For readers who have tackled Jay Weidner & Vincent Bridge’s The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye: Alchemy and the End of Time, this first part of a projected series of films on Alchemy comes as a welcome adjunct. This looks like a pilot and will be sure to be taken up by any cable channel which features paranormal, mysteries and the like.

The narration is provided by Jay Weidner, with the support of Sharron Rose as Fulcanelli’s voice. Jay starts the viewer on his journey from the first ramblings in California garage sales in the early 1990s when he acquired a large metaphysical library. Among the books was Fulcanelli’s Mystery of the Cathedrals.

The visual journey continues for almost an hour and takes the viewer from the USA to Europe and the Americas, as well as into other times and other galaxies. The story of the Western occult tradition – Alchemy – unfolds with what was known since Egyptian times, to Jay Weidner’s independent research over the last ten years.

Incorporated into the journey are visual feasts of the gothic monuments, a really good look at the Great Cyclic Cross at Hendaye, works of art featuring alchemical symbolism, close-up film of rare documents, and the soaring cathedral-like landscapes of Cusco, Peru.

Interspersed with alchemical material are intervals of time-lapse landscapes with turbulent clouds and a background of ethereal music. I felt this was a little overdone, although the verbal material over the time-lapse was important and interesting.

I picked up much more in the second viewing and found that some parts of the Great Cross of Hendaye book were illuminated or complemented by the visual medium.

The production values are certainly solid. The cinematography is bright and steady and post production/editing appears crisp. Jay Weidner’s voice is soothing and easy listening. I would have been in favour of more interviews with the experts from whom he quotes, but hopefully that will come in future programs.

I see this DVD being used in college courses incorporating metaphysics or the nature of the Western occult tradition. This would be a recommended addition to the library of any budding alchemist or metaphysician.

– Reviewed by Jennifer Hoskins in New Dawn No. 91