The Voyager Odyssey: An Interplanetary Music Video Experience

Starring:Voyager Odyssey (1977-89)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This 44-minute documentary chronicles the amazing interplanetary journeys of the two Voyager probes that explored the outer planets of our solar system. The film, sans narration, is a collection of images--a mixture of computer animation and actual photographs--set to classical music. The film was made in 1990 right after Voyager 2's final encounters with Neptune, and the computer animation is dated. Superimposed titles are used to relay information and catalog the images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their moons. As a scientific study, the film doesn't come close to the various Nova and Discovery Channel documentaries on the subject. However, as a stellar travelogue, the movie works quite well as copious images float in and out of frame. The accompanying classical music--inspired by Kubrick's selections for 2001--should be cranked up. The final product can easily play in the background of a party as a new type of "video art." --Doug Thomas

Description

Just imagine: a moon covered with volcanos and sulfur ash, racked by land tides as high as a 100-story building... a world swept by 400-mile-per-hour winds... a moon that reassembled itself after a massive collision... a planet with a 300-year-old hurricane four times the size of Earth... a giant moon covered with a petrochemical, smog-like haze. In 1977, twin Voyager spacecraft left Earth with a mission--to visit the outer solar system and send back pictures and scientific data. This they did, and our view of the solar system was completely changed--forever. Magnificent outer space photography combines with supercomputer animation and special digital video effects to present the outer solar system as you've never experienced it. A spectacular music score makes "The Voyager Odyssey" a rousing tribute to the ultimate adventure of the 20th century! Named one of the Top Ten documentary films by "Entertainment Weekly."

Customer Reviews:

Video a fun tribute to the Voyager mission.......2003-11-17

I have owned the VHS version of this for over a decade and never tire of watching it. Yes, its a bit dated on the graphics, but the emotions it produces are timeless. This is not some dry documentary. Rather, the viewer is provided with an imaginary seat on the Voyagers as they pass by the four outer planets. You see these worlds as Voyager saw them. You feel the excitement of the discoveries as they are made, and you are told about their significance with subtitles. No human voices here -- that would only detract from the effect. While all of this is going on, a set of fantastic classical music selections plays in the background. Each planet has its own piece, chosen to elicit a specific emotion from the viewer. The selections are awesome and should be cranked up to be enjoyed to their fullest. In the end, you can't help but nod your head that this truly was an epic voyage of discovery. If you are looking for mere facts, then you would do better to read an encyclopedia article. If you want to experience the awe of the encounters in a truly unique way, this production is for you. I can't recommend it enough.

Don't Listen to the Others.......2002-06-15

Don't listen to the others. They're just cranky. Combine inspiring music and awesome pictures of the plaets and what do you get? A great movie that surpasses the ratings of two fellow watchers. Hey, there were bad reviews for EVERY great movie, but sometimes, you just have to look for the good ones.

An Award Winning Documentary that is Terribly Misunderstood.......2002-06-14

For the record: The Voyager Odyssey won an American Film Institute award for Best Documentary of 1990. It was also named the 6th Best Documentary ever made by "The Entertainment Weekly Guide to the Best Movies Ever Made". What some viewers don't understand that this isn't some dry voice over film, such as you see everyday on The Discovery Channel or TLC. Its creator has won 5 Video of the Year awards from such disparate sources as TV Guide, Billboard Magazine and the American Film Institute. Some of the reviewers that put it down simply missed the point. The Voyager Odyssey is an experience which blends music and visuals to bond the viewers to these Ambassadors of Humanity. To the reviewer who thought the music didn't go well with the video, I can only tell you that the creator is an Oxford Education PhD in Musicology. Maybe you ought to stick with rap. By all means settle back turn up the sound and let yourself become immersed in the greatest mission of discovery in human history. If the special effects are not Star Wars II calibur, remember, those effects weren't available when the video was made.

One of the Most Original Documentaries Ever Made.......2002-06-14

I can't believe some of the reviews I've seen on this title. Opinions are like rear ends, everybody has them, but keep in mind a panel of film reviewers named The Voyager Odyssey the 6th Best Documentary of all time (See The Greatest Movies Ever Made published by Entertainment Weekly). For somebody to think that aol Time Warner would award such a high merit to a video that some say an 8th Grader could do is ludicruous. The Voyager Odyssey defies every cliche of documentary making. It creates an emotional bond between the viewer and the Voyager Spacecrafts. I had tears in my eyes, when I realized that these ambassadors of humankind, would never return to Earth. This video represents outside the box thinking. It is far superior in its own artistic way to anything you will see on the Discovery Channel of TLC. But then there are people who hated Citizen Kane. I guess they just didn't get it.

Great DVD... if it was made by a 8th grader!.......2001-12-04

The only thing that saved this DVD from a single star rating was the fact that you can turn off your video and listen to the music. This is by far the worst proffesional production I've ever seen.

Here is the idea... take some pretty cool voyager pictures of planets... cut them out and place them on a make believe star field. THEN super-impose cheep 3D renderings of the voyager spacecraft. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!

That's not to say you won't be entertained... you'll get a good laugh. The most spectacular thing about this DVD is the number of people in the credits. One guy in his basement would have made sense...

Seriously though, it would have made an excelent 8th grade video project.

Please please please... save your money and buy a DVD that took more than a week to make.

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