Academy Award-winning short subject was the movie prelude for many of the early showings of Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" in 1959--and while the two pictures could not be further apart in subject matter, each includes the sweep and spectral beauty (one live action, one animated) courtesy of the Disney Studio. I'm not sure whether Ferde Grofe's music suite was inspired by the sights of the Grand Canyon or whether the footage here inspired Grofe, but either way the pieces are lovely (grand in their own right). The first section, introducing us to the mountains and valleys of Arizona (with clouds hanging low in the sky, casting deep, dark shadows on the desert below), is certainly the best. The waters of the Colorado River are hypnotizing to watch (the intricate culmination of rage and steady flow of the Colorado puts on a show for us all by itself, and the camera-work and editing here are superlative). The wilderness footage is reminiscent of Disney's True-Life Adventure films, however this portion--albeit brief--may have been handled with more care (there's some 'funny' music to accompany a snake slithering up a hill, but the tone of "Grand Canyon" is surprisingly solemn). On the big screen, this must have looked (and sounded) majestic and prestigious--no wonder it copped the Oscar, it probably dwarfed the competition. *** from ****
