There is some nice scenery in this film and I did learn a few new things about John Muir, but too much of the film is talking heads. To Conti's credit, each of the talking heads has a unique perspective on John Muir and on nature, but I wanted more detail on John Muir and less talking heads. The film moves between two themes, one being John Muir and his passion for the outdoors and all the things he did to discover, experience, and protect these special places. The other theme is simply the outdoors - nature - wilderness - wild places, and the human experience (emotional, spiritual, etc.) of being there. There is one interviewee that was worth the price of admission - a ranger that appears several times in the film, Shelton Johnson, talking about everything from John Muir to neutrinos. Mr. Johnson's enthusiasm is contagious, and he has some of the more unique and interesting things to say.
There was a nice cinematic effect used where they took old black and white photographs and manipulated them to look 3 dimensional as the camera panned. This was very well done and made these old pictures feel new and engaging - like you were there.
There was a nice cinematic effect used where they took old black and white photographs and manipulated them to look 3 dimensional as the camera panned. This was very well done and made these old pictures feel new and engaging - like you were there.