When The Mountains Tremble (DVD)

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Video:
Considering the hand-held camera and no-frills production, the quality of the footage they shot is quite good. You notice this especially with color footage of peasant girls and women in bright sunlight, as the women stand alongside soldiers with their automatic weapons and camouflage uniforms, or as a parade solemnly walks through town. Some of the stock footage edited into the film—most of it black and white—is of lesser quality, but again, that´s to be expected. The presentation is in 1.33:1 full screen, and while a number of scenes don´t stretch out all that well on a widescreen TV, overall the video quality is good.

Audio:
The sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, with a 2.0 commentary track as well. There´s not much in the way of stereo effects, though, with the rear speakers silent and the main speakers emanating just a faint echo of the sound that comes out of the front speakers. Is this a problem? Not at all. The sound quality is decent despite the lack of true separation, and it certainly doesn´t detract from the viewing experience.

Extras:
For this edition, the filmmakers recorded a full-length commentary recounting their travels and travails, and if you find the film itself fascinating you´ll really love the commentary. If you don´t get a chill, after watching this film and hearing about all the rapes committed by the military, when Yates tells how at one point she was the only woman in an army compound with 300 soldiers, one of whom kept telling her she reminded him of Brooke Shields. "And I look nothing like Brooke Shields," Yates says. "That´s when I knew I was in trouble." There are great anecdotes throughout, my favorite being the story of how Sigel had to repair his camera in the field using only a Swiss army knife. As you learn how 17 journalists were killed in the two years prior to Yates´ and Sigel´s clandestine entry into the country, you begin to realize that just as this was guerilla warfare, it was also guerilla filmmaking. Producer Peter Kinoy joins in the commentary, but it´s Yates´ and Sigel´s story that´s most transfixing.

There´s also an introduction to the film when it first was released in 1984, with a very young Susan Sarandon using the opportunity to make a political statement, and an epilogue featuring Menchu. Rounding out the extras are filmmaker biographies and a textual filmmaker´s statement that overlaps slightly with the commentary.

Bottom Line:
There should be a special place somewhere for all the filmmakers who risk their lives to bring stories of injustice and persecution to the public´s attention. "When the Mountains Tremble" tells the story of a "hidden Indian uprising" that became much more. And with Menchu winning the Nobel Peace Prize, it provides a rare opportunity to learn why this woman—one of the outspoken voices who would not be silenced—was so honored in 1992. More importantly, you walk away with an admiration for centuries of Guatemalans who have suffered greatly, yet endured.

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