I posted early last weekend and hence forgot to give you a heads-up about the film "Home" which was going out via various media all over the world on Friday evening 5th June, World Environment Day. It was on a big screen in Trafalgar Square, but I don't know if it went out on British TV. Did you see it? If not, the full hour and a half is on YouTube here until 14 June.
French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand - he of the "Earth from Above" coffee-table book amongst others - has made a remarkable film, of breathtaking beauty, about our beautiful planet and how we are destroying it. The astounding pictures, all filmed from a God's eye perspective and accompanied by suitably heavenly music, get the message across much more effectively than boring old Al Gore on his podium, and the soundtrack is a weld-music lover's dream, featuring musicians and singers from Mongolia and Iran among others.
Dashing Frenchman Yann Arthus-Bertrand (YAB to his friends)
The handsome young Arthus-Bertrand, son of a wealthy Parisian jeweller, started off as a movie actor, and at 62 he still has something of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. about him. But he gave up acting to manage a national park, and after a few years in Kenya photographing wildlife from a hot air balloon, returned to Paris to start up an agency for aerial photography, which led to the UNESCO-backed "Earth from the Air" project. The photographs of this collection were displayed free of charge all around the world.
Independently wealthy, he has relinquished author's rights on "Home" so that it can be shown to as many people as possible via TV and internet. He has been awarded a number of ecology-linked prizes and various French gongs including the Légion d'Honneur and the Ordre National du Mérite which may even have been made by the family firm! If he stood for President of France right now, I reckon he'd be in with a chance, Carla Bruni notwithstanding. He is the natural successor to St.Jacques Cousteau, and his fizzog is now up on my pin-up board alongside Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama and Daniel Cohn-Bendit.
It was no coincidence that this film was released two days before the European elections. As a result, the green parties picked up a good chunk of the disgruntled vote in France and Belgium. If you must make a protest vote, make a useful one! Voting UKIP or - God help us - BNP, smacks of turkeys voting for Christmas.
Ou sont les neiges d'antan? Mt Kilimanjaro today
Arthus-Bertrand's own website has all his photographs from "Earth from the Air" and other books, which you can download as wallpaper. He also has launched a foundation called GoodPlanet.org which is worth a visit, even a donation if you can afford it. You know it makes sense.
Here's the trailer, to give you a taster. Watch it (in HD if you can). That's an order.
French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand - he of the "Earth from Above" coffee-table book amongst others - has made a remarkable film, of breathtaking beauty, about our beautiful planet and how we are destroying it. The astounding pictures, all filmed from a God's eye perspective and accompanied by suitably heavenly music, get the message across much more effectively than boring old Al Gore on his podium, and the soundtrack is a weld-music lover's dream, featuring musicians and singers from Mongolia and Iran among others.
Dashing Frenchman Yann Arthus-Bertrand (YAB to his friends)The handsome young Arthus-Bertrand, son of a wealthy Parisian jeweller, started off as a movie actor, and at 62 he still has something of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. about him. But he gave up acting to manage a national park, and after a few years in Kenya photographing wildlife from a hot air balloon, returned to Paris to start up an agency for aerial photography, which led to the UNESCO-backed "Earth from the Air" project. The photographs of this collection were displayed free of charge all around the world.
Independently wealthy, he has relinquished author's rights on "Home" so that it can be shown to as many people as possible via TV and internet. He has been awarded a number of ecology-linked prizes and various French gongs including the Légion d'Honneur and the Ordre National du Mérite which may even have been made by the family firm! If he stood for President of France right now, I reckon he'd be in with a chance, Carla Bruni notwithstanding. He is the natural successor to St.Jacques Cousteau, and his fizzog is now up on my pin-up board alongside Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama and Daniel Cohn-Bendit.
Ou sont les neiges d'antan? Mt Kilimanjaro todayArthus-Bertrand's own website has all his photographs from "Earth from the Air" and other books, which you can download as wallpaper. He also has launched a foundation called GoodPlanet.org which is worth a visit, even a donation if you can afford it. You know it makes sense.
Here's the trailer, to give you a taster. Watch it (in HD if you can). That's an order.
This was a party political broadcast on behalf of the Daphne Wayne-Bough Campaign to Get A Date with Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
16 comments:
Thanks for the heads up Daphne and I'll watch it over the week-end but the message has been dawning on me since a few years back when I started yearning for the ice and snow of yore.
I think he'd go on my pin-up board if I had one.
Beautiful images, but the soundtrack was a lot of wailing. I will watch it with the mute switch on, possibly while listening to the Star Trek theme.
thanks, sugar, i found the hour long show on youtube via the trailer! xoxoo
I'll settle down with a cup of tea and wallow in this over the weekend. I think we all need reminding about this.
And tell us when you get the date.
This has been a widely talked about topic here in the frozen North. Well worth taking a look.
Scarlet-Green!
Sx
It has a ring to it, I think.
Sx
Great pictures, but I'm with GB on the soundtrack.
Ta Daphne!
Good God that made my chest hurt...
Sorry -- I get anxious about this stuff. I know plenty of people who think that the planet is absolutely NOT changing and that furthermore, there's nothing that can be done about it. Drives me to drink. OK, drink more.
Pearl
If you haven't watched it by now, it's too late, you'll have to buy the DVD. I'm surprised you have such plebeian tastes in music, GB - I thought the wailing went well with the images and the tone of the film, and conveyed a wistful other-worldly atmosphere.
According to YAB we have 10 years left to stop doing what we're doing to the planet. The pictures of Kilimanjaro with no snow were what shocked me most. This is so much more important than party politics and local issues. I cannot understand why the Greens are not doing better in UK.
Everytime I think about us destroying this perfect playground we've had called Earth, I feel heartbroken.
Pearl, I read somewhere - one person can't do everything but everyone can do something.
I'm guess the date to view the film free has passed, all I see is a blank white screen...or maybe it's my wonky pooter...I will try to find it elsewhere.
My mother has these old vinyl records with photos of Paul Mauriat on the jacket covers...Yab reminds me of Paul Mauriat.
GG, the link still works for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU
Otherwise type in Home Yann Arthus-Bertrand on YouTube and see what comes up.
Paul Mauriat was a bit of a smoothie too wasn't he?
I did see the exhibition and those photographs are fantastic.
Had no idea A-B was such a dish though - I will be fighting you for his attention!
Torrent link - HD, MP4, 1.39 GiB.
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4935263/142466569e17ffc9b8fda79b3960610e
It's perfectly legal.
Who wants to watch it on sh*tty youtube anyway ??
Thanks for visiting me today. I think I have inadvertently deleted your post as I was having a technical problem with my blog and had to republish it. In doing so, your comment disappeared. Sorry.
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