Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

God Zilla In 2004, John Waters narrated Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea, a humorous documentary on the accidental lake created in the desert of Southern California. You can now find the film hosted on the YouTube channel of KQED, the public television outfit in San Francisco (where we're getting heavy, heavy rains today). Once known as the "California Riviera," the Salton Sea is now considered one of America's worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, coughing up dead fish and birds by the thousands. Plagues & Pleasures is an epic western tale of real estate ventures and failed boomtowns.

rotscegner I rented this based on two things--I didn't know anything about the Salton Sea, and our homeboy John Waters was narrating. I was blown away by how interesting this doc was. You learn how the sea was created by mistake, how it was promoted as a resort--WAS a resort for a decade or more then through storms and neglect has become an ecological disaster waiting to happen. It's filled with truly individualistic and tough Americans, great vistas of decaying metals in a vast sea, and something very American in it's story of cycling boom and bust in the most unlikely of terrains. As a documentary freak I'd highly recommend this one. The extras on the DVD are way cool also.

suprafx-1 I just wanted to express how much I enjoyed your documentary. I had heard about the Salton Sea from the 2002 film starring Val Kilmer, but until I saw your film I had no idea that there was such a promising past for the Salton Sea. It was truly heartbreaking to see how the once ideal location has grown into an ailing sore of sorts, but I especially love the fact that you were able to at once depict the sad depressing nature of the Salton Sea and showcase the beauty of it all, even in the face of it's ultimate decline into obscurity.I find it strange that I've never heard about the Salton Sea considering it was once such a promising place for investors and vacationers. I truly hope that in some way your film has helped to generate a new found interest in the forgotten city, and hopefully sparked some new efforts to alleviate the problems that the sea and all of the townspeople face.I've gone ahead and ordered the DVD. I can't wait to get my hands on it.Thanks so much for the experience and keep the doc's coming!

rrbruce-1 This is a great film that highlights the wonder and hart-break of the people that inhabit this great California dream-scape. In this film (narated by legendary film maker John Waters) the story unfolds in interviews by the people that inhabit this strange land, some raving about it's wonder, some panning this ecological disaster, but all of them true, on target and with the utmost sincerity. The film does not flinch away from controversy, and gives a balanced picture of the current population and activity of the area. Some of the interviews are truly funny while others are heartbreaking. Any attempt to explain what is really up at the Salton Sea would not be simple since there are people who really love it, and people that have been ruined and brought down by the lack of intervention in the decline of this ounce great "California Riviara" But the film seccedes beautifully in showing the Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea fro every angle. It is a brilliant documentary!!!!