Best Inspirational Documentary Ever Made
March of the Penguins - Baraka - Nanook - Blue Planet

9/11 - The Filmmakers' Commemorative Edition 2002 On the morning of September 11, 2001, brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet were working on a documentary about a rookie New York City firefighter. Hearing a roar in the sky, Jules turned his camera upward just in time to film the only existing image of the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center. In a fateful instant, Jules & Gedeon became eyewitnesses to the most shocking incident of our time. With cameras rolling, the Naudets followed NYC firefighters into the heart of Ground Zero. What emerged is an unforgettably powerful visual document and a stirring tribute to real-life heroes who, in their city's darkest hour, rose to extraordinary acts of courage and compassion. 

This one-of-a-kind documentary was originally conceived as a portrait of 21-year-old Tony Benetatos, a firefighter trainee at Manhattan's Duane Street firehouse, located seven blocks from the World Trade Center. By the time filming was finished, brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet had captured history in the making, including the only image of the first jetliner striking Tower 1, and the only footage from within the tower as it collapsed. This is not, a film about the murderous nightmare of terrorism. It's the ultimate rite-of-passage.

More meaningful than any documentary could be, with Benetatos and his supportive colleagues emerging as heroes of the first order. Sensitively narrated by firefighter James Hanlon, 9/11 will endure forever as a tribute to those, living and dead, who witnessed hell (Click on Title to Buy)

El Caballo: The Wild Horses of North America When early Spanish explorers accidentally released wild horses (Equus cabalus) to the continent in the early 1500s, they returned an American original. Although the remnants of the escaped Spanish horse are protected by the 1971 Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act, each year thousands are removed from public lands across the America to reduce competition between horses and domestic livestock. El Caballo documents one of the most complex wildlife management issues today. Where do modern wild horses fit into the natural world? (Click on Title to Buy)

Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America 2004
From the moment David Brower first witnessed the extraordinary beauty of the Yosemite Valley, his life was tied to the fight to preserve the American wilds for future generations. Not since John Muir had an American fought so hard, or been more successful, in protecting our natural heritage. His fiery dedication and activism helped inspire the modern day environmental movement. Explored is the beautiful, dramatic, and lyrical story of Brower and his colleagues' unrelenting campaigns--fought through lobbying, art, and hard hitting advertising-to-protect and establish some our most treasured national parks. At the center of the film are the themes that absorbed Brewer throughout his life: the threatened beauty of the American earth, the spiritual connection between humans and the great outdoors, and the moral obligation to preserve what is left of the world's natural wonders. 

Monumental is essential-- not only for those who value (and worry about) the beauty and vulnerability of the outdoors, but for anyone looking to spend some time with an inspiring story and some really first-rate documentary filmmaking. Seriously, don't miss this! (Click on Title to Buy)

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4) 2002 Extraordinary footage and eloquent narration by David Attenborough highlight the BBC's remarkable wildlife series The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. "Ocean World" begins with astonishing views of a gigantic blue whale. "Frozen Seas" examines whales, walruses, penguins, and other creatures under the extreme conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. The next two episodes are even better. "Open Ocean" travels thousands of miles into the vast "liquid desert," where currents determine how the ocean's diverse life forms will assume their places in the food chain. More amazing, "The Deep" descends with a state-of-the-art submersible to the ocean's abyssal plain and beyond, filming such bizarre creatures as the fangtooth, bioluminescent jellies, transparent squid, the giant-mouthed gulper eel, and the never-before-seen hairy angler fish. 

"Seasonal Seas" focuses on the explosion of life that accompanies every annual blooming of plankton, numbering in the countless billions and captured here with brilliant microphotography.

In "Coral Seas," miles-long reefs of living coral are explored, from deep within (requiring brief computer animation) to the surrounding environs, where you'll see white-tipped sharks in a feeding frenzy while beautiful harlequin shrimp wrestle with a starfish. "Tidal Seas" explores the myriad life forms that thrive when lunar gravity pulls the oceans offshore. 

"Coasts" is easily the most brutal episode, but no less mesmerizing. The most unexpected, and horrifying, sequence is the orca, earning its "killer whale" nickname by capturing, killing & tail-tossing a seal pup. A sequence so mysteriously primal that even the most seasoned marine biologist is utterly amazed. One of the finest wildlife programs ever. Seas of Life provides the privilege of visiting a truly alien world teeming with the rarest wonders of nature (Click on Title to Buy)