Former US Vice President Al Gore makes "an engaging host" for An Inconvenient Truth. Not merely a documentary, this is a call to action, as our planet suffocates in an ever-thickening fog of chemical pollutants. Although the idea of one man giving a 90 minute lecture doesn't sound especially thrilling, the film got rave reviews and bagged a respectable $23.5m at the global box office. That money will be used to fund the newly formed Alliance for Climate Protection.
Handling The Truth
In the year that elapsed between the completion of the film and the making of this DVD, the world has gotten warmer and new scientific evidence has come to light regarding the effect of carbon emissions on the weather, eg Hurricane Katrina. Gore gives us a full presentation of these recent findings in a half-hour featurette. There's also extended footage from his original lecture where he discusses the alarming rate of worldwide population growth. Be afraid. Be very afraid... But there's a message of hope too, as Gore looks at the measures we've already taken to remedy the damage and inspires us to do more.
A ten-minute 'Making Of' featurette sees how the production team set about designing Gore's impressive lecture theatre and employing an array of moving cameras to liven up what could be a very static situation. Producers Lawrence Bender and Laurie David oversee preparations and talk briefly about their hopes for the film, ie wanting to "help shift the debate on this issue". When he finally arrives on set, the ex-Vice President is overawed by the scale of the production.
The Inner Truth
Two commentaries accompany the film. In the first, director Davis Guggenheim gives us a very clear insight into the challenges he faced. It was a head-scratcher from the very moment that Bender and David approached with the idea of essentially filming a slideshow. "I tried to talk them out of it," he admits. "I was very dubious and very, very nervous about it." Finally, the director figured out that he could treat Gore as the hero in a personal journey to save the planet. Once he saw Gore delivering his lecture, he felt assured because, he says, the man is "charismatic and heroic and dynamic." Tom Cruise, eat your heart out.
In the second commentary, the producers reveal that the development of the project involved extensive interviews with Gore about his early life and other factors that spurred him to championing green issues for the last 30 years. Apparently, he was so drained by the process that at one point he joked, 'I feel like I'm making Kill Al: Volume 3!' David and Bender are obviously swept up in Gore's enthusiasm and hoped this would translate to moviegoers. "It's not possible," says David, "to really see the facts and not come away thinking, 'What can I do?'"
Mellissa Etheridge echoes the sentiment in the music video I Need To Wake Up, which rounds off the bonus menu. Altogether this collection of features makes for a compelling argument to get up off the sofa, switch off that carbon-emitting DVD player and plant a tree! (Alternatively visit The Alliance For Climate Protection.)
EXTRA FEATURES
An Inconvenient Truth DVD is released on 26th December 2006.
