The National Parks: America's Best Idea (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

( Max score: 100 )

82

Film Synopsis:

The National Parks (six episodes, twelve hours) tells the human history of five of the nation's most important and most heavily visited National Parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Acadia, and Great Smoky Mountains) and the unforgettable Americans who made them possible. Set against some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth, each park's story is filled with incidents and characters as gripping and fascinating as American history has to offer. Woven into the series will also be a broader, evolving story of the very idea of National Parks, as uniquely an American concept as jazz, baseball, and the Declaration of Independence as well as the expanding, constantly changing National Parks system (encompassing stories from other parks) and the growing role they all have come to play in our nation's sense of itself, its past, and its future.

My Take:

Directed by Ken Burns and co-produced with his longtime colleague Dayton Duncan, who also wrote the script, the 12-hour film is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. Filmed over the course of more than six years in some of nature's most spectacular locales from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska the documentary is nonetheless a story of people from every conceivable background: rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so, reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy. The six-part series is narrated by Peter Coyote and features first-person voices read by some of America's greatest actors including Tom Hanks, Andy Garcia, Josh Lucas, Eli Wallach, Campbell Scott, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow, George Takei, Philip Bosco, Carolyn McCormick, Adam Arkin and Kevin Conway.

Wow. What an incredibly informative and fascinating documentary. I have never been to our most famous and beautiful National Parks which is something I plan to remedy. After seeing how majestic they are as well as the history behind them, I feel a sense of responsibility and allure to experience these treasures which have been referred to as the vast school rooms of Amercianism. Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan put forth a tremendous effort in the historical retrospective portions of this film. It paints a comprehensive portrait of the people who helped recognize these landscapes and the importance of preserving them for future generations. Principle among them was Stephen T. Mather, a millionaire businessman that on an impulse initially offered to oversee the existing 12 National Parks for one year. Mather and his trusted and dedicated assistant Horace Albright, launched a campaign to publicize the parks as a unified system and persuade congress to create a single agency, The National Park Service, to oversee it. It was the work of these two men that formed the foundation that today compromises our National Park Service. This in no way minimizes the importance of others who steadfastly believed and contributed to the National Park ideal. This includes but isn't limited Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, Margaret and Edward Gehrke, Horace Kephart, George Masa, John D. Rockefeller, and many more. The film presents an intimate perspective offered by writers and historians with narrated commentary by Peter Coyote and first person voice-overs by celebrity readers. I was awestruck by the majestic cinematography captured during this film. Burns also uses dozens of vintage black and white photographs and film clips to regale the events that culminated in the formation of the preservation movement and the establishment of the National Park Service. I don't consider myself a history buff (although I do find it of interest) but I was captivated by this in depth look at the treasure trove of nature's bounty that is located right here in our country. Honestly I had no idea of their history and the struggle by those who recognized their importance and the need to protect them. Ken Burns has captured it all in this incredible documentary film that was six years in the making. It is spread out over six two hour segments on 6 BD-50 Blu-ray discs with special features contained on each. This is a great piece that is easily worth the time investment required to see it all.

Parental Guide:

This documentary film is appropriate for all ages.

Audio: 80

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Video: 84

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The National Parks: America's best idea comes to Blu-ray Disc from Paramount and PBS featuring 1080i AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 31 mbps and lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 channel audio that has an average bitrate of 1.5 mbps.

This documentary was originally shot on Super 16mm film and its elements appear to have been faithfully preserved during the encoding process. As such the filmed footage has a noticeably grainy aesthetic that doesn't offer razor sharp detail or the infinite perception of depth/dimension found on some of today's reference quality Blu-ray Disc releases. This shouldn't be construed as a negative. This is a solid looking encode that holds true to Ken Burns vision and the results are excellent. The 1.78:1 framed images boast strong, stable contrast, boldly stated colors, and deep image penetration that captures the exquisite locations featured in this film. Shadow delineation is estimable and blacks are gradational and punchy. Some wide angle pans lack the ability to discern the finest details within backgrounds however this is inherent due to the nature of the photography. Many of the still black and white photos look stunning in high definition. The nature defined color palette pops nicely as the deep, vivid, reds, succulent blues, and resplendent earth toned hues are visually engaging. The various stages of gray and white are subtly revealing, with crisp highlights, and discerning detail. This is a solid video presentation that offers a lucid perspective as seen through the eyes of director Ken Burns.

The lossless Dolby TrueHD soundtrack delivers the elements contained within this documentary film with aplomb. Voices are clearly rendered with crisp articulation, smooth intonation and prominent placement so that even subtle tonal inflections are perceptible. The front three channels integrate nicely and combine high level detail/clarity with pinpoint imaging. The music score has appreciable top end air, smoothly rendered instrumentation, and astute focus as its primary elements are spread evenly throughout the soundfield to create a warming blanket that envelops the listening position. I thought it sounded great.

Bonus Features & Episode Break down:

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  Disc 1:

  
  
• Episode One: The scripture of nature (1851-1890) 116 minutes
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• (HD) The making of National Parks: America's best idea - 25 minute documentary
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  Disc 2:

  
  
• Episode Two: The last refuge (1890-1915) - 131 minutes
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• (HD) Capturing the parks - 24 minute behind the scenes look
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  Disc 3:

  
  
• Episode Three: The empire of grandeur (1915-1919) - 114 minutes
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• (HD)Musical journeys through National Parks - Images of the parks set to music in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround:
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  2. National Parks timeline
     
  3. Peace at last/Across the ocean
     
  4. Horizons
     
  5. Green groves of Erin
     
  6. The shades of Ogygia
     
  7. Teddy bear picnic
  
  

  Disc 4:

  
  
• Episode Four: Going home (1920-1933) - 117 minutes
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• (HD) Outtakes - An interview with Nevada Barr and The Boss
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  Disc 5:

  
  
• Episode Five: Great nature (1933-1945) - 116 minutes
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• (HD) The National Parks: This is America - 44 minute documentary
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  Disc 6:

  
  
• Episode Six: The morning of creation (1946-1980) 116 minutes
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• (HD) Contemporary stories from America's National Parks:
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  2. San Antonio missions: Keeping history alive - 12 minutes
     
  3. Yosemite's Buffalo Soldiers - 11 minutes
     
  4. Mount Rushmore: Telling America's stories - 9 minutes
     
  5. Manzanar: Never begin - 14 minutes
     
  6. City kids in National Parks - 13 minutes

Final Thoughts:

The National Parks: America's best idea is a wonderfully informative and captivating experience as illustrated by filmmaker Ken Burns. It truly captures the breathtaking natural creations contained in our National Parks as well as providing a comprehensive look at their history and the people responsible for their development. Its presentation in high definition on Blu-ray Disc may not offer the provocative high gloss imagery of other nature based documentary films released on the format however it presents very well and looks great. There are a variety of extra features that offer behind the scenes footage, interviews, and human interest stories that are all pertinent to this film's compelling subject matter. Stephen T. Mather believed that our National Parks are our richest patrimony. After watching this provocative and stirring documentary film I would have to say that I agree with his assessment. This set comes highly recommended.