Ask any photographer and he’ll tell you that nature is one of the most challenging subjects to photograph. It’s difficult enough documenting one feature of the planet, but can you imagine someone attempting to document the whole planet Earth and its wildlife?
Did BBC’s natural history producer Alastair Fothergill succeed in his gargantuan task, or is the Special Collector’s Edition 2007 Planet Earth and The Blue Planet Seas of Life a big dud?
BBC Planet Earth DVD – What Is It?
Before looking into the merits of the Planet Earth DVD it would be good to know what it’s all about. The Planet Earth DVD is a box set of BBC’s nature documentary or mini series documenting the wildernesses of the planet and its wildlife as never seen before.
The filming spanned 62 countries and 204 individual locations. Production cost amounted to around $25 million and took five years to complete. The narration for the documentary is done by Sir David Attenborough.
The box set DVD includes 11 episodes of Planet Earth, focusing on Earth’s natural habitats and indigenous features and fauna. Many of the locations and animals captured on film had never been photographed before. It also shows previously undocumented animal behavior like crab-eating macaques swimming underwater and grizzly bear cubs coming out of their den for the first time.
The BBC Planet Earth DVD includes the following episodes:
- Pole to Pole: This episode illustrates a journey around the world and showing seasonal transitions throughout the journey. The effects of gradual climate change are also revealed.
- Mountains: Uses extensive aerial photography to explore the main mountain ranges around the world.
- Fresh Water: Describes the course taken by rivers and the species that make the rivers their natural habitat.
- Caves: Presents the world of caves and tunnels to viewers.
- Deserts: Deserts cover approximately one-third of the planet. This episode features the forms of life that have adapted to survive in its harsh environment.
- Ice Worlds: Looks into the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
- Great Plains: Features the prairies, savanna, steppe and tundra. It delves into the importance of grasses in these treeless ecosystems that contain the largest concentration of animal life on the planet.
- Jungles: Jungles and tropical rainforests occupy only three percent of the Earth’s landmass yet are home to more than half of the world’s species.
- Shallow Seas: Looks into the shallow seas around the continents. Shallow seas represent only 8% of the oceans yet they contain the most marine life.
- Seasonal Forests: Examines coniferous and deciduous seasonal woodland ecosystems. These are the most extensive forests found on Earth.
- Ocean Deep: Focuses on Earth’s most unexplored area, the deep ocean.
Each of these episodes is approximately 58 minutes long. Narration is by David Attenborough.
Not For The Faint Of Heart
The BBS Planet Earth series on DVD provides a comprehensive portrait of our world, showing the oceans, great plains, jungles, and forests. It also shows mountains and the North and South poles. You’ll see Nature at its best and at its worst, putting on a dramatic show just for you.
This is not some cute, nature documentary of kittens, puppies and babies. Although my 4 year old didn’t seem to have a problem watching it, some younger children may find certain scenes disturbing, such as a wolf chasing down a caribou. However, older children will find the series fascinating and will learn many interesting facts about nature.
But Wait, There’s More!
Extras come with the Planet Earth box set DVD, including:
- 110 minutes of behind-the scene footages
- Planet Earth: The Future – Takes a peek at what the future may hold for endangered animals and their habitats.
- The Blue Planet DVD is also included in the package, featuring five bonus programs: Deep Trouble, Amazon Abyss, Dive to Shark Volcano, Between the Tides, and Antarctica
Is The BBC Planet Earth DVD Worth Your Money? The Verdict
Planet Earth DVD is one of the most ambitious projects aimed at documenting and telling the story of life on Earth. Using high definition cameras, the videos are amazingly crisp and razor-sharp. David Attenborough’s narration provides nature facts to go with the stunning visuals. No expense was spared in the production of this incredible nature documentary and it shows in the final product.
Is the Planet Earth DVD worth buying? Definitely! It will open your eyes to the amazing beauty of the world around you. You’ll find out how resilient the planet and its life forms are, but you’ll also learn that life can be fragile too.
This series is something the whole family will enjoy. It’s definitely a collector’s item.
What Customers Say
Amazon reviewer Mary L. Campa of California says it best: “Absolutely amazing —-fantastic photography——something you can watch over & over & never get tired of it & never cease to be amazed with the photos & narrative.”
Another reviewer wrote: “Everytime I watched an episode, I felt an overwhelming sense of appreciation of this rich and spectacular place we live in…”
The Planet Earth DVD is in high definition format but one customer noted that the Blue Planet series is standard definition, which he found disappointing.
Many customers, however, love the BBC Planet Earth DVD and they recommend it to others. This is a keeper and you’ll want to have it in your DVD library. You’ll find this product at many online stores including Amazon.com.
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Hey Diane,
Interesting Thoughts, As just one of the living matters dwelling in world Earth, our exceptional contemplating helps make us superior amid the other matters manufactured here. And basically because of this we would like to look into a great deal more about what is past what can be found by the naked eye. People would have an urge to review what is outside of the ambiance of our planet Earth. To be in a position to get a closer look on these heavenly bodies, just one needs to possibly be an astronaut or have hundreds of thousands of bucks to pay to travel by using place. If this is the circumstance, how can a normal specific get accessibility to these superb explorations then?
Regards