I saw it on DVD, but I would like to talk more about the content. The problem with IMAX films is that they are usually too basic. This movie is good as a whole, but was a bit too basic in telling the audience knowledge they don't already know. I'd rate it a 7/10