UltimateDisney.com | Review Index | Direct-to-Video Page
The Other Side of Heaven DVD Review
 |
The Other Side of Heaven
Movie & DVD Details Director: Mitch Davis
|
Back in 1953, a year before 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea hit
theaters, a young man named John Groberg (Christopher Gorham) was called
on a mission for his church to go to the distant island cluster of
Tonga.
The film The Other Side of Heaven chronicles John's obstacles
while he tries to teach the natives for three hard years. Everything is
foreign to him, but thanks to his companion Feki (Joseph Folau), he is
able to find the faith he needs to continue on. Back at home in the
United States, his sweetheart Jean Saline (Anne Hathaway) writes letters
to him, wanting for his return.
The film is powerful, and religion is only a minor part of this
film. People of all denominations can find this story inspiring, alike
the films Chariots of Fire and Gandhi where religion
played a back role. Leonard Maltin called it a "film that wins you
over...good storytelling". The beautiful scenery of the tropical
islands (reminiscent of Swiss Family Robinson)and amusing humor
will have you entranced for the two hours.
The Other Side of Heaven was made by 3 Mark Entertainment, and received
very limited theatrical distribution. Disney acquired home video rights and has
produced a nice single-disc release. I was pleasantly surprised that Disney released
this disc with some extras and in widescreen.
VIDEO and AUDIO
Being a recent movie, this disc has almost perfect quality of video.
I don't remember seeing any grain, and all the colors are bright and
clear. The movie is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track conveys dialogue clearly and makes
use of the rear speakers during crucial scenes such as the hurricane and
the storm at sea. Captions for the Hearing Impaired are
available in the Set Up Menu.
EXTRAS There are three extras on the disc, which is pretty incredible for a
movie to which Disney merely owned video rights. The first is "The
Making of The Other Side of Heaven" (24:24) which offers insight from quite a few
of the actors, including Chris Gorham and Anne Hathaway, as well as the
real John Groberg and director Mitch Davis.
This is a great
alternative to watching the film with "Audio Commentary" with Mitch Davis. This commentary, though
good, tends to run on the long side. About as long as the entire film, even!
The final extra is the "Still
Gallery" with 35 pictures taken from the book Journey of Faith
published by Vantage Point Press. It's nice to have these pictures on
the DVD, and not having to buy the book.
What's missing are the seven deleted scenes mentioned by Mitch in the
commentary, but I guess we can't have our hopes too high for a movie
that wasn't made by the Disney studio.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The Other Side of Heaven probably will seem foreign to many,
but it is a very worthwhile film and a spectacular DVD release. This
coming-of-age story will delight and inspire, and is well worth the price.
|
