Chasing Ice Reviews

Photographer James Balog sets up cameras to document the disappearance of glaciers.
Most documentaries about global warming and other such social problems take an alarmist stance and quickly become so over-bearing in their message that I find myself saying, "Yes, yes, we're all going to die. I understand. Ho hum." But the film's focus on the process of setting up the cameras and Balog's courageousness makes it more about the process than pounding depressing evidence into my head.
Balog's photographs are striking. They're beautifully tragic, just as they are intended to be.
Overall, this is a good documentary about an important social problem, and its strength is that it doesn't try to beat the shit out of any happiness you might still be able to muster.

We are all concerned about the earth's poles in this day and era. "Chasing Ice" Documents James Balog an acclaimed Natianal Geographic photographer's journey to find some physical evidence about Climate Change. Setiing up mutiple cameras in a single area in Iceland, Greenland, Montanna and Alaska. The results are pretty shocking, after three years of observing the photos we find a big difference in the stucture of some of the biggest glaciers in the world. I've never seen so many massive calvings of ice that it almost looks like a whole city area is going up in an earthquake. Viewers really do feel the emotion and determination for Balog who has a knee problem, but that dosen't stop him from explroring the dangerous impact the ice world has suffered to climate change. Conventionally shot in a very informative manner, "Chasing Ice" is essential for all enviromentalists and common viewers.

"Chasing Ice" is as visually stunning as it is socially enlightening. James Balog, an acclaimed photography, brings the best of both worlds into a documentary that highlights the indisputable facts about global warming, through the photographic proof of several glaciers, which have been around for thousands and thousands of years, that are melting and breaking off into the oceans at an alarming rate. The documentary not only takes you on an adventure as Balog attempts to plant over a dozen different cameras out in the Arctic elements to capture the photos, but it inspires social change with the immense cataclysmic change that our earth is undergoing at a rapid pace. Overwhelmed from most of the imagery, I had a strong connection with this film and could have looked at Balog's photography for much longer. One of the best documentaries of the year and of recent memory, also gaining an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song which surprising was performed by actress Scarlett Johansson.

This is an amazing documentary. Entertaining, informative, and visually stunning! A great reminder of what we are up against...

A really amazing, beautiful and devastating documentary. Everyone should see this, if not for the message about climate change, then just for the beauty of the ice shots. Also, it was really cool to see a couple people I know and lots of Boulderites on the big screen!

An absolutely important film. The still-photography that Balog produced is an excellent weapon to kill the naysayers who are (somehow) convinced that global warming isn't a thing that exists. Also, the footage is incredibly beautiful, breathtaking on the big screen. The one thing that is a little odd is the Balog subplot, showing the fragility of his knees and portraying him as a family man. However, one of his quotes is telling. I'll paraphrase because I'm terrible at remembering quotes exactly: "In 20 or 30 years, when my grandchildren ask me what I did about global warming, I will be able to tell them that I did the only thing I knew how to do." This is truly a film that puts into visuals the very frightening geological change that's happening on this planet right now. What the hell am I going to do about it? I don't know. But maybe you do so you should see it.

It is oh so sad - yes but not that the ice is melting supposedly but that the NAT GEo get involved in fraudulent pseudo science
1/10


Looks like 'al gore' the fat little democrat who lied to us all about global warming a few years ago has had his finger in this little propaganda piece. What a load of pseudo science and obvious misrepresentation of photo evidence of you can call it that. In a law case these photo displays would have been shredded by any decent lawyer. I will not go into it in depth here because it would take an hour to fully disembowel the garbage that this show offers. I draw your attention to some simple facts. The way some of the photos were shown was so obviously staged. There was one where he showed a receding glacier by comparing two images that were supposedly shot from the same spot - NOT. If you look carefully you will see that the elevation of the shot is drastically different with a different lens factor and then placed conveniently and cropped to make it appear that a glacier retreated much further than it actually did. Besides that the montages were done without any time reference and if I were to display this sort of stuff in a science journal my career would be OVER. The fact that Nat Geo got involved in this states clearly that the mind washed liberal morons out there are winning the battle of propaganda over reason and a true scientific method. The over used trick of juxtaposing images of floods from somewhere in the world with receding glacier images to make a pseudo connection is just disgusting and shows the contempt that these fools have for the viewing public. Whether or not the human race is predominantly responsible for any of the alleged global warming is a debate that is far from conclusive and any assertion to the contrary is a political act of one upmanism and it is high time that people removed their rose coloured glasses and woke up to this fact. These types of shows always use so called experts to bolster the authenticity of their one eyed opinion. Where are the counter arguments? I rest my case but go watch it and see for your self what tripe this really is unless of course you are stilling wearing those aforementioned visers.

A stunning, visual achievement with ominous undertones delivers a powerful message.

It would be quite remarkable to watch this movie with a group of people and have there not be a strong general consensus on the reality of global climate change by the end.

Nevjerovatno sto cemo ostaviti svojim potomcima, fantasticno snimljeno sa fantasticnom porukom.

I had seen this photographer's work in the New Yorker a couple of years back, but it's stunning to see his progress. The first time that time-lapse photography has made me weep; our world is saying goodbye, and our children will have to suffer the consequences.

James Balog comes off, to me, as a hotdog and a bit of a drama queen. While what he eventually shows us, just prior to end of the movie, is phenomenal, getting there was tedious. I found how much James Balog made himself a focal point of the movie quite annoying and he certainly loves the spotlight. Does he have a cause or is his celebrity 'the cause'? Maybe a lot of both, but without his getting the glory, I question whether he would do what he does. For me, I could have watched the finale of the movie on YouTube and had my time better spent. His histrionics taught me nothing I didn't already know. Save your time & money and watch the significant 2 minutes (or so) on YouTube.

An undeniable argument for the existence of Global Warming and its dramatic effects is beautifully presented and effortlessly conveyed, but there are no potential solutions provided on a small or large scale. This is where the film fails, as every opportunity to spread the word of how to stop or slow Global Warming should be taken advantage of. There also too much emphasis on the main photographer and his problems. The Earth is literally at stake, why are we watching this man complain about his struggles?

Hauntingly beautiful and powerful Chasing Ice doesn't tell you about climate change, it shows you.

Out on DVD September September 10th. Cannot wait!

Fantastic movie and visually stunning. Made me want to run out and help the environment. I would have given it 5 stars had the movie actually gone into what exactly we can do to help besides writing congress.

Look at pictures of Greenland today. In the days of the Vikings it was lush and green (hence its name) and home to dairy farms. Did these Vikings drive polluting SUVs and not offset their coal burning electric generation with wind and solar power? Ummm no. It was because the Earth was just a lot lot warmer back then. Someday the Earth may be that warm again, but it won't be because of us. It will be because that is what the Earth wants to do. Will we be able to change the Earth's mind? Kinda doubt it. I'm not saying it's not good to do things to improve the Earth and our way of life, but to prey on people with lies about how it's their fault that these changes are happening is wrong, and it's criminal to use it for financial gain as Al Gore and others have done.

History will teach us nothing.

the planet been warming up or then thousand years so why all this its new attitude

This movie is a must see!

Films like this make it all very real, and hold a timp-lapse photograph up to any ignorant claims that climate change is very real, and is happening faster than anyone wants to admit...