Hurricane on the Bayou (IMAX) on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Film
It has been nearly four years since the natural and political disaster that was Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans in August of 2005. Over 1,800 people died from the hurricane and the subsequent flooding, and the socio-political issues the storm stirred up were just as murky as the sediment drudged up by the floodwater pouring over the walls of the broken levies. I recall having to turn to BBC News and my relatives in the UK to get more vivid reports of what was actually going on the ground right here in the US.
Years later, the city of New Orleans is still trying to rebuild, people are still without homes, many business still haven't returned, and people still need public assistance. What a contrast this is to the bustling, happy-go-lucky city I visited in 2000 -- long before the nightmare that was and is Katrina.
Hurricane on the Bayou is another in a long line of titles from MacGillivray Freeman IMAX films that explores our planet and the people who live on it. Through the eyes of famous New Orleans musicians, young and old alike, the relationship between the devastation of Katrina and the depletion of the natural wetlands that surround the city, which once acted as a natural barrier against such natural forces, is explored.
The musical culture and natural ecosystem of the area intertwine on this thought-provoking documentary from MacGillivray Freeman that offers not only picturesque views of the pre-Katrina Bayou, but also startling images of the devastation that the hurricane left in its wake.
The Picture
With its 1.78:1 1080p/24 AVC/MPEG-4 high definition encoding,
Hurricane on the Bayou is another fine transfer of a large-format 70mm IMAX film from MacGillivray Freeman. Granted, there are some moments where specks seem a bit more pronounced than usual, and the reformatting for television does soften the details a tad, but on the whole it's a stable presentation with natural colors, good contrast levels and an absence of any compression artifacts in its high-bitrate AVC encoding.
The Sound
As usual, Image Entertainment has offered a thoroughly engaging English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix to accompany the video presentation for Hurricane on the Bayou. From the raging sounds of thunder and relentless down pour of rain to the sounds of the New Orleans Blues and Zydeco music that populate the soundtrack, each channel is always active. The LFE channel gets much use in this title, particularly during the scenes where the hurricane strikes the city. Narration is also crystal clear (unlike the muddy waters of the Mississippi).
The Extras
It seems Image and MacGillivray have fallen into a pattern as to what supplements they make available on these IMAX releases and it is a combination of promo spots, bios, and trailers, anchored by a "making of" featurette. None of the supplements is really that compelling, hopefully future releases will see a better addition of added value features.
The extras available on this release are:
- Making of Hurricane on the Bayou (4:3/SD)
- About the Musicians -- Bios for the musicians who appear in Hurricane on the Bayou, Allen Toussaint, Tab Benoit, Amanda Shaw, Chubby Carrier, and Marva Wright.
- About Audubon Nature Society
- About Alligator Stuff -- Some interesting trivia about alligators.
- MacGillivray Freeman Films (1.78:1/HD) -- Promo spot on the history of MacGillivray Freeman Films
- About Greg MacGillivray -- Bio for the MacGillivray Freeman Films co-founder and director.
- Trailers (1.78:1/HD/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1):
- Live Connection (BD-Live) -- There's not much available via this BD-Live feature other than a couple of additional trailers for MacGillivray Freeman Blu-ray releases and information about MacGillivray Freeman films.
Final Thoughts
Hurricane on the Bayou is not your typical eye-candy IMAX title. In fact, it is difficult to refer to something that focuses on such a travesty in such a light manner. Does it look and sound good? Yes it does, but this is far from lighthearted home theater demo material. Although it does do well to keep an optimistic outlook,
Hurricane on the Bayou is notable primarily for its profound subject matter. Highly recommended.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Actors: Dr. John, Meryl Streep, Allen Toussaint, Tab Benoit, Chubby Carrier
- Directors: Glen Pitre, Greg MacGillivray
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Language: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Studio: Image Entertainment
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: February 24, 2009
- Run Time: 42 minutes
- List Price: $16.99
- Extras:
- "Making of" Documentary
- MacGillivray Freeman short Retrospective
- Movie Trivia Quiz, Alligator Facts, & Trailers
