Product Description

Cosmic Voyage mixes ground-breaking computer animation with cutting edge science to give us a sweeping view of the universe. A "cosmic zoom" extends from the surface of the Earth to the largest observable structures of the universe, and then back down to the sub-nuclear realm - a guided tour across some 42 orders of magnitude. Cosmic Voyage explores some of the greatest scientific theories, many of which have never before been visualized on film.

DVD Features:
Documentary
Theatrical Trailer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9749 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2002-04-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 36 minutes

Amazon.com
As a primer on up-to-date scientific theory about the nature of the universe and our place in it, Cosmic Voyage is visually sumptuous and just plain fun. Shot in the mind-blowing IMAX process, this combined live-action and computer-generated production has (even in video format) an immensity of scope befitting its grand subject. Beginning, lyrically if unexpectedly, in Italy's magnificent Venice, Cosmic Voyage draws inspiration from airborne perspectives on the city's famed network of canals and streets, leading to further appreciations of dense systems in nature. From the subnuclear to the physical limits of the known universe, Cosmic Voyage explores a resonance between all things while making sense of such inscrutable phenomena as the birth of stars and planets, black holes, supernovas, etc. The marvels of cosmology are rarely so accessible as this. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover
The Academy Award nominee Cosmic Voyage combines live action with state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery to pinpoint where humans fit in our ever-expanding universe. Highlighting this journey is a "cosmic zoom" based on the powers of 10, extending from the surface of Earth to the largest observable structures of the universe, and then back to the subnuclear realm--a guided tour across 42 orders of magnitude! Explore some of the greatest existing scientific theories, some of which have never before been visualized on film, from the birth of the cosmos and solar system to the nature of black holes and exploding supernovas. 36 minutes.

Cosmic Voyage was filmed in the IMAX format and exhibited in IMAX theaters worldwide. This video version is digitally mastered from original 70mm film elements with the sound components specially mixed and mastered to produce the highest quality Dolby Surround soundtrack.

Customer Reviews

Short but sweet introduction to the scale of the universe
What does the universe look like at the scale of atoms, or that of galaxy superclusters? What did the early universe look like, and how did it evolve into the cosmos we know today? What other life may have evolved and be wondering about our universe as we do?

These are deep questions, and no short film can possibly do them all complete justice. Instead, in its 35 minutes, Cosmic Voyage flies through a summary of what we know--just enough to whet your appetite for more.

Starting in Galileo's Venice, with familiar everyday scales of time and space, the IMAX film employs a common technique: expanding our perspective by successive factors of 10, until the screen encompasses the largest structures scientists know of today, and our own Earth is utterly lost in the deep expanse. A similar voyage takes us from the waterways of the Netherlands down into the nucleus of the atom, where (somewhat paradoxically) our knowledge comes from some of the largest experiments in the world.

The simulation of the early universe and the numerous galactic collisions is especially awe-inspiring. Usually, documentaries of this sort employ artists to bring the words of astrophysics journals to life; Cosmic Voyage was the first movie to make use of scientific computing and cosmic simulations on such a large scale. The sequence was computed under the direction of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), which also had an early hand in popularizing the World Wide Web. The result is an accurate and breathtaking depiction of how the oldest and largest parts of cosmic architecture took shape.

The temptation with any such documentary is to compare it to Cosmos, the PBS documentary hosted by Carl Sagan that ran in 1980. But the comparison is unfair. Sagan had 13 hour-long episodes, with a sweep at once broader and deeper than anything since. With only 5 percent of the length, Cosmis Voyage can't expect to duplicate that sweep, and to its credit, it doesn't try. It just stuns you with its imagery and inspires you to find out more, and it does so without straying from scientific accuracy. Provided you keep in mind the length and scope of the film, you won't be disappointed.

Cosmic Voyage an Educational Breakthrough
In this incredible journey the viewer travels from the outer reaches of space down into the nucleus of a carbon atom. Cosmic Voyage is able to explain, in layman's terms, the theory of how the universe began - the "Big Bang" and how the entire mass of the universe could have been compressed into a space the size of a tennis ball. Parallel worlds? Life on other planets? Cosmic Voyage answers all these questions. Teachers will rate this film five stars and a must have for the classroom.

Great DVD!
I have used this DVD for the past several years in my science classes. After introducing my students to the metric system, and doing labs to reinforce this new concept, I show COSMIC VOYAGE as a culmination to the metric system, and as an introduction to the Astronomy Unit. The metric system is based on Powers of Ten. The scene that starts in Venice and expands outward into space by powers of ten is effective for my students. Conversely, to watch a water droplet and decrease by powers of ten is also important for students to see. After watching this, my students are jazzed and can't wait to learn about the universe. At the end of the school year, many cite COSMIC VOYAGE as one of their favorite DVD's and the Astronomy Unit as one of their favorite units.