Encounters at the End of the World (Blu-ray)
APPROX. 100 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2008 - MPA RATING: G
" ...a chat between Jonathan Demme and Werner Herzog...is a wide-ranging discussion that is philosophical and frequently quite moving.
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My good friend Chris Long wrote an excellent review of Encounters at the End of the World for Cineaste that can be found at http://www.cineaste.com/articles/encounters-at-the-end-of-the-world.htm. This is no surprise considering that he wrote his Master´s thesis on Werner Herzog´s documentaries.
I met Chris at Chapman University while we were both Film Studies grad students. Dr. Warren Buckland taught me 85% of what I learned at Chapman. Chris taught me 10% of what I learned at Chapman. The remaining 5% is allotted to miscellaneous personnel. Chris was a better teacher than all of my other professors (excepting Dr. Buckland) combined, and I think that DVDTown.com´s readers should pay close attention to what he writes.
Among "serious" movie reviewers (i.e. not hobbyists) who write in the English language, there are only two who consistently engage and delight me--Manohla Dargis (currently of The New York Times) and Chris Long. Chris is fearless and honest; he is one of the few reviewers who aren´t afraid to deliver negative reviews of DVDs released by Criterion. I am proud to have been responsible for introducing Chris to DVDTown.com, and I salute him.
Video:
It appears that Herzog lensed the movie with a 1080i digital video camera, and the transfer is excellent. Some scenes are a little dark since Herzog had to make-do with natural lighting, but the end result is nowhere near as disappointing with the SD DVD. In fact, the 1.78:1 1080i video transfer is often breathtaking, especially when the camera is flying over a steaming volcano and when the filmmakers are underwater, capturing images that are rarely seen.
