Product Description

A marine biologist from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History leads this astonishing expedition to the Galapagos islands, a world that is still relatively new and evolving. Descending to depths of 3,000 feet, the scientists find a window into the past and a frontier for exploration.

DVD Features:
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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48749 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2002-08-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 40 minutes

From the Back Cover
Descend 3,000 feet to an area of the ocean floor never before seen by humankind. The mission: collect rare and unusual species for study at the Smithsonian and elsewhere--all part of a real-life exploration that will discover what is believed to be more than a dozen new species of marine life. Shot on the famed archipelago and in its surrounding waters, Galapagos follows marine biologist Dr. Carole Baldwin as she makes her initial venture into that world first chronicled for science 160 years earlier by Charles Darwin. The tools for Baldwin's team are far different from anything Darwin used, yet one thing is unchanged. The Galapagos Islands remain a stunningly abundant laboratory for exploration.

Customer Reviews

Stunning, but stunningly disappointing....
If for you the remarkable things about the galapagos include the iguanas, tortoises, and finches, you will be disappointed in this program. After a cursory glance at the earth- and air-borne species, the camera goes underwater and examines fish. The imagery is lovely, but we are NOT seeing those creatures which have made the galapagos famous! A fairer title would have been "OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS AROUND THE GALAPAGOS AREA."

No quibbles with the glory of the presented creatures, but we had been expecting much more about what makes these islands unique!

Beautiful images, but tacky, misleading storyline
I agree with the other reviewers that this should be entitled 'Underwater life around the Galapagos'. The movie spends far too much time underwater instead of focusing on the magnificent scenery and wildlife on land. Why can't the IMAX producers simply let the gorgeous images of wildlife speak for themselves instead of dreaming up a tacky storyline about a beautiful marine biologist and her oh so dangerous explorations? At one point she rappels down into a cave and worries about the possibility that the rocks above her will collapse. I was in the Galapagos last month and visited the same cave (on the island of Santa Cruz) - what they don't tell you is that there are stairs into the cave from the other end! The naturalist guides we spoke with in the Galapagos regard the IMAX movie as a joke, all the sadder because members of the IMAX team died making the film.

Does not do the Enchanted Islands any justice...
Used to some great IMAX productions, I was very keen on seeing this production, but was very disapointed with the cinematic result of such a large and costly undertaking. The production was marred with challenges, including reduced flora and fauna after a devastating El Nino and the tragic death of two team members. I fully understand that these and other circumstances diminished the amount of quality footage the crew was able to obtain during their 8 weeks in the Enchanted Islands, however, I would have hoped for a documentary that truly introduces these natural marvels to the viewers instead of focusing on a very superficial plot of a marine biologist getting her thrills in exploring the deep ocean floor surrounding the islands in a submarine. There is so much to tell and show about these islands that a one hour program will never be able to do it justice, however I would have expected a better effort in documenting the uniqueness of the flora and fauna and the history of the islands, including the dangers presented to them through fishing, over population and introduced species. I sincerely hope that in the near future a producer finds the courage to do these islands justice by returning with an IMAX team to film a documentary that will allow the world to share the wonders of the Enchanted Islands - maybe he will want to call it "IMAX - Galapagos Revisited"