Lyrical and upbeat, with spectacularly beautiful imagery, the new filmed-in-Imax "Amazon" is a celebration of the world's mightiest river and the massive, still mysterious and terribly important rain forest that boasts an unparalleled diversity of life.
Starting its no-doubt lengthy run this weekend at the California Museum of Science and Industry's Imax Theater in Los Angeles, "Amazon" presents startling views of exotic animals and breathtaking aerial photography, but it has a strong human element under the assured direction of Kieth Merrill.
An Academy Award winner for his 1974 feature documentary "The Great American Cowboy" and a veteran of several Imax projects, including "Grand Canyon -- The Hidden Secrets," Merrill and cinematographers Michael Hoover and Jack Tankard filmed in several South American countries, including Bolivia and Peru.
Narrated by Linda Hunt, "Amazon" has a minimal plot that chronicles the parallel journeys of real-life ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin and a Bolivian Callaway shaman (Adrian Villanueva) as they both seek medicinal plants in the rain forest. The connection between indigenous peoples' approach to healing and Western culture's quest for cures to human ailments is clearly and persuasively documented for lay audiences.
From the majestic Andes Mountains to underwater scenes of the seasonally flooded forest, "Amazon" is a feast for the senses and a terrific introduction to the region's often bizarre denizens -- both animal and human. The menagerie of wildlife includes pink dolphins, fula piranhas, sloths, monkeys, jaguars, electric eels, the 120-pound capybara (the world's largest rodent) and grotesquely beautiful insects.
When the focus turns to the many Indian tribes that have tried to stay hidden from the march of civilization, the viewer is treated to scenes of veteran frontiersman Sydney Possuelo interacting with the Zoe tribe, whose adult members wear a labret of white "poturu" wood. Although there is the possibility of even more "lost" peoples, the Zoe were first encountered in the late 1960s and remain largely unaffected by contact with modern mankind.
Approximately 16,000 species of plants, about three-fourths of the plant species known in the world, live in Amazonia, with their potential as healing drugs still largely untapped. Plotkin, author of the nonfiction book "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice", argues that the plants and the knowledge of the people who live in the rain forest are invaluable resources that could hold the key to the future of Western medicine.
AMAZON
MacGillivray Freeman Films
Ogden Entertainment
A Kieth Merrill film
Director Kieth Merrill
Producers Jonathan Stern, Kieth Merrill
Writers Kieth Merrill, Loren McIntyre
Executive producer Isaac Palmer
Line producer Scott Swofford
Director of photography Michael Hoover
Aerial photography Jack Tankard
Editor Stephen L. Johnson
Music Alan Williams
Sound Michael McDonough
Color/stereo
Narrator Linda Hunt
With Dr. Mark Plotkin,
Adrian Villanueva, Sydney Possuelo
Running time -- 38 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Starting its no-doubt lengthy run this weekend at the California Museum of Science and Industry's Imax Theater in Los Angeles, "Amazon" presents startling views of exotic animals and breathtaking aerial photography, but it has a strong human element under the assured direction of Kieth Merrill.
An Academy Award winner for his 1974 feature documentary "The Great American Cowboy" and a veteran of several Imax projects, including "Grand Canyon -- The Hidden Secrets," Merrill and cinematographers Michael Hoover and Jack Tankard filmed in several South American countries, including Bolivia and Peru.
Narrated by Linda Hunt, "Amazon" has a minimal plot that chronicles the parallel journeys of real-life ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin and a Bolivian Callaway shaman (Adrian Villanueva) as they both seek medicinal plants in the rain forest. The connection between indigenous peoples' approach to healing and Western culture's quest for cures to human ailments is clearly and persuasively documented for lay audiences.
From the majestic Andes Mountains to underwater scenes of the seasonally flooded forest, "Amazon" is a feast for the senses and a terrific introduction to the region's often bizarre denizens -- both animal and human. The menagerie of wildlife includes pink dolphins, fula piranhas, sloths, monkeys, jaguars, electric eels, the 120-pound capybara (the world's largest rodent) and grotesquely beautiful insects.
When the focus turns to the many Indian tribes that have tried to stay hidden from the march of civilization, the viewer is treated to scenes of veteran frontiersman Sydney Possuelo interacting with the Zoe tribe, whose adult members wear a labret of white "poturu" wood. Although there is the possibility of even more "lost" peoples, the Zoe were first encountered in the late 1960s and remain largely unaffected by contact with modern mankind.
Approximately 16,000 species of plants, about three-fourths of the plant species known in the world, live in Amazonia, with their potential as healing drugs still largely untapped. Plotkin, author of the nonfiction book "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice", argues that the plants and the knowledge of the people who live in the rain forest are invaluable resources that could hold the key to the future of Western medicine.
AMAZON
MacGillivray Freeman Films
Ogden Entertainment
A Kieth Merrill film
Director Kieth Merrill
Producers Jonathan Stern, Kieth Merrill
Writers Kieth Merrill, Loren McIntyre
Executive producer Isaac Palmer
Line producer Scott Swofford
Director of photography Michael Hoover
Aerial photography Jack Tankard
Editor Stephen L. Johnson
Music Alan Williams
Sound Michael McDonough
Color/stereo
Narrator Linda Hunt
With Dr. Mark Plotkin,
Adrian Villanueva, Sydney Possuelo
Running time -- 38 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/12/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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