Werner Herzog coined the term 'ecstatic truth' to describe documentaries that take some measure of dramatic liberty with their subject in order to reveal a deeper, more meaningful truth than merely the "truth of accountants".
The Hellstrom Chronicle is a great example of this. It's a brilliant, hyper-serious, scientifically accurate, dramatized documentary about the destiny of insects to once again assume dominion over the Earth.
The host and narrator, Dr. Hellstrom, is a scientist of deadly earnestness who knows how to turn a dramatic phrase as well as Shakespeare. He describes the 300 million year evolution of the insect thusly: "With each new generation come new experiments in shape and function transforming him into specters as limitless as the imagination of the insane." Along with the wonderful narration and compelling storyline, the closeup photography of the insects is incredible, sometimes beautiful and sometimes terrifying. There is perhaps no image more horrific in nature than that of a grotesquely bloated termite queen throbbing in perpetual birth.
I recommend this to anyone who likes nature documentaries and also anyone who appreciates satire, as the level of seriousness in The Hellstrom Chronicle is so unrelentingly high, that one must ultimately marvel at its audacity.
The Hellstrom Chronicle is a great example of this. It's a brilliant, hyper-serious, scientifically accurate, dramatized documentary about the destiny of insects to once again assume dominion over the Earth.
The host and narrator, Dr. Hellstrom, is a scientist of deadly earnestness who knows how to turn a dramatic phrase as well as Shakespeare. He describes the 300 million year evolution of the insect thusly: "With each new generation come new experiments in shape and function transforming him into specters as limitless as the imagination of the insane." Along with the wonderful narration and compelling storyline, the closeup photography of the insects is incredible, sometimes beautiful and sometimes terrifying. There is perhaps no image more horrific in nature than that of a grotesquely bloated termite queen throbbing in perpetual birth.
I recommend this to anyone who likes nature documentaries and also anyone who appreciates satire, as the level of seriousness in The Hellstrom Chronicle is so unrelentingly high, that one must ultimately marvel at its audacity.