Journey Into Amazing Caves (2001) User Reviews

See amazing new worlds right here on earth

[delcash006 · 7/10 · 11 August 2006]

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.

It was truly amazing...

[SinjinSB · 8/10 · 29 September 2002]

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.

Fascinating and Fun! I thought it was wild.

[jbiehler · 8/10 · 3 July 2006]

I loved this film! It was beautiful and interesting and lasted just long enough to keep me satisfied and never, ever bored. The scenery and cave footage certainly did not disappoint. This film takes the average viewer to incredible places they would never experience first-hand. Quite amazing and I recommend it. It is only 40 minutes long but worth every minute in my humble opinion. I didn't feel cheated by the shorter length- it felt just right. This film also gave me a deeper appreciation for the people who embark on these missions to collect samples that otherwise would not make it to the research lab. Wow! Amazing that they can get the footage of these places. I did enjoy the music too. I hope to see more shows like this one!

science center movie

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 14 February 2021]

Four researchers are in Arizona looking into the extreme environment of caves to search for new organisms and new medicines. Nancy Holler Aulenbach is a cave climber specialist. Hazel Barton is collecting biological specimens. She is also on leave as a teaching assistant in a second grade class. She does presentations to the class over the computer. The group travels around the globe.

It's one of those science center movies. It's a second tier production. One of the ladies kept mentioning her husband. She needs to stop that. I like the computer presentations to the kids. The old computers are fun. She should do the ice sliding for the kids to see. That's what they want. They want to see her climbing and crawling inside the caves. All in all, this is fine but nothing special.

Taking IMAX to new heights by going down below

[christian94 · 9/10 · 22 May 2001]

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.

Spell binding - thank goodness for brave people like them

[davew-7 · 10/10 · 2 April 2001]

My daughter Maria and I were thrilled with so many scenes, especially:

the kayaks plummeting down waterfalls while searching for new caves to explore;

the scary heights of caves in the middle of cliffs only reachable by rappelling and/or crossing rivers by rope many, many feet high up;

descending into ice caverns where you hear the icicles falling and the glacier groaning;

and finally, the holding of our breath as they swam under water through body width openings in search of microorganisms, which was their main goal.

The plane/helicopter rides were breathtaking also - seemingly going to crash you right into the side of a mountain.

Their adventures in Iceland and North America, for the main sake of finding medical cures for the future, will never be forgotten.

(And, if my daughter and wife aren't reading this, the ladies were sure cute, besides being brave, dedicated, athletic and intelligent.)

An Amazingly Bad Journey Despite the Caves.

[ro6ot · 4/10 · 9 August 2001]

I went into this movie expecting:

1) Excellent Cinematography worthy of the IMAX format, and

2)amazing caves.

These elements Ruined the film:

-sketchy, condescending, quasi-scientific "plot" (EXTREMOPHILES? give me a break!)

• annoying, unnecessary "characters", poorly developed,

-worst of all, the Moody Blues songs, which were cringe-inducing

throughout. This is good music, and has been for 30 years; but

whoever did the sound for this film is obviously a proud graduate

of the "way too much is almost enough" film school.

The star of this feature should have been the caves, (maybe if you

bring ear-plugs?), but instead we get:

-a spelunking hi-tech internet kindergarden teachers assistant,and

-a daredevil microbiologist, who pays lip service to a hazy

cure-for-all-illnesses pipe dream, but from the tiny amount of real

information about what she is doing, I think she is actually doing

biological weapons research, but doesn't know it. On second

thought, that would be too interesting.

TheTitle of this movie should have been: "ExtremeSports and 'Don't Worry We Hate Geology Even More

Than You Do' Present: The WonderTwins Conquer Cartoon Cavern! Starring the Voice of Liam Neeson! ROCK with the Moody Blues!"

Absolutely incredible.

[guymcarthur · 10/10 · 26 November 2002]

I'm a big fan of IMAX, and this is the best I've seen. Stunning photography, the best shots, the movie is better than "Everest." The "making of" addition is also very compelling, and gives you a good understanding of how dedicated the people who made this movie are.

Looks beautiful, and it's also a snoozer

[Quinoa1984 · 4/10 · 3 December 2001]

Journey into the Amazing Caves is a snooze fest, one of those specially made museum videos specially made for the Imax screen with the substance a 10 year old wouldn't really be able to stand let alone most adults. Still, I can't totally put down this movie, as that directors Stephen Judson and Greg MacGillivray and the five cinematographers (one MacGillivray) have compiled a great looking short flick with some really breathtaking scenery and shots accompanied by some decent Moody Blues music (the classical stuff is a little much though). In other words, it's a movie that works well on the Imax screen as long as you keep the sound off. Narrated by Liam Neeson. C+

A deep dark and incredible experience

[bsaul · 10/10 · 13 March 2001]

I was fortunate to be at the world premiere of this IMAX masterpiece. The film creates its own energy and excitement while introducing you to the two most lovable stars in the world. Nancy and Hazel really make the movie because they are as real as beautiful caves they explore. Extreme rappelling, caving, and kayaking scenes topped off with new music from the Moody Blues make it an adrenaline rush.

Simply the best.

[rupanisp · 10/10 · 12 April 2003]

Women have come long way.

American Women have come long way.

Other women of this planet has very long way to go.

Test of Endurance of American Women can be seen in this IMAX

Experience.

Thanks and Regards.

Sam Rupani

Houston, Texas, United States of America.

PS: It is a amazing documentation of life inside life on this planet.

Very few people can even see this movie. Fewer even can feel it.

Good life is only for very few chosen on this planet. Others are

just....

Did not get me interested

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 2 March 2016]

As the title "Journey Into Amazing Caves" already tells you, this is a documentary about caves. Unfortunately the focus is not on the interesting world in terms in there in terms of flora and fauna, but instead shows us what kind of leisure activities we can have in there. I am generally not a friend of the idea that we should step into and discover territories that nature obviously created with the intent to stay untouched, but this is just my approach. If you have another one, you will maybe enjoy this documentary a lot more than I did. Oh yeah, this is IMAX you know, so it is as always a movie that runs for roughly 40 minutes and got made by a duo of filmmakers who have quite some experience in the field. Instead, I suggest you to check out Werner Herzog's full feature take on the subject. That one is more rewarding and it has Werner Herzog. Enough said. As for this one here, i do not really recommend the watch unless you're an IMAX completionist.

Fantastic Journey

[kelsiarei · 10/10 · 23 July 2001]

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.

Wonderful cinematography, takes you to places you never even imagined.

[TxMike · 1 March 2011]

This apparently is an IMAX film but I saw it via Netflix streaming video. It looked Hi-Def and the sound is very good also.

The two main "charecters" are real women scientists, explorers of caves, all kinds of caves. Each time they got to a new one the narration took the time to mention that they were looking of unknown microbes, "extremeophiles", that might provide some new leads to some new medicines to cure all sorts of things. I definitely got the impression that the film used funding for medical research and there was an obligation to continue mentioning it.

Still, it is a fascinating film. Exploring caves in such places as the Grand canyon, ice caves in Greenland, and underwater caves on the Yucatan peninsula.

Fine film, fine time diversion, for anyone who enjoys learning about new and interesting parts of our world.