I haven't seen the 17 min version referenced in IMDb. I instead saw the full 29 minute version - Log Drive. I found it an interesting historical documentary about the labour required to move tons of wood down through lakes and rivers towards a pulp and paper mill in Quebec. The commentary is interspersed with verses of a song about the process.
If the shorter version includes the music only, it would be missing some of the context provided by the full film, and would be more of a visual collection set to music. There is nothing wrong with that, and it would still be entertaining, but I found some of the most amazing bits to be parts that were not set to music. The commentary changes it from an art piece to a more educational film, one that still feels quick.
Within a generation after this film was made, the massive enterprise being documented had become a vanished way of life. That makes this well-made and entertaining documentary a historical document worth seeing.
If the shorter version includes the music only, it would be missing some of the context provided by the full film, and would be more of a visual collection set to music. There is nothing wrong with that, and it would still be entertaining, but I found some of the most amazing bits to be parts that were not set to music. The commentary changes it from an art piece to a more educational film, one that still feels quick.
Within a generation after this film was made, the massive enterprise being documented had become a vanished way of life. That makes this well-made and entertaining documentary a historical document worth seeing.