Best National Park Video in the USAugust 2, 2008 This video is the absolute best video on any national park in the US. It is not just a great video on Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, it is one of my video favorites generally. Wrangell-St. Elias is, by far, the largest national park in the country: "Larger than Switzerland, with higher mountains." John Grabowska is terrific and Steve Ruth's photography (and his long lens!) is equally outstanding. I have seen this dozens of times and still watch it. The story of his personal connection is unexpected. The cinematography is superb. The music is beautiful and fits perfectly. And the information on the park (the reason for the film) is great, too. I believe you can't see the park in person much better than you can in the 28 minutes of this video. If you want to visit a national park without having to go to it, this is as close as you can get. I have been to many national parks and I like them all. But, even before I actually visited the park, this video made Wrangell-St. Elias my favorite national park.
I have three suggestions for the producer: (1) Release the soundtrack separately. I want it. (2) Add closed captions to the DVD version. (3) I also suggest a commentary by the producer as bonus material. He could expand on his personal story, some of which is elsewhere on-line. And I would be fascinated just to hear the details of the filming itself.
This is an amazing video that, in just 28 minutes, gives you a real feeling for this park that you sometimes can't get even being there. This is not simply a documentary on a park. It is a piece of art.
