The first thing that one notices when watching this DVD is the clarity and scope of the film. It must have been quite a spectacle to watch on the IMAX screen, especially in 3-D. After an awe-inspiring first few minutes, the film settled into documenting the building of the space station. The station's confined interrior does not lend itself to epic shots, but the film quality eliminated the home video feel that most space footage seems to have. The film captures some great moments with the astronauts (whose apparent spontaneity was given away by the Adventures in Space featurette). The film is beautiful and the narration does not get bogged down in too much technospeak. As a result, the film never gets dull.
The DVD has several additional features. The Adventures in Space featurette is short (~10-15 minutes), but does give some information about the making of the film. Also included are two "audio visual" tours of the Space Station. These have the grainy home video quality of most space films. Each is narrated by astronauts that have had missions to the station. There is constant narration either recounting personal moments or technical aspects of the station. The two "tours" combined are roughly as long as the feature itself. As a result, when including the extras with the film, the DVD has nearly two hours of content. Also included on the DVD are a photo gallery and a film audio commentary track by Director (by proxy) Toni Myers and one of the female astronauts, Marsha Ivins, which have not yet been reviewed.
This DVD is an inexpensive treat for fans of space and space travel. The film itself will look great on large, high definition TVs.
IMAX