Planet Earth : Complete BBC Series (5 Disc Box Set) [2006] [DVD]

 

 

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I have never in my life seen anything like this series. I had thought that the Blue Planet, also by the BBC, was the pinnacle of achievement of wildlife television. The deep sea episode had left me breathless, but that proved nothing compared to Planet Earth. The effort that went into this series is obvious. Only at the end of each show when we spend time with each of the crews do we really get a sense of what they had to do to bring such beauty before us. This is not self-serving "let's pat ourselves on the back" television. It only adds to the sense of wonder, and to the sense of how privileged we have been to see some of the rarest sights in nature. The camerawork is sensational. The killer whale rising out of the sea with the seal in its mouth, the diving hawks making their mid-air kill, the snow leopard bounding down sheer cliffs, the chandelier cave. All incredible. This is unlike most other "animal" tv shows, where the audience is patronised into listening to an ill-thought out anthropomorphic commentary which is little more than "ooohhh...isn't that cute" or "whoooah...isn't that dangerous". Attenborough is wonderful. He has the humility to understand that the show is not about him, and he is prepared to say nothing whilst our senses drink in "that shot" of Angel Falls or the intense colours of the Okavanga Delta. The behaviour of the Gobi desert camels left me speechless; you don't need some idiot telling you how amazing it is. I can recommend this serious without hesitation. This is public television at its best. It cannot be financially prudent to spend 40 days in the Gobi desert chasing Bactrian camels, but it takes real corporate bravery to say that natural beauty cannot be captured on the cheap. The camera techniques (remember the African dogs chase?) are priceless. You must watch this series. People at my office were discussing each episode for days afterward. Friends' children were having the same discussions - "oh my god - did you see that?" If 8 year old children and 60 year old lawyers have the same base sense of wonder, nobody will watch this and think, "it's just another documentary". This is nothing like you will have seen before. I thought I was a cynic, but this really has re-opened my eyes to the raw power of nature.

Of all the natural world style documentaries that have been done this is surely the best. Needless to say David Attenborough gives an excellent commentary, but it's the production values here that take the breath away. From the huge array of overhead views of all sorts of vista's from deserts to jungle to the minute and painstaking close up shots that pass in seconds but took months to shoot this simply oozes quality.
With so many other similar documentaries already done this needed something different and arresting to pull in the audiences and so we are presented with hour after hour of all manner of things most of us never even knew existed let alone have seen from creatures that can only be found in 2 of the worlds waterfalls to sandstorms hundreds of metres high charging across a desert . The programme is also unusual in that it rarely pauses for too long on any one subject, you are really getting as much as possible packed into every episode.
The whole planet gets a look in and by the end you want to go back and see it all again.
Well done to the BBC for such high production values in the DVD too. The picture is superb, no graininess, dark and light scenes are handled equally well and colour is vivid and yet still lifelike. Hi-def was made for this type of release.
Sound is also well mixed in subtle 5.1.
The extra look at how each episode was made is a nice bonus too.
If you feel you've probably seen it all before then think again as this really is a breath of fresh air. This is a great programme and is well worth owning.

I received this box set of DVDs for Christmas, and I cannot emphasise enough the hours of enjoyment, wonder, and information they have given me. The team involved in making this epic work of beauty are deserving of anyone's very highest praise, and if they were not awarded for their efforts, then something very wrong occurred.

It covers a whopping ten hours and five discs of some of the most beautiful footage of nature I have ever had the privilege to see. Each disc covers various different natural environments, exploring the habitats and behaviour of the various animals who live in them. We are taken from the dazzling crystals of subterranean environments to the dancing rituals of birds of paradise, each camera shot dazzling even more than the last. Just about every kind of natural environment on earth is included within the five discs, from Deserts to Plains, to Deep Oceans, and everything in between. To top all of that, there is also a ten minute mini-programme at the end of each individual programme explaining how the Planet Earth team went about getting their footage.

At which point it becomes even more mind-boggling. One cameraman camped out in the Himalayas for about three months just to get a few minutes footage of a beautiful snow leopard, another cameraman spends days waiting for the courting of two birds of paradise. These people either have incredible reverence for nature, or they must love their jobs a great deal. The camerawork is perfection, and the things they are filming are stunning. I envy the wonderment and excitement of their jobs, and the pleasure they must feel at seeing the end product.

The musical score is also fantastic, suitably beautiful for a work of such magnitude, and David Attenborough's narration is always a pleasure to listen to. He is one of Britain's most inspiring individuals, a man whose respect for nature has never diminished once in decades, who has devoted an entire lifetime to informing people about nature and encouraging people everywhere to respect the natural world. His commentary is in turns insightful, informative and amusing.

Some of the locations are incredibly dangerous, some are very inaccessible, some are just plain beautiful, but all are given the same painstaking attention to detail and complete reverence. These are landscapes and wildernesses which the majority of us could only dream of seeing, and now, thanks to the Planet Earth team, we can explore them from the comfort of our own living rooms. I fervently wished that these DVDs never had to end. Who cares for a social life when you can switch on your television and see some of the most spectacular sights in the world, night after night?

The animals themselves are the true stars of the box set, however, each and every last one of them piquing my interest and impressing me with their individuality. Each and every one of them has their own struggle and difficulties to overcome, usually put in their paths by human interference. The predators of this series must be respected for their strength and agility, the prey must be admired for their fight for survival. Each and every other species has something admirable about them and every living organism included in these documentaries has their own purpose, their own reason for existence, and their own relevance within the fragile ecosystem of our planet. These DVDs have increased my respect for nature a thousand fold. They should be compulsory viewing for children, so that they too have a reverence for nature.

Nevertheless, reality must always hit home at some point, and the final disc of this set concentrates on the urgent need for conservation and ecology. These last three programmes are vital, concentrating on interviews with people who have very definite ideas about how the human threat to nature must be addressed. These range from the insightful, from an African Professor who criticises Western materialism, to the not-so-insightful, from a rather silly American suit who attempts to downplay the threat of climate change. The naysayers will have to learn the hard way - unfortunately, they might just ruin things for the compassionate people in the process. These money-worshipping idiots could never have the intelligence or sensitivity to appreciate the enormous beauty of 'Planet Earth'.

My final assessment of these DVDs is that the BBC deserve huge praise for their documentary-making abilities, David Attenborough is still one of the very greatest figures in broadcasting, and I shall now be seeking out all of his other work, since the beauty of nature is far more profound and dazzling than anything humans could EVER create.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great present for someone
I bought this for my mum for her birthday as she likes david attemborough and his programmes. Although she hasn't got round to watching it yet, she seemed to like it as a present... Read more

Published 1 day ago by H.B.178

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Christmas gift
What do you give the person who has everything? Give them the earth! This inexpensive DVD box set solved many of my Christmas gift problems for 'difficult' friends in Britain... Read more

Published 14 days ago by NorthBrit

5.0 out of 5 stars Attenborough
Very worthwhile Xmas present for families with young children. He can well be described as a national treasure. I will do it again.

Published 16 days ago by Mr. Timothy Sudbury

5.0 out of 5 stars treasure
I love it obviously it is the best ever documentary so far about the best thing around our precious planet earth..this documentary is a must have..

Published 20 days ago by Arpad

5.0 out of 5 stars Planet Earth
Brilliant set of dvd's. David Attenborough has the ability to make you feel you really are out there with him. Thoroughly recommend.

Published 21 days ago by CL

5.0 out of 5 stars Really amazing
Incredible set, as already stated by everybody.

For foreigners is also a good opportunity to learn new words and improve scientific English (no subtitles in other... Read more

Published 24 days ago by Der Treu Pelikan

5.0 out of 5 stars Planet Earth Blu-ray. Whole series.
Stunning stuff! Excellent value. Wholly justifies the existence of the BBC. Will eventually own all of the associated BBC Blu-ray titles.

Published 1 month ago by Saint Alan of Runcorn

5.0 out of 5 stars Held up to it's awesome reviews
I'd purchased this product as a gift. It was a high priority item on his gift wishlist, so I purchased it for him. He was quite pleased with the gift. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Aline Laing

5.0 out of 5 stars Planet Earth Review
This product was bought as part of my partners Christmas present. The boxed gift set is really well presented and a joy to look at. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mike444

1.0 out of 5 stars non-US version, needs European player
Cannot watch this set yet! It is a non-US region version and needs a British/European player.
What a bummer! But I should have known this.
US buyer beware.

Published 1 month ago by Yoh

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