I saw this movie last weekend in 2D (we mistakenly thought it was a 3D showing). I thought the worst part of seeing it in 2D was the surface photography, which was extremely disorienting in 2D, and also appeared to not be in focus (probably a technical problem with the conversion from 3D to 2D).
It helps to be a fan of Werner Herzog's movies, and I suspect that this will make up the majority of the viewing audience for this film. Herzog never claims that his non-fictional movies are true documentaries, they are really more about Herzog's impressions about a subject. This director has been making movies for almost 50 years, and in the last 15 years his oeuvre has tended more towards the non-fictional than fictional subjects. Seen in context with his earlier works*, I saw nothing incongruous with the final segment regarding the theme park. That was a very typical Herzog moment, and you were meant to view it as amusing. The main point I think Herzog was trying to make with this film was the incredible wonder of one contemporary artist viewing the works of several artists from the Pleistocene, a time when Neanderthals still occupied the area. Didn't you wonder, while viewing this film, why there appears to be no sub-standard artwork in this cave? Did these artists simply walk into the cave one day, with all the artistic skills and tools to make world-class art, without ever practicing their craft beforehand? Of course not, they practiced on the rock walls outside the cave, along the river valleys and other places, but the evidence of their practice of artistic skills is long gone. Somehow these ancient peoples regarded the cave as special enough that only the most talented of artists were allowed inside to decorate the walls. That is one of the unspoken messages from this film, and it is to the great credit of the modern people of the area that the cave is once again protected from potential vandals. Whether that will still be the case 10, 20 or 30,000 years hence is a mystery that maybe only the albino crocodiles will be able to answer. Diana *I can heartily recommend the feature, "Encounters at the End of the World," a Herzog pic about the people who choose to live at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, as a very typical (and amusing) Herzog "documentary." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Diana R. Tomchick Associate Professor University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Biochemistry 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Rm. ND10.214B Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A. Email: [email protected] 214-645-6383 (phone) 214-645-6353 (fax) On May 25, 2011, at 1:49 AM, John Lyles 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 ________________________________ UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today. _______________________________________________ SWR mailing list [email protected] http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/swr_caver.net
