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Life On Earth [DVD] [1979]
 
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Life On Earth [DVD] [1979]

DVD ~ David Attenborough
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £34.99
Price: £9.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Life On Earth [DVD] [1979] + The Living Planet [DVD] [1983] + The Trials Of Life [DVD] [1990]
Total RRP: £99.97
Price For All Three: £30.84

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Life On Earth [DVD] [1979]
69% buy the item featured on this page:
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Product details

  • Actors: David Attenborough
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 4
  • Classification: Exempt
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • DVD Release Date: 1 Sep 2003
  • Run Time: 715 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000AISIQ
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,257 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in these categories:

    #12 in  DVD > Television > TV Series > David Attenborough
    #30 in  DVD > Documentary > Natural World

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Life on Earth (1979) is an epic 13-programme series, presented by David Attenborough, offering a chronological account of the flora and fauna of planet Earth over a period of 3,500 million years. Whether recounting the first journey from the sea to the land, the development of insects and flowers, or "The First Forests" and "The Lords of the Air", Attenborough's enthusiasm is infectious. He guides us through "The Infinite Variety" of life from microbes to marsupials, via an unforgettable meeting with mountain gorillas, to conclude with "The Compulsive Communicators", mankind itself.

Three years in the making, involving 1.5 million miles of travel and featuring some of the most beautiful, breathtaking and ambitious photography then seen on television, Life on Earth was the first natural history blockbuster. It redefined TV by showing that an epic, serious wildlife documentary could be a massive success. As such, it remains a true television landmark and paved the way for Attenborough's The Living Planet and further entries in what became known as his "Life" series.

On the DVD: Life on Earth is presented complete in this DVD box set, with a total running time of 715 minutes (13 x 55 minutes). --Gary S Dalkin



Synopsis

Hosted by David Attenborough, this critically acclaimed TV series is a fascinating history of nature that captures the rarely seen mysteries and splendours of Life on Earth. It took Attenborough and his crew three years of painstaking, patient filming to capture this beautiful footage.

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Still amazing after 25 years, 18 Jan 2004
First broadcast way back in 1979, Life on Earth remains the single most impressive achievement in the history of wildlife film-making.

The series offers a broad overview of the whole history of life, beginning with the very earliest cells and leading right up to the appearance of man, using footage of various living plants and animals from around the world to illustrate each major episode in the story. For anyone with an interest in nature, and who would like a good introduction to evolutionary biology that is both stunning and superbly explained, you can do no better than this incredible series.

It is true, as many reviewers have pointed out, that the content of this DVD shows some signs of age. This is inevitable when you remember that it is separated from us by 25 years of filming technology and scientific knowledge. Most noticeable to me is that the colour print is not as rich and vivid as a contemporary film, but then again the clarity of the pictures remains remarkably good with only a few short sequences seriously falling below par when compared with a recent film such as Life of Birds. For example, there are some underwater shots in one of the episodes that can't really hold a candle to the crystal clear material that we're treated to in the Blue Planet. The onwards march of scientific research means that, very occassionally, some of the information in the films might be considered out of date, but this is rare. Finally, there were no computer graphics to speak of 25 years ago and some of the animated sequences that are used in particular to illustrate features of ancient, long extinct lifeforms do look very dated. If the series were to be remade today then it would be augmented with much more sophisticated reconstructions.

However, when all of this is said and done, the two essential elements of this series still never fail to impress. These are the presentation of David Attenborough - always clear, authoritative and compelling - and, of course, the wildlife photography itself.

It is first and foremost to David Attenborough and the BBC that we owe our thanks for the fact that most British people's impression of the natural world about them includes many of the creatures and environments with which we are familiar today. If all we were fed was the kind of cutesy baby animals and crocodile baiting fare of the Disney variety then the effect that this might have had on environmental awareness and charitable giving to green organisations can only be guessed at. And besides, given that the spectacle and drama of the best wildlife films is often far better than most of what you see on TV and down the cinema, we would also have lost a great source of entertainment. Even if this kind of thing were all that the licence fee was spent on, it would still be worth every penny.

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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest wildlife and natural history documentary ever, 4 Sep 2003
In January 1979, I was 6 years old when the BBC first aired Life on Earth. I was hooked from the first episode and have recorded the series on video from repeats.

After bombarding the BBC for the last 4 years about when the full series was going to be released on DVD, they have finally done it.

This series was ground breaking and sparked my interest in the natural world, which I'm just as keen on today. The footage shot from all over the earth was brilliant and the natural progression of the story of evolution was very informative and interesting. David Attenborough is the greatest communicator of the natural world in television. T

The photography editing and story telling is so good that you could sit through all 13 episodes back to back.

Watch and be amazed at the rich diversity of life this world has to offer.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Brilliance, 27 May 2005
By G. Horsham (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
It has not lost any of it charm since it first appeared on TV. Vivid colours and great research behind a benchmark in Natural History programs. Some of the ideas/theories may have changed in th last 20+ years, but in essence, it is still a valuable introduction to Life on Earth
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Life on Earth.
This series by David Attenborough was a series which was a pioneering series at its time in 1979, but has been superseded in the last ten years. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. R. E. Billing

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for talking about evolution and adaptation!
I showed these videos to my bottom set year 7, it might have been a little too higher level for them - in terms of language - but they enjoyed it and picked up quite a bit of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. Huang

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply brilliant
My father videoed this series for me when it was 1st aired in 1978/79 (yes, videos were out then!), and I watched it time after time as a boy. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. Andrew Radford

5.0 out of 5 stars Iconic, Breathtaking, Brilliant...
...add your own superlative here. This is television at its best- informative, amazing and full of sights and sounds to astound. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Tigger Mark 4

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the first and the best by David Attenborough
I saw this series when I was 10 years old, and it was absolutely incredible. It is one of those programs that sticks with you, and even now (yes, it is a bit grainy on my plasma... Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. BLIGHT

5.0 out of 5 stars Education as entertaining as it is fascinating
Life On Earth is almost as old as me now and I need to say that its wearing a little better. Produced to be among the most comprehensive documentaries of its kind and presented... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Phil Hattie

5.0 out of 5 stars A heroic and successful venture in intelligent TV
'Life on Earth' was recognised almost immediately by contemporary TV critics as one of the most intelligent and most absorbing TV series ever made. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2007 by lexo1941

5.0 out of 5 stars Life On Earth
To praise adequately this fascinating series is impossible: to call it merely remarkable would be an understatement.

It is a landmark in BBC broadcasting. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2007 by Paul Richard

5.0 out of 5 stars The evolution of life on earth ...
From the very beginning upto the present day. Over the course of 13 programmes covering:

1) "The Infinite Variety" looks back as far as we can possibly go into the fossil... Read more

Published on 30 Jan 2006 by Sally-Anne

5.0 out of 5 stars What needs to be said?!
One of those truly ground-breaking series. Despite it's age I still had the same thrill watching now as I did as a kid all those years ago.
Published on 5 Jul 2004 by A. B. Tessier

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