BLAST!

The title of Paul Devlin's documentary stands for Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope, which is a billowy white sphere carrying a metallic contraption that can “see” billions of light-years into space. Devlin travels to various locations, including Sweden, Canada, and Antarctica, to follow the team assigned to launch and recover the BLAST, which would hopefully enable scientists to view some of the oldest galaxies formed during the origins of the universe. Aided by animated graphics, the University of Toronto's Barth Netterfield explains how BLAST works (noting that “there are a lot of things that can go wrong”). The researchers (including astrophysicist Mark Devlin, the filmmaker's brother) receive assistance from NASA, while graduate students help with the assembly and maintenance. The project faces various obstacles along the way—uncooperative weather, technical difficulties, and unforeseen mishaps (a landing far off course in a remote part of Canada requires the services of an Inuit guide to lead the recovery crew and protect them from animal predators). While the participants also make personal sacrifices—spending large amounts of time away from families—their dedication is readily apparent, and their diverse religious and philosophical perspectives add a larger context to the story. This two-disc set includes both the full-length documentary and a 56-minute classroom version, as well as a teacher's guide, and deleted scenes (including one with director Werner Herzog, who was filming Encounters at the End of the World at the same time). Recommended. [Note: the single-disc 56-minute classroom version of BLAST! is also available with public performance rights for $169.95 from Films Media Group, www.films.com.] Aud: H, C, P. (K. Fennessy)