User reviews

Home delivers some of the most stunning photography of our planet I've ever seen. Really needs to be watched in HD to be be fully appreciated. Sweeping, glorious, rich shots of our planet, like we've never seen it before.

Even more powerful than that - the content of this documentary. The underlying message of Home really drilled home - no pun intended - how we're devouring this planet to hairs breadth of the point-of-no-return, after all "we've chosen survival over prospering". It is really quite scary watching the desperate facts this film delivers one-by-one.

At the same time, Home finishes in a upbeat manner. Home will definitely change the way I live my life - it's that powerful.

Go watch it.

I have never been so affected by a movie as this one. It makes me sad and angry. So much stupidity.

Even though I knew most of the facts in the movie before I saw it, it was truly an awakening for me. I have just realized that there is a realistic outcome that this system we live in wont last. Its no joke.

I think that the strengths of this movie is that it shows the whole picture and that everything is linked with everything else. Its HD picture is almost as good as "Planet Earth". Personally I thought the beginning was at bit slow, but It gets better...

I highly recommend this movie. It both very educational and the you will enjoy the HD picture/sound. Its also totally free so there is no reason not to watch it. Google for "home movie 2009" or if you want it in HD, download it using Vuze HD network

I was gripped from start to end, at first by its breathtaking aerial footage, then progressively also by its even more breathtaking dramatic plot, which we all are living. No wonder Yann Arthus-Bertrand spent 15 years preparing for the production of Home.

The narration is top-notch, arranged in perfect logic sense and fueled with precise and profound wording, reminds me of audio versions of Scientific American. I had thought it was a pity that David Attenborough wasn't a part of this amazing project, but Glenn Close, five-time Oscar nominee, indeed gave a mesmerizing voice performance, and along with a powerful score, deeply drew me into Home's elaborate illustrations and logical reasonings.

Some might think this documentary is so emotive that it's more of a propaganda despite how fact-based it is, but isn't a subject like this meant to be emotive? No this is not the kind of documentary that presents you with non-judged information for you to consider and debate- of course it is not, it's telling you the most overwhelming and alarming truth through worldwide facts and images in a careful logic flow, and yes with a great lot of passion built in! Vastly connected with the daily life of everyone and the fate of the human race, the movie left me steeped in thoughts. Like said many times in the movie, everything is linked, I find tons of images flashing in my head rapidly after watching Home, and more importantly, now I look at them linked together in a meaningful way.

Let me put it this way, if the entire human race were to be extinct on this planet, Home would be the recording that we should bury deep underground for extra-terrestrials to find out what happened and learn the lesson of our species- it is that good.

Home is a documentary about Earth, humanity, nature, where we're going and what we've been. Shot in 54 countries with aerial footage it's a combination of all the navel-gazing movies we've seen lately like Planet Earth and Baraka. Like a guilty abusive adult, we're now taking a closer look at ourselves, what we've done to the planet and what we've to ourselves.

That's in large part what the first 3/4 of the movie is about. Showing different locations on Earth, the stunning gliding shots of our planet's more beautiful locations as well as the terrible damage we've caused. In that way it's much different than Baraka and Planet Earth, the two films I compared this to. This movie talks about humans, not just their achievements but the economic chaos we've wrought on each other.

The vast differences in class structure in the west from the east. The vast amounts of wealth owned by 2% of the population. Starvation, disease, war, are all covered in this documentary. It's not just about the nature but the capitalist system which has destroyed the planet and brought humanity to its knees.

Many of these changes have occurred in the past 50-100 years. Vast change which is increasing to the point where urbanization is epidemic all over the planet. The melting icecaps are also covered in very nice detail. The consequences are of course very grim. Some of this information I knew but it's good to be reminded how we live in the western world which is rapidly destroying the planet and taking all the innocent passengers along with us.

The movie was released on the internet, television and internet on the same day. It's on YouTube in its entirety, but I downloaded a high quality version from One Big Torrent which was very nice to watch.

Probably one of the best movies of 2009 and one of the best documentaries of the year as well. I highly recommend it.

This is my first review on IMDb ever, but I thought this documentary deserved it. The cinematography of this documentary is amazing, even the images of pollution of the environment that humans have caused look remarkably appealing to the eye. But this documentary is much more than a stream of beautiful images from across the world.

The message that the documentary contains is a strong one: unlike our nations, our ecosystem doesn't have any borders. As humans organized in nation states, we spend 12 times as much on weapons to defend ourselves from each other than we spend on aid for the poorest. The effects of the exploitation of our shared ecosystem will affect us all and will hit those who already face the toughest circumstances the hardest. The problems that our world faces, cannot be solved by any country alone. Too long have we focused on what separates us as citizens of specific countries, without realizing that we are all bound together as human beings. Without a rapidly growing global awareness of the situation we are facing, we will leave a much harsher environment for our children, in which natural resources on which we all depend will become increasingly scarce.

I am a student in my twenties; the state the world is in today, is how my generation will inherit it, before we will have had the chance to have any effect on this trend. Can this really be the inheritance of a generation that dedicated itself to peace, love and happiness? Maybe. Or maybe it's not too late just yet. You might still be a skeptic about the message the documentary tries to convey after reading my comments, but I promise you this: it will be much harder to be skeptic about that message after having watched Home.

Perhaps it may seem that I overstate my appreciation for this movie. But, when you see the extraordinary compilation of beauty, work and effort that went into creating this work of ART, you may agree.

It focuses on the breathtaking gorgeousness of this singular planet we call Home.

Some may find this topic boring, repetitive, do-goody, tiresome... but trust me, this movie is BEYOND interesting and entertaining.

Some of the scenes are absolutely SURREAL in their beauty. There is one scene of people in a dump... how can such a scene hold so much impact and yet be so artfully gorgeous? I can't get that misty picture out of my mind, and it has compelled me to hope and work towards solutions. In a good way. Uplifted.

Question: How can a company (the one that sponsored the viewing of this movie) (Europa?) that thrives on promoting luxury and excess, care so much for the natural and inherent things of earth? It is true that such a company would cherish beauty and art... and the Earth is the most beauteous of all... perhaps when you've contributed to the downside, you grow and want to uplift, see things change for the good.

Whatever... this is one of the most beautiful documentaries ever made and EVERYONE should make the effort to SEE.

An extraordinary, unforgettable visual treat. For all time.

AFTER you see this movie, you MUST see FOOD INC. You MUST!

One of the most brilliant documentaries on one of the most important topics in todays world. The impact the movie has with its simplicity of delivering such a strong message is absolutely brilliant. The way they have shown the different sides of the coin and the vast dispartiy among the various parts of the world was an eye opener. The images presented were something never seen before and thee facts presented along with these were very interesting.

Lets hope they succeed in their goal of educating people about the alarming rate at which we are heading towards disaster. I sincerely hope that everyone sees this documentary and makes the little required effort from their side to dow what they can. I switched off my airconditioning after watching about 20 mins of the movie and didn't turn it on for the remainder of the movie. :D

First of all I am relieved that a movie on this subject has been produced with such a high budget. It's about time someone really tried to sum up what the human condition is, and the relationship between our condition and the condition of our planet.

The visuals for 'Home' are for the most part near perfect- pinpointing the beauties and miracles of this world, whilst also the disgraces and disasters with a total sensitivity and respect for all sides of the issue. The subjects covered are well chosen and diverse, and you really get perspective on how widespread and potentially devastating our manipulation of the natural world has become.

Unfortunately though, what slightly let this movie down for me was its 'matter of fact' approach, and a lack of attention to some important details. In some ways this film avoids a one-sided approach, with interesting stats showing how our attempts at alternative fuels have their own negative effects, but for the first section particularly it felt like some very dated notes on the history of the earth. We know some amazing things about the history of our planet but it's important to recognise that there is far more that we don't. I for one stand firmly on the side of science that can admit to not knowing. The most blatant error, as picked up by IMDb in the 'goofs' section, is the narration that the first towns appeared 600 years ago- how could you get that wrong!!? Apparently they meant to say 6000 years ago, but even this isn't fact as there is evidence of towns up to over 8000 years ago. On top of this it is continually stated that human beings have been around for 200'000 years, a theory that has been far from proved and therefore should be treated as such. I think that in a film that is trying to be scientifically credible, in this case vague/speculative language would possibly be more accurate. At least they managed to avoid a '2001: A Space Odyssey' style chimpanzee scene! Scientific stuff aside though, the most inexcusable error is that in the fairly small amount of on screen text there are numerous spelling mistakes. In most cases that doesn't bother me, but in a high budget film production it does, and it certainly doesn't help the reputation of the Eco-warriors (hippies come to mind!)

After watching this movie though, I'll admit that I had mostly forgotten the flaws because it really forces you to think about the issues. This is a good thing, and for the most part it is done with beauty, sensitivity and grace, which is why I've given it such a high rating. Watch this movie- the cinematography and well crafted narrative will open your eyes to the fragile state of our planet and cause you to appreciate your place in it more. Just don't be a sucker for the slightly anti-human philosophy.

Yann-Arthur Bertrand is known in France for being the best Earth photograph involved in ecology ever.

This movie is just beau-ti-ful.

You never saw the world that way.

You never knew there were so much diversity all around the Earth, so much things to see, so much beautiful creations.

And you never knew there were so much left.

A must-watch.

Wonderful scenes, really beautiful pictures of Earth.

Tip : there is a long-version.

Well, I am not a native speaker, so please bear with me! I have seen this movie twice now and I really wanted to like it. I love the Planet Earth-Series and other nature/environment-related movies, but this one is a little...special. First of all, the visuals (e.g. photography) are stunning and very beautiful. Sadly, this is the only real good thing about this movie. What I consider bad about this movie? Well, there are several things:

The whole movie has a kind of instructive touch (as in preaching from above to dumb people) and it seems as if the filmmakers thought of their audience as stupid and therefore repeat everything over and over again - maybe they have to, but it still leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. | The narration: Firstly, the (female) narrator is not bad, but in no way can she compare to David Attenborough of the Planet Earth-Series. The narration makes this movie seem a little alarmist, but not in a way that shocks you and makes you want to change things, but in a way that makes you think 'Yes, yes, I know! You said that already!'. Then, there is the vocabulary used. This is one of the things that disturbed me from the start (especially me as a German). Talking about herding cattle as keeping livestock "in concentration camp-like conditions" is not only outrageously insensitive, but also outright stupid. While saying things like this may be effective in creating attention, there are definitely better ways to do so. And why is half of what the narrator is saying numbers and statistics without any reference or comparison? Nobody will remember any of the numbers anyways, so please, at least give us the numbers with a context! | I personally don't like what I call the "spiritualistic approach" of this movie. By this I mean, that it is repeated over and over how everything in this world is connected and how humans are kind of a tumor on this earth that ruins it. While this may be true to some degree it still leaves a weird taste and makes this movie seem like creationist propaganda (which I am sure it is not, I'm just saying that this is not a very smart thing to do). | The movie basically only complains about the destruction of the earth by humans but offers no real solutions. The solutions it offers are ones that are already being used (e.g. using solar power) or are weirdly esoteric ones (e.g. everybody live in peace, the rest will work itself out). - This movie is very over-simplistic and one-sided. While none of the things being said are really wrong, most of them aren't really correct either. By using (debatable) arguments like this, the movie gets a bit of a manipulative touch. | While sponsoring this movie might be a good idea for the companies involved, this leaves one question: Why was every company allowed to put their name on this movie? Most of the companies produce in so-called third-world countries under worst circumstances for the workers and sell the products as luxury articles in industrialized countries and therefore actively take part in some of the activities that this movie wants to tell you about - so why the heck did the filmmakers take their money? | All in all, as a movie, this film isn't very entertaining. There is not really anything more than the visuals to keep you watching it, the narration is basically mostly throwing statistics at you and there is simply nothing new to it. | Another big problem with this movie is, that it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It isn't a documentary, but it isn't a normal picture either. It starts with stating that certain things are bad about the way humans treat the earth, but keeps adding stuff until you just don't care anymore. For example, the narrator says, that eating meat is bad for the environment. Then it adds, that coal mining is bad, goes on to say something else is bad and so on. Starting from 'Oh, yes, that's interesting, I didn't know that!' you will go to 'Okay, so everything is bad?' This IMHO also weakens the message of the movie a lot, the filmmakers should have just focused on fewer issues to tackle instead of being against environmental destruction, industrialism, globalization and the military. Don't get me wrong, it is very right to be against all of those things, but being against all of them at once is just hard to communicate in only one movie.

Also, please keep in mind that this movie is NOT a documentary in the usual sense of the word. There is nothing that is being documented, there is nothing new and there is nothing innovative in any way about this movie. While this is not necessarily bad, it changes the focus of the film from being a very boring documentary (which, as I have already said, it is not) to what it really is, a beautiful, but still only mildly entertaining movie.

So, in short: If you haven't seen the Planet Earth-Series, go see it now! If you have already seen it and watched all the other recent documentaries about environmental issues and want to see this one, go on and see it, but don't expect it to be more than average. Keep in mind what I have written above about this movie not being a documentary and you should be happy with it. About my rating: Considering 10 is the best and 1 is the worst possible rating on IMDb, I gave this movie 6 stars. 5 stars is average, I added two stars for the awesome visuals, none for the narration (above average voice-work, but without any real substance) and subtracted one point for things that really made me angry (for stuff like the concentration camp-reference and similar things).

It's really sad to see so few votes about something that was done by the people who actually feel responsible about our "home" planet Earth. Especially considering the effort it took for the ones who made this wake up call. I would love to be hopeful about the future of us humans. But the ratings on IMDb imply so much about how aware we are about what we've been doing to our home. This documentary was significantly meant to be on all around the world, in 90 different countries, the same day, the 5th of June, which happens(!) to be "World Environment Day".

The purpose was basically to reach as many people as possible all around the world. Many things were done for the same call. But to be honest it's hard to say a lot has changed. For the ones who want to see it is in front of our eyes that our planet is responding to the things we've been doing, and the way we're dominating every living thing with the planet itself. But hey! We are nothing old compared to the planet's age. Our planet is 4.5 billion years old. It's seen lots of species before us. Some of them were wiped out. Not because they ruined the planet's own cycle. But because it is an ever-changing journey in a massive time scale. But we humans actually started a new geological era with the things we've been doing, effecting the very environment that created us. This documentary tells us "the story of us" leaving the ending for us to conclude. And to be aware -as Dr. Iain Stewart once said- that "planet Earth doesn't need to be saved. Earth is a great survivor. It's not the planet we should be worrying about. It is us". But the end is near. I think no one will deny it when it happens. I just hope people actually wake up, and start saving "us". Watch this documentary, people! And tell people to watch it. Because it is for all of us. Including the things we love. Thanks to everyone who took part in making it.

Stunning and unique all-aerial visuals, great emotive soundtrack, and an admirable attempt to raise awareness about the interconnectivity of Earth's ecosystems; But anyone with even some basic education in biology and ecology should feel conflicted enjoying this documentary.

This doc presents and promotes a quasi-mystical outlook upon our planet's ecosystems and our place within them. First, the fact that our growth is "faster and faster" as the narrator harps on (while ominous music plays) isn't something evil, unique, or something we should feel guilty about. Nor does "every animal have its place", nor does huge wealth disparity (shitty though it may be) have much to do with environmental problems (or at least it certainly isn't explained here).

Humans are organisms, and like any other organism we will follow exponential growth in ideal conditions and infinite resources. Our expansion and over-exploitation of resources is also not a product of modern society or even the industrial revolution (timber and game in pre-industrial Europe was heavily overexploited as an example), and hunter-gatherer or horticultural civilizations (ex. Native Americans) were also not more environmentally wise than us (they simply expanded to the extent the carrying capacity of their technology allowed for). Humanity, as every other species, does not owe anything to any other species because we are not apart from them. First we must understand that we are another species, and subject to the same natural urges to consume and expand as any other species.

The goal of promoting environmentalism is good, as is showing some great examples of our devastation upon the Earth. I just wish the documentary wasn't dumbed down with spiritual drivel for the masses. There are plenty of good practical reasons to try to preserve ecosystems and prevent global warming without invoking guilt about how we've destroyed some holy balance.

Still, the doc is worth watching for the visuals alone.

This movie explores the corruption of modern society in a very thorough manner. It explores the corruption in the agricultural industry, where in America we produce enough surplus food that we could end starvation around the world but instead we waste it on things like the meat packing industry.

This movie demonstrates how the meat-packing industry wastes massive amounts of water, power, and food where the meat is about 5% of the food that was given at hand. They also describe how the meat packing industry is one of the greatest causes of air pollution because in fact many of the chemicals released from meat packing are worse then CO2 and the UN said that meat packing contributes more to global warming than the cars.

They don't mention it but meat and other forms of processed foods are really bad for people's health which is why the more developed societies have things like Colon Cancer, Heart Disease, and Obesity, well poorer societies do not and it is extremely cruel to animals. This is why I personally am a vegetarian.

This movie even explores how some people are using solar power to create a better life-style but that is not enough we need a government in the world that actually cares about this stuff instead of caring about pleasing the corporate bosses who are destroying the earth anyways.

This movie also explains how we are cutting down the Amazon rain-forest and we have already got rid of more then 20% of it and if we get rid of the entire thing there won't be much hope left for humanity. Humanity will be doomed. Considering that I am less then twenty I might live to see the earth turn into easter island. I have heard that by 2030 we will lose half of the amazon. Who knows maybe in 2050 we will lose the Earth.

Zero vince sates that HOME is not a documentary because it doesn't document anything.

This is an absurd comment because most of the movie is of real life scenes that are not set up.

The editorial aspect is in the script and to a lesser extent the editing. This is no different than a photojournalist documenting life, then the pictures being laid out in a magazine

Every frame is a document, the the same way a still photographer documents life so can a motion picture camera.

Mike

This one took my breathe away, made me cry even. It was enlightening, spiritual and entertaining, all at the same time. IMHO it trumps the best blockbuster that Hollywood can ever produce. It's main actor, this tiny blue planet we call Mother Earth. It gave me a glimpse of earth like I've never seen before. The imagery is stunning and awe-inspiring. Just when you think they've run out of the best footage, you get to feast your eyes on something better. The soundtrack is amazing too and the narrator Gless Close does an exceptional job. All in all, this gem of a documentary puts a lot of things into perspective. It made a lasting impression on me...and I only wish every single human being on earth can watch it.

I liked everything about this film! It is honest, real and expressive! This is our reality! Our scary future! I know that the planet is much stronger than us and doesn't even care about us whether we live or die, however we are destroying other animals' lives just because we are egoistic, cruel and stupid. We are the worst thing that ever happened to this planet and its innocent plants and animals. WAKE UP!

OMG what a wonderful documentary. It not only has an important message, it also has the most beautiful pictures of our planet that I have EVER seen! The narration is spoken by Glenn Close, and what a wonderful choice she is: calm, but very intense. She makes sure that you will understand that there's not much time left to save our planet, and if we do not act NOW it might be too late. Watch this film and see how everything on our beautiful planet is interlinked. No species will survive on its own, and the homo sapiens is no exception whatsoever. It was us 'intelligent human beings' who created all of our current problems, and it only took us 50 years to do that. We can still save this planet, but it's high time to start doing that. Watch this movie, think, then ACT! I would like to thank everybody who took part in making this film! It's truly a wake-up call!

The movie gives beautiful aerial views of the planet to give a visual on the beauty of Earth and also the impact of human beings. The aerial views makes one really notice how beautiful Earth is as our HOME. It is hard to comprehend how beautiful the Earth is even though parts of it are being negatively impacted by us. The movie provides a background and explanation of how everything in nature is interlinked in the hopes of convincing any skeptic or doubter about the impacts of humanity. While the movie highlights the already present dangers of the impact of humans, it offers some hope in reversing these effects. The combination of the aerial views and the tone of the narrator are almost meant to scare the viewer in the hopes of motivating viewers to act on stopping the negative impacts on the Earth by people. Just as technology is constantly evolving, human care of the world's ecosystem must evolve. The combination of efficient use of our resources and reducing our impact should restore the balance now lost. Movie should be seen all as it provides a wake up call with visuals.