Journey Into Amazing Caves

I first saw this IMAX film in Sydney on my trip down under. Not only was it amazing to see some of the most beautiful footage on a screen that is over 8 stories high, but the story was also very interesting to me. It had some incredible climbing scenes...112F in the Grand Canyon, 500' down into ice caves in Greenland, Bats in Georgia, and underwater cave diving in the Yucatan. It not only deals with the sport of caving, but one of the ladies in the film is a micro-biologists who is collecting rare extremophiles, microorganisms that live in extremely harsh environments, for scientific research. It was narrated by Liam Neeson with music by The Moody Blues. I bought it on DVD, knowing it would lose a lot visually going from the IMAX screen to my TV. I'm glad I did, because it has a "making of" documentary that was just as interesting as the IMAX movie, showing both the technical aspects of what went into the shoot as well as the personal side of those involved.

Four researchers are in Arizona looking into the extreme environment of caves to search for new organisms and new medicines. Nancy Holler Aulenbach is a cave climber specialist. Hazel Barton is collecting biological specimens. She is also on leave as a teaching assistant in a second grade class. She does presentations to the class over the computer. The group travels around the globe.

It's one of those science center movies. It's a second tier production. One of the ladies kept mentioning her husband. She needs to stop that. I like the computer presentations to the kids. The old computers are fun. She should do the ice sliding for the kids to see. That's what they want. They want to see her climbing and crawling inside the caves. All in all, this is fine but nothing special.

I was fortunate to be at the world premiere of this IMAX masterpiece. The film creates its own energy and excitement while introducing you to the two most lovable stars in the world. Nancy and Hazel really make the movie because they are as real as beautiful caves they explore. Extreme rappelling, caving, and kayaking scenes topped off with new music from the Moody Blues make it an adrenaline rush.

I'm a big fan of IMAX, and this is the best I've seen. Stunning photography, the best shots, the movie is better than "Everest." The "making of" addition is also very compelling, and gives you a good understanding of how dedicated the people who made this movie are.

My daughter Maria and I were thrilled with so many scenes, especially:

the kayaks plummeting down waterfalls while searching for new caves to explore;

the scary heights of caves in the middle of cliffs only reachable by rappelling and/or crossing rivers by rope many, many feet high up;

descending into ice caverns where you hear the icicles falling and the glacier groaning;

and finally, the holding of our breath as they swam under water through body width openings in search of microorganisms, which was their main goal.

The plane/helicopter rides were breathtaking also - seemingly going to crash you right into the side of a mountain.

Their adventures in Iceland and North America, for the main sake of finding medical cures for the future, will never be forgotten.

(And, if my daughter and wife aren't reading this, the ladies were sure cute, besides being brave, dedicated, athletic and intelligent.)