DVD | Flight From Death

Rating: M - Contains Violence & Offensive Language.
Duration: 90 mins.
Genre: Documentary, Spiritual.
Actors: Narrated by Gabriel Byrne.
Release Date: Available Now.

I decided to watch Flight From Death: The Quest For Immortality because of two reasons. The first being that it promised to be the most comprehensive investigation with humankind’s relationship with death ever captured on film. Secondly, because it was narrated by Gabriel Byrne.

Let’s deal with my lessor reason first. I love Gabriel Burn, he’s had some outstanding roles in movies and I figured he’d be a great narrator. The only problem being is that Flight doesn’t really give him enough narration time.

Now onto the main focus of the movie. The most comprehensive investigation. Sounds like a level, even sided investigation into death, right? Wrong. Instead it focuses on one mans views – those of the late Ernest Becker, through the eyes of several of his proponents. What this gives us is a long way from comprehensive. And to say captured on film hints at some possible interviews with people who are about to face death, or those who have had near death experiences. But instead we get filled with images of humankinds brutal nature in a effort to portray our inescapable need to perpetrate violence over others in an effort to escape our inbreed focus on our own mortality.

And as if being misled wasn’t enough, the quality of the filming, editing and essentially the complete package is poor. The interviews seem to have been done on cheap video cameras, with no for-thought for continuity, location or flow.

Food for thought:
Does our superior knowledge that helps us understand our own mortality create in us a morbid fascination with our own death?

Rent or Buy?
Flight From Death really made me want to add another option to this part – Rent, Buy or Avoid at all Cost!