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Reviews
Nanga Parbat (2010)
Best parts are filmed in Pakistan
I have a limited understanding of this film so am writing this review only because there were no other reviews yet. My understanding is limited because I do not speak German and apparently there has been no release of this film with English subtitles, or at least I could not find one (I did find some English subtitles on the internet but they were both badly out of synch and a mashed Google translation from Russian!). Hence, some of the dialog was rather lost on me and very likely some of the drama as well.
I primarily viewed this film not for the story but in the hopes of spectacular mountain scenery and spectacular mountain climbing sequences. There was some of this, but not nearly enough for my tastes, or I would have given the film a higher rating. A better film (also German but available with English subtitles) is North Face (Nordwand, IMDb #tt0844457) which is both very dramatic and has very spectacular mountain climbing sequences (although I still wanted more there as well).
To my mind, the best parts of the film took place in Pakistan and in the Pakistani Himalayan foothills. Very nice and interesting photography, and I gleaned from the credits that it was actually filmed there. I love seeing exotic locales like that, which I am unlikely to see otherwise, and I found the film worth my time just for that. I would watch it again if I could find a version with good English subtitles.
How the Earth Was Made (2009)
One of the best documentary series ever made
The History Channel is to be congratulated on the superb quality of this documentary series, which I regard as perhaps the best documentary series ever made. This series is downright EXCITING. I was simply mesmerized by every episode. Each episode uses beautiful high-definition on-site photography and excellent computer graphics to illustrate the geologic processes involved in creating the landscape at various sites around the globe. The viewer not only learns about the specific areas covered in each episode, but in the process learns about the global geological processes that make the Earth "tick."
Episode List, Season 1 (2009): 1. San Andreas Fault; 2. The Deepest Place on Earth; 3. Krakatoa; 4. Loch Ness; 5. New York; 6. The Driest Place on Earth; 7. Great Lakes; 8. Yellowstone; 9. Tsunami; 10. Asteroids; 11. Iceland; 12. Hawaii; 13. The Alps.
Episode List, Season 2 (2010): 1. Grand Canyon; 2. Vesuvius; 3. Birth of the Earth; 4. Sahara; 5. Yosemite; 6. The Rockies; 7. Ring of Fire; 8. Everest; 9. Death Valley; 10. Mt. St. Helens; 11. Earth's Deadliest Eruption; 12. America's Ice Age; 13. America's Gold.
Episodes are 45 minutes long and may be watched in any order. I found that, in every case, episodes that I might expect to be less interesting from the title turned out to be just as fascinating as any of the others. The high quality level is very consistent throughout.
No previous science background is needed to understand the material, which is very well explained. Episodes not only teach how our amazing planet behaves, but to make things even more fascinating, they also clearly explain how we know all these things, and in a manner suitable for all ages from 4th grade to senior citizens. Leading scientists in the field (both in the field of geology and "in the field," i.e. on location) supplement the narration. Quick summaries of the evidence for their conclusions are provided throughout the program, which is an effective learning tool that helps tie everything together.
Try to catch this series in reruns on the History Channel if you can. Although I am running out of superlatives in describing both the content and the quality of the series as broadcast, unfortunately the quality (as distinguished from the content) of the DVD version is vastly inferior, at least for Season 1 (I have not seen Season 2 on DVD). Whereas the original broadcast was in glorious 16:9 High Definition, on the DVDs the 16:9 picture is shrunk down to a 4:3 format. Thus, it appears letter-boxed on a standard definition TV but appears as a "postage stamp" image on a high definition TV (if you zoom it to fill the screen the picture is severely degraded). Although the History Channel should be very proud of this series, it should be ashamed of the image quality of these DVDs. There is just no good reason the DVDs should not have been presented in 16:9 (anamorphic) format. At the time of this writing there is no BluRay version available.
Regardless of format, however, anyone with any interest at all in the world around them should check out this incredible series.
Update: BluRays are now available for both seasons. The DVDs for Season 2 are apparently 16:9 (I'm not certain) so may not have the same quality problem as the Season 1 DVDs have. Good news on both counts.
The Canyon (2009)
Not filmed in Grand Canyon
Basically, this is a mediocre movie. I was primarily led to watch it from comments that the setting was the Grand Canyon and that the cinematography was good. However, apart from a few shots of descending into the Grand Canyon, the rest of the story was actually filmed near Moab, Utah, and not in the Grand Canyon. The slot canyon in the movie was Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona (also not in Grand Canyon). There are slot canyons in Grand Canyon (such as Deer Creek and Matkatamiba) but they are a lot harder to get to for filming and are not seen in the movie.
Moab is certainly a beautiful place, but for those familiar with the territory it looks nothing like the Grand Canyon. It is understandable that the movie was filmed in Moab rather than in the Grand Canyon because Moab is much more accessible and filming there would be cheaper and easier on the personnel involved. But those expecting or wishing for a movie filmed in the Grand Canyon won't find it here.