Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2005)
Documentary • 57m
Overview
Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.
Directors: Puhipau & Joan Lander
Cast: Puhipau, Manu Aluli Meyer, Keawe Vredenburg, Sam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a Gon, Kealoha Pisciotta, Nelson Ho, Paul Neves, Hanalei Fergerstrom, Reynolds Kamakawiwo'ole, Kahu o Terangi, Pualani Kanahele, Steve Hess, Julie A.K. Leialoha, Deborah Ward, Moses Kealamakia, Catherine Robbins, Kekuhi Kanahele, Sayako Kuroda, Rose Tseng, Kenneth Kumor, Brad Finney, Maxine Kaha'ulelio, Everett Franco, Fred Chaffee, Victoria Holt Takamine, Rolf-Peter Kudritzki, Tom Peek, Abraham Kamakawiwo'ole, Anthony Ako, Kapono Souza, Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, Pi'ilani Smith, Hanalei Soli Niheu, Mikahala Roy, Peter Michaud, John Lee, Charles Young, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Roselyn Smith, Tom Geballe, Michael Vittorio, Rita Colwell, Dickie Nelson
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: André de Toth
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
Director: André de Toth
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
2D version: Warner Archive Blu-ray
3D version: Warner Archive 3D Blu-ray
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
Director: John McTiernan
Director: John McTiernan
Director: John Ford
Director: John Ford
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
1991 Warner Bros LaserDisc (for original mono track)
1996 Warner Bros 25th Anniversary LaserDisc has isolated music and effects track (incorrectly labeled "music minus vocals") not present on any other release
Director: Alfred E. Green
Director: Alfred E. Green
Director: John Waters
Director: John Waters
More Documentary on Blu-ray
2026 Sony/Columbia 4K Blu-ray
2026 Sony/Columbia 4K Blu-ray
2026 Sony/Columbia 4K Blu-ray
2026 Sony/Columbia 4K Blu-ray
Director: Jean Vigo
Director: Jean Vigo
Directors: Jean Vigo & Boris Kaufman
Directors: Jean Vigo & Boris Kaufman
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Warner Archive 4K Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Martin Scorsese
Director: Martin Scorsese
Directors: Robert Flaherty & Frances H. Flaherty
Directors: Robert Flaherty & Frances H. Flaherty
Director: Arthur Dong
Kino Lorber Arthur Dong Collection Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Arthur Dong Collection Blu-ray
Director: Arthur Dong
Kino Lorber Arthur Dong Collection Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Arthur Dong Collection Blu-ray
Director: Erik Nelson
Director: Erik Nelson
Edit History
5/23/2026
Format
Added
SD Streaming
Added
SD Streaming
