The Dream Is Alive (1985) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	IMAX	Main Menu Audio Trailer-IMAX Trailer (1:05)
Rating
Year Of Production	1985
Running Time	36:33
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,4	Directed By	Graeme Ferguson
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Walter Cronkite
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Micky Erbe Maribeth Solomon

    When it was announced that this title was getting released locally, I was pretty much determined that I had to get to do the review, especially if we ever got a review copy of the DVD. After all, I cannot remember how many times I have watched this film at Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center and the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. All I know is that I have seen it many times on the big IMAX screen! I suppose one issue that should be cleared up early is that there is no way any home theatre screen can possibly provide the same sort of experience as a massive IMAX theatre screen. Still, even on the small screen, this is still quite an impressive short film.

    Basically what you have here is "give the shuttle astronauts an IMAX camera to play with and see what happens". What happens is some very impressive photography on the most expensive home video camera ever devised. It really is a promotional film to engender public support for the rather expensive Space Shuttle programme, so we get to see some interesting aspects of various shuttle missions. As you can gather from the fact that the late Christa McAuliffe and the ill-fated Challenger are featured here, this was filmed before the disaster that claimed both, along with six others. This makes the promotional nature of the film even more poignant. We get to enjoy the spectacle of shuttle launches and shuttle landings, as well as astronauts working in space: retrieving and repairing satellites, launching satellites and having a bit of fun in the weightlessness of space We also get a glimpse of the astronauts in training, especially in the big water tank at Johnson Space Center, but mainly we get to see some very impressive images of the space shuttle in action and the little ball of blue that it goes to work over.

    As you may have guessed, I am something of a space nut and apart from having seen the film so many times, the reason why I wanted to review the DVD was to relive my visits to both Kennedy Space Center (five times now) and Johnson Space Center. If you think that a shuttle launch is impressive based upon what you see here, then I would strongly recommend that you actually go and see a shuttle launch in real life. I had the fortune to witness the launch of STS-100 with the shuttle Endeavor earlier this year and can attest to the fact that it is an awe-inspiring event. The physical reality of the assault of noise and the compression hitting your chest is a marvel.

    It might not have the impact on a smaller screen, but this is the best I have seen this film look in pure terms. It is a marvellous look, albeit a very brief one, at the shuttle programme and is entertaining enough in its own right. Well worth checking this one out if you get the chance.

Video

    So far only Warner Home Video amongst the major distributors has chosen to look at releasing NTSC DVDs coded for Region 1 and 4. We often forget that we are but a small part of Region 4 - the vast bulk of the region is the NTSC countries of South America. And by looking to these NTSC formatted DVDs, it is possible for specialist titles that would probably not get released here otherwise to get an official release in our neck of the woods. The selection of IMAX titles, of which this is one, are the sorts of titles that we would not otherwise see. Naturally, we would prefer PAL formatted efforts but since this is well nigh impossible to have, owing to the simple expediencies of availability and cost, this is the next best solution. It does of course mean that you will need a display device capable of displaying the NTSC signal to be able to enjoy the film.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced. Quite how the original 70mm format translates to the 1.33:1 ratio I don't know, but presumably it is a Full Frame format and not a Pan and Scan format (Ed. IMAX is projected at 1.44:1).

    Bearing in mind that this is an NTSC formatted DVD, and thus has the usual 3:2 pull down issues of such transfers, this is a sharp and detailed transfer that is only marred by some aliasing issues. Shadow detail is of very minor consideration here. Clarity is excellent and there is nothing significant in the way of grain to be found in this transfer. There are no significant low level noise issues in the transfer.

    This is a beautiful looking transfer as far as colours go. The start sort of had me worried that the quality was not going to be the best but once that initial sequence was out of the way, the transfer was a veritable smorgasbord of brilliant colour, beautiful saturation and stunning vibrancy. This is one very nice-looking film and you would be going some way to try and find too many efforts better than this. There was no hint of oversaturation, and colour bleed was a non-issue too.

    There did not appear to be any significant MPEG artefacts in the transfer. Aliasing is the main issue here, and even though it is relatively minor it is a bit of a distraction. The aliasing can be found in sharp edges and spindly bits of satellites just about the whole way through the transfer. Apart from that however, there were no film-to-video artefact issues. There were a few film artefacts floating around here, but compared to one print of the film I saw at Kennedy Space Center, this is almost pristine.

    There are a limited number of subtitle options on the DVD, and I sampled the English efforts for most of the film. Apart from some minor dropping of non-essential words here and there they are almost word perfect, and very easy to read.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two soundtracks on the DVD, both Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks: English and French. Since I have no wish to hear Walter Kronkite in French, I stuck with the English soundtrack throughout.

    The narration, dialogue and music comes up very well in the transfer and it is easy to understand and listen to. There are no significant audio sync problems in the transfer.

    The original music comes from Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon and does a reasonable job of supporting the film. However, the visual treat ensures that you really don't take much notice of the music here!

    The soundtrack is really a very good one indeed, even though the mixing might take a bit of getting used to. Astronaut dialogue and the narration are mixed to the front channels, whilst dialogue from mission control is mixed to the rear channels. It actually does not sound that unnatural, even if it sounds weird, and it does effectively present the conversation between the shuttles and mission control in a way that is easily followed. The shuttle launches have a really nice presence and the subwoofer really gets some fine workout indeed. You really get the effect in miniature of the growling rumble of a space shuttle heading for space that is very, very believable. Really, this is a very nice effort indeed and is free of any problems whatsoever in my view.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    A crying shame indeed. There is plenty of additional material from NASA that could have been presented here as a nice fill-up to what is after all quite a short film.

Menus

    Neatly done, with a nice sharp photo of the interior of the shuttle. The main menu has some minor, launch countdown audio enhancement.

Trailer (1:05)

    Not so much a trailer as a generic advert for the release of IMAX films on DVD. It looks quite good and sounds quite good but really is of marginal value. I might check out the T-Rex DVD, though, based upon the trailer! It is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, is not 16x9 enhanced and comes with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

    Since this is also the Region 1 release, we can be sure that it is identical and the version of choice!

    I have spent many a happy hour watching The Dream Is Alive on the big IMAX screens and am quite impressed by the transition to DVD. Okay, it does not have the same impact as it does on a seven storey high movie screen, but apart from that it is as clean and as sharp and detailed as I have ever seen it. Value for money might be a question, and some serious extras would certainly not have gone astray, but overall I am very happy to have this on DVD, as a reminder to return to until I can once again visit either Kennedy Space Center or Johnson Space Center (or both). If you have an interest in space, then this is an essential purchase.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall