DVD Review - Time of the Earth: A Desert Dreamtime Journey

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Site created 12/15/97.

review added: 7/26/02

Time of the Earth: A Desert Dreamtime Journey
2001 (2002) - Projekt Records

review by Matt Rowe of The Digital Bits

Program Rating: B

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B+/B/D

Specs and Features

77 mins, NR, full frame (1.33:1), single-sided, RSDL dual layered (layer switch at ??), Amaray keep case packaging, secondary audio track featuring one song (73 minutes), program-themed menu screens, scene/track access (12 chapters - see track listing below), languages: English (DD 2.0)

This DVD release by Projekt Records is an engaging look at the earth, as it existed thousands of years ago, undefiled in its splendor. Steve Lazur, an obvious filmmaker, toiled for 3 years to create a stunning visual movement of landscape. From the opening scenes of cloud movements and sunrise to the splashing sea and a gorgeous sunset, we are treated to a visceral view of timeless nature. Hauntingly portrayed at every angle, the contrasted movement of time against the solidity of time's creations brings a heavy sense of mortality while encapsulating the perfection and magnificence of eternity. The result is similar in effect to Koyaanisquatsi.

The 77 minutes of spectacular footage, filmed in 16mm, is engaging all by itself. However, ambient master Steve Roach provides a soundtrack of unearthly beauty to complement the montage of shaped stone, unrelenting sun and liquid power. Roach supports this visual feast with stirring sounds of passage, of immensity and of eerie grandeur, which add power to the film. Every note becomes a creature upon whose back you fly as you journey through the lands. The music is a smorgasbord of unrelated pieces that come from previously released recordings over the years. Gleaned from Projekt CD releases as well as Timeroom, Fortuna, Asphodal and Interchill releases of Steve Roach's vast library, the ambient power seeps into the heart and invents a refreshed outlook.

There is a bonus here - not only do you get an additional, unreleased track from Steve Roach, but also a separate, full-length audio track. The track, an additional 73 minute soundscape (also from Steve Roach) called The Dream Circle, is accessible by switching to audio track two, by pressing the audio button on your remote.

The colors in the video are brilliant and capture every nuance of nature's palette. This disc could have suffered from a poor transfer, but special care was given to insure that the intensity of this piece would not be marred by color disorientation. The video is rendered in the 4x3 mode (or 1.33:1 aspect ratio), and therefore isn't blessed with an anamorphic widescreen treatment. To be fair, this does not hurt the presentation. The audio quality is also good in a solid Dolby Digital 2.0. While this disc doesn't offer much in the way of extras, it provides exactly what it sets out to in terms of presentation quality.

Time of the Earth is a nicely immersive addition to your musical DVD library, whether you wish to view the film or simply shut off the visuals, lay back in your easy chair and become absorbed by the entrancing collection of music.

Matt Rowe
mattrowe@thedigitalbits.com

Track Listing:

Underground Clouds from Atmospheric Conditions (Timeroom Editions)
Begins Looking Skyward from Early Man (Projekt Records)
Sound of Stone - previously unreleased
This Life from Floatation (Interchill Records)
The Dreamer Descends and True West from Amplexus I (Projekt Records)
The Holy Dirt from Vine, Bark and Spore (Timeroom Editions)
Merciful Eyes from A Storm of Drones (Asphodel)
Two Rivers Dreaming from Atmospheric Conditions (Timeroom Editions)
The Eternal Expanse from The Eternal Expanse (Projekt Records)
The Return from Dreamtime Return (Fortuna Records)
The Dream Circle from The Dream Circle (Timeroom Editions)