"Into the Wild" on DVD Today

From my review:

It struck me as I watched "Into the Wild" that Penn has created what so many filmmakers strive for but few ever achieve - a sense of awe: awe at nature, awe at life, awe at the vast, unfathomable mysteries of human existence. His majestic and transcendent channeling of the glories of nature and its sense of absolute freedom makes for the most deeply profound, emotionally overwhelming cinematic experience I have had since "Children of Men."

...I was so enthralled by it that I lost all sense of time and place. I was there next to McCandless as he hiked through the boundless expanses of the Alaskan wilderness, as he kayaked down the Colorado River, as he drove across the country, sharing his struggles, his pains and his joys. His trials are our trials, his victories are our victories. He is the spirit of adventure in all of us, and Penn allows us to step inside his mind, and suddenly the appeal of McCandless' great folly becomes crystal clear. If ever a film has done justice to life's great and simple beauty, then this is it.

If you haven't seen this film yet you are now officially out of excuses. Get ye to the video store!