John: I agree with all your points -- there is way to much of Hertzog's ego, not enough cave. It was particularly irritating to have the camera pan across the cave art at too rapid a pace, when one wanted to study it carefully. Multiple repetitions of the pan were not a good substitute.
That being said, it is quite a different experience in 3D. The cave art is stunning, and the way the artist used the shape of the cave wall is an important part of the painting. The cave itself is beautifully decorated aside from the paintings. Having a 3D view really puts the viewer into the cave. The only thing missing is sore knees. In short -- don't see it in 2D, do see it in 3D. Much cheaper than a ticket to France. --------John M. On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 12:49 AM, John Lyles <[email protected]> wrote: > We saw it last weekend in 2D. I agree with Lee Skinner that the artwork in > Chauvet Cave is unworldly beautiful. I thought the film, however, was > boring, too long, and overdone. 90 minutes was too much for this > coverage...30 to 45 would have done it. I found myself counting pinholes in > my eyelids more than once, and glancing frequently at my watch (a pastime > that I don't usually do at the movies since my watch doesn't even have a > lighted dial). I recommend the 3D version if you can get to see it, for your > $10. Santa Fe didn't have a 3D copy. Werner Herzog directed what should have > been the defacto video documentary of this world-famous cave. It turned into > a subject needing an ending, over and over. How long did we have to watch > the slow pans over the bison, horses and cats, with that strange unnerving > music (?) soundtrack? Two or three would have sufficed for this viewer, > especially since I had the coffee-table book "Dawn of Art: The Chauvet > Cave". Herzog tried to put more "meaning of life" into this and failed. The > Lidar-cloud of dots map of the cave was indeed impressive - it would have > been more incredible with the glasses. The Santa Fe audience last Sunday > chuckled more than half dozen times at the premises that were being forced > by the director. The scene of the scientist explaining how the ancient ones > must have tossed their spears with a stick contraption to hunt large animals > was painful, but humorous. The film used American units of miles, feet, > explaining the cave map, which was obviously not the way it was done in > France. This cheapened the experience for me. There was a lack of continuity > after the opening of the film when the narrator (Herzog?) noted that there > was only a single 1 hour chance to film the cave, granted by the French > authorities. Then came the announcement that they got a second visit without > the scientists, perhaps a third, where they could film longer. The ultimate > insult was the epilogue that wasted another 10 minutes, where Herzog tried > to add: a) a nuclear powerplant 20 miles way, b) a nature zone theme park > operating off the thermal waters from the power plant cooling effluent, and > c) crocodiles from this theme park that may be somehow found getting into > the cave, and finally d) these crocs would be viewing the 30,000 year old > art with interest, replacing mankind. This addition blew the remaining > credibility from the documentary, and our audience gasped and laughed aloud. > > If you haven't already seen the beautiful art from Chauvet Cave in the > Ardeche' River region of France, go see this. Better yet, save your money > and buy the translated big book by Paul Bahn (Harry Abrams, publisher) at > Convention from your favorite cave books seller. It has the original > accounts from the three cave explorers who found it, plus many high quality > photographs of the art. Jean Marie Chauvet, the caver whose name was chosen > for the discovery, was mentioned in the credits of the film, at least. Jean > Marie caved in state with us in 2008, in Lechuguilla Cave, for a week. > > jtml > > > _______________________________________________ > SWR mailing list > [email protected] > http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net > -- ...mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding. Lao-tzu *Tao Te Ching *(Stephen Mitchell trans.)
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