Earthstorm
Directors: Fuyuko Mochizuki & James Morgan
Producer: Victoria Weaver
Series Music by Camilo Forero
Series Cinematography by Isaac Mead-Long
Joe Funk Drone Camera Operator
Wolfgang Weber drone pilot
Pol Camarero Just director of photography: La Palma volcano footage
John Enos Additional Cinematography
Oli Haukur Myrdal Drone Op
With the globe hurtling toward the “yellow line” of 1.5C increase in temperature (and now absolutely certain to surpass it) and very likely to pass the “red line” of 2.0C, documentaries about extreme weather events have been sharply increasing. The quality, of course, varies. Cable channels like to run documentaries on earthquakes where a simulated quake is shown by slapping the side of the camera, while the voiceover whispers in tones of hushed horror, “Does God hate us all?” The value of your life will not be deprecated by missing such shows.
Earthstorm, on the other hand, is a series of four 45-minute episodes on Netflix, and comes under must-see footage. A lot of the shots, particularly in the tornado and hurricane episodes, are breathtaking. Drone cameras are deftly and expertly used to attain images not possible just a decade before.
Unlike most such episodes, these actually have some science in them, clearly and accurately explaining what is going on with each phenomenon.
The usual suspects on the web took issue with the “leftist propaganda” because the show delineates the links between hurricanes and climate change (bigger, stronger storms, longer season, wider range) and to a degree, tornadoes (wider range, longer season). They were probably happier with the volcano and earthquake episodes because there is no causal link between those and climate change. And of course earthquakes affect liberal enclaves like Tokyo and the west coast.
Snark about political madness aside, this is a superior series, carefully crafted, scientifically accurate, with outstanding narration and filming. Don’t miss it.
Per Rotten Tomatoes:
Daring storm chasers risk their lives to study, document and provide inside looks at the raw power and devastation of tornadoes across the United States.
From Iceland to Italy, experts take an in-depth look at four imposing volcanoes, each bigger, deadlier and more explosive than the last.
Harrowing accounts of earthquakes and tsunamis in Los Angeles and Japan hone in on looming threats in the hotbeds of the earth’s seismic activity.
A closer look at the ravaging effects of Hurricane Ida in 2021 reveals how rising global temperatures are pushing storms to grow more powerful than ever.
Now on Netflix.