Seasons

On a recent visit to Big Lots I ran across Seasons, an Imax film remastered for DVD and narrated by William Shatner.  It featured the music of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and only ran 55 minutes.  I figured it would be pretty to look at and sound good, and would come in handy when I wanted a short DVD to watch.  I picked it up and added it to the collection.  Friday night I had been out late and had been driving through some rough storms, so I wanted something short.  Seasons was the disc I decided on.

The photography is as striking as I expected considering it started as an Imax film for the big, big screen.  Shatner narrates an innocuous script about the various seasons and how they had been viewed by ancient civilizations.  The music is actually downplayed a little more than I would have expected.

There’s not really much to say about the plot.  It starts in spring and continues through to winter with a reminder that we go back to spring after that.  The star is the incredible Imax lensed photography.  We see plants pushing through the soil in time-lapse photography.  During summer we take a ride on a double ferris wheel.  There are sweeping treks down rivers and close up shots of blooming flowers and screeching owls.  It would be breathtaking on an Imax screen.  On my small television it still looks pretty nice.

There are a couple of bonus shorts on the DVD as well.  The animated The End Of The World In Four Seasons is an interesting cartoon with multiple screens in each frame telling and often retelling several stories at the same time for each of the four seasons.  It was hard to decide where to watch or what was happening.  Falling Waters is more footage of rivers, falls and other water related footage.

I don’t know that I will ever think of putting Seasons back on the DVD player, perhaps the Blu-ray and the high def TV when I hook them up.  I would love to see it in Imax, but on standard def, it’s a one and done deal.  As a movie, I give it 2 stars, and only for the beautiful imagery.  I wish there had been a more compelling edit done to the film.

Tags: documentary, Imax, Seasons, William Shatner