Which are the best IMAX movie?
 

I just saw "Amazing Caves" at the Natural History museum in Washington, DC. I found it very interesting, and the kids and I learned a great deal. One fabulous feature to this movie is that it follows two scientists -- two WOMEN scientists -- in their cave explorations as they attempt to discover new forms of life that might yield cures for illness someday. I thought it was great that the filmmakers focused on the women scientists -- potential role models for the girls in the audience. <BR> <BR>Anyway, what other IMAX films are worth a look?

We visited Seattle this summer and ran out of time to visit Mt. St. Helens, so we saw the IMAX film at the Seattle aquarium instead. Next best thing to being there, I guess!

"Space" is really incredible.

My vote for best would be "Mission to Mir." EXCELLENT documentary aboard the (now defunct and destroyed) Mir Space Station. <BR> <BR>Other people may vote for the "Everest" one... and I would love to get to Katmandu (sp?)... but geez, it looks like a rich boy's sport to risk the lives for 15 minutes at the top of the world. And it HAS cost a bunch o' lives. Biggest hypocritical moment of this true story was when the leader of a mountain climbing group -- following days after his best friend died while on the trek and talking nonstop about safety issues first and always -- makes the final leg to the top WITHOUT an oxygen tank. Why? "For the challenge," he says. Doofus. Dork. <BR> <BR>Geez... turned this into a rant, didn't I? Oh well, I like my boring and mundane life!

I forgot about Everest. I see what you're saying, Bitterpants, but that IMAX was another of my favorites. I had just read "Into Thin Air", and the film really brought home how hideous it would be to try to climb Everest. And those scenes when the guide was stranded at the top -- *sniff*. <BR> <BR>The other thing I've noticed about some of these films is that the crew is undoubtedly damaging the environment they are filming, and that makes me uncomfortable. In "Amazing Caves", they do a water cave dive (can you think of anything more frightening than that?), and they are shown stirring up silt and knocking off pieces of cave as they swim past. Hmmmm.

My son and I really enjoyed the ALASKA film at the Imax in Victoria, Vancouver Island. I am afraid I found the Mt. St. Helens film in Seattle boring and also the cinema was very poor with bad sound. Everything else in Seattle was great.

Bears <BR>We just saw it in the AMNH in NYC

Top!

This won't be of interest to anybody not from Philadelphia, but my favorite was always "Philadelphia Anthem", a short they played before the main feature at the IMAX in the Franklin Institute. It always made me feel so good about our beautiful city/area. They've replaced it with another, which I don't find as memorable. I've enjoved most of the IMAX movies.

Definitely Mission to Mir. Astounding. In my opinion, the best one was the Dream is Alive, which Air and Space no longer shows. You can purchase it on video, but it just isn't the same.

I've seen the "The Beavers" three times. It's about a pair of beavers who transform the landscape with their dam. But a documentary about the making of the film ruined it for me when I learned that the beavers shown weren't really a couple, the underwater scenes were shot in a tank in a studio, etc. <BR> <BR>Another entertaining IMAX film was of a Rolling Stones concert. Imagine Mick Jagger's lips 10 feet tall!

Our whole family enjoyed the Rolling Stone's IMAX film--if was like being in the front row!

The Magic Box - 3D IMAX about Siegfried & Roy.

Cirque De Sole' - amazing. Saw it at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. <BR> <BR>Sat there for the 40 minutes with my mouth open. <BR> <BR>Micheal Jordan to the Max was okay -saw it last week. Wouldn't pay to see it, was shown at Cedar Point - part of the admission price. <BR> <BR>smuniak

A brief defense of David Brashears, maker of the Everest IMAX film, whom I have had the opportunity to meet and discuss mountaineering with. The IMAX film and the events in John Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" are only related in that the film team happened to be on the mountain when the expedition Krakauer was involved with ran into trouble. Brashears and his team jeopardized their own mission and safety to become involved in rescuing some of the other climbers. The "rich boy's sport" commercialism rampant on Everest these days is appropriately deserving of criticism, but that is unrelated to what Brashears was doing as a serious filmaker. <BR>

A little footnote on the Everest film and David Brashears. Because the film crew lost time helping the ill fated expedition, and deliberately decided NOT to film during that time, some shots were filmed later on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire! The sceens of the "rescue" and the tents blowing in the wind howling wind were actually NH. The crew couldn't believe the weather (it was Jan.) and said it was far worse than Everest. My husband was up there during the filming and became part of the crew for the day. Therefore, I'll vote for Everest as my favorite IMAX film.

That has to be Mt. Washington you're talking about...the winds there are the highest ever recorded in the U.S.