Cirque du Soleil Journey of Man DVD with Ian McKellen, Nicky Dewhurst, Brian Dewhurst (G) +Movie Reviews

Very poor effort, Cirque.

Steve Felker | Phoenix, AZ USA | 11/12/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a die hard Cirque Du Soleil fan and must have everything they put out, like me, then by all means go out and buy this DVD. If not, I would strongly recommend you pass on this one.Why you ask? Well, lets start with the fact that it is (dollar amount)and is only 35 minutes long, and it's not even in widescreen. There are only a few acts and they are very short. There are no acts in this show that aren't available in their full length in other videos or DVDs. Even the soundtrack is copied from other shows, with the exception of "Journey of Man", which is a great song, but is much better (and is complete) on the audio CD.There are a couple of pros, though. The audio seems to actually be 5.1, not 5.0 as specified on the box, and the quality of the video is quite good, once you get past the fact that is in 4:3 format. The scenery is spectacular, it is nice to see a rich background to the acts (as apposed to the scafolding of the big top). And it is a cute story...With a little more effort, this could have been great. Unfortunately, it's, well... not..."

Feast? Or Famine?

M-Taliesin | Aurora, Co USA | 07/28/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I received this as a surprise, just in time for my birthday. How excited I was as I plopped the disk into my DVD player and sat back in joyous expectation of an hour or maybe 90 minutes of the sort of pure entertainment found in other Cirque du Soleil titles. We put a pizza in the oven. By the time the pizza was done, so was the damn film! Journey of man is a visual feast for the eye but a famine for content. It is beautifully filmed in natural settings that appeal to my Pagan little heart. Moving from the sea, to a forest, to a rocky desert, it is visually entertaining. We move on to what appears almost like a Roman villa with classical statuary, which turn out to be performers who deliver an impressive strength demonstration. Then we move on to a stylish set that might conjure in the mind a more modern estate for the closing performance. The problem is, that closing performance comes surprisingly soon. I was taken aback at how quickly the whole thing was over and done with. I thought I must be mistaken. I grabbed the shuck and checked the table of contents. Nope. There were no lurking "additional" scenes. No expanded version. I checked the running time, and it claimed the whole thing should run appx 39 minutes. 39 minutes! That's a grand total, folks. 39 whole, complete, total minutes! That includes the credits. As I sat, feasting on pizza, I was disappointed right out of my skull with the famine of content found (or should I say 'not found') in Journey of Man. It was like a bad case of "visualis interruptus!" Meanwhile, the basic premise that everything would be simply peachy if the world would break down and embrace "dreams, faith and love" struck me as horribly naive. How Septermber 10th! It is nearly as Pollyanna as Bush's claim our economy is fundamentally sound! Caveat Emptor ~ the film is great visually, too bleeding short and stingy of content, has a message to deliver that is inherently juvenile and only 39 total minutes.
Being armed with this information, you make your own decision. It is a mixed blessing, feast or famine.
Investing in this DVD is the electronic equivalent of purchasing WorldCom or Enron stock!
Personally, I strongly recommend other titles in the C du S line."

CIRQUE TO THE (I)MAX

W. Paul Roberts | 05/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw "Journey of Man" in 3-D and felt I could catch the Banquine flyers in my lap. The movie is the next best thing to a live Cirque du Soleil show, even though nothing compares to the being there. The soundtrack, written by Benoit Jutras, not only proves to be a great background for the film, it is great to listen to even without visuals. I hope this movie is eventually released on DVD."

A good mix of Cirque and IMAX

W. Paul Roberts | 07/17/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was an enjoyable film, but I walked away a bit diasppointed at how few of the stunts that Cirque du Soleil is famous for were in it. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had never seen Cirque live because I don't think anything could compare to being there. It was beautifully filmed and gives a good preview of some of the things you might see in a live Cirque show. Making it 3-D and adding the IMAX effects make it unlike anything else I have ever seen.I would recommend it enthusiastically for someone who has never seen Cirque live. If you have seen them live, by all means see it anyway, but be prepared for it to be nothing like a live show. Compared to the price of a ticket to a live show, Journey of Man was a bargain and I didn't feel like I wasted a penny."

It's not the same on the small screen, but...

shapiro3 | McLean, VA United States | 04/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The most important thing to understand about this DVD is that "Journey of Man" was originally created for an IMAX 3-D presentation. I saw it in the theaters and was blown away, and so I bought the DVD as a reminder of that experience. The sound on the DVD was spectacular, drawing out the beauty of the soundtrack, but there are inherent limitations on the visual side. Because IMAX's aspect ratio is close to that of a TV, there's no need to letterbox this feature, but there's no way to capture either the size of the IMAX screen or the 3-D effects that made it so spectacular.All of the acts were taken from the various touring Cirque shows: The opening "Taiko" from Mystere, some synchronized swimming from "O", "Cube" from Alegria, "Statue" and "Banquine" from Quidam, and so on. I'm not sure that there were any original acts, but each of the performances here has been further stylized and put into a setting that frees the act from the constraints of the stage, making each one larger and more powerful. "Statue" is especially striking, as the performers in full-body grey makeup perform on a vivid green leaf floating in a black pool. The colors are beautiful throughout, and the performances are, of course, spectacular. The acts are connected by sequences that were amazing on the big screen but feel a little bit unnecessary in the living room.The storyline explores the "child-like wonder" theme of previous Cirque productions, but I think that the theme is both better portrayed and has more of an impact here than I've felt in Cirque's other work. There are all sorts of amazing things in the world if you keep looking, and what you think you want isn't always what you need most.Basically, this DVD is a good buy for rabid Cirque fans who need to have everything that Cirque has produced, people who never got a chance to see Mystere, "O", or Alegria and so can enjoy some acts they haven't previously seen, or for those of artistic bent who don't mind shelling out the money for a 35-minute presentation of beautiful staging and cinematography. I fall into all three categories and am very happy with my purchase.However, EVERYONE should see this in its original IMAX 3-D format. On the big screen it truly is an amazing spectacle throughout. On the small screen it's more of a novelty."

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