Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Planet Dinosaur (Blu-ray 3D) [2012]




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The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man - Complete Series [DVD]


Here Attenborough focuses on the cradle of Western civilization, tracing the life of the Mediterranean from salt bed to lush paradise and its ultimate exploitation. History, natural history and archeology come together in a narrative that portrays the changing attitudes of mankind toward the environment. He surveys early plant and animal life, discussing discusses climatic and seasonal changes. The domestication of the horse opened the doors to wars and migration. Attenborough chronicles the movements in both directions from the Huns to the Crusaders and, finally, looks at more recent despoliation and areas of preservation. –Publishers Weekly

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River Monsters [DVD]




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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Journey of Life [DVD]








In a journey from sea, to land, to sky, life has evolved remarkable solutions to the challenge of survival. This series visits the crucial moments in life's journey to dominate the earth. 'Seas of Life' reveals that the basic blueprint of a brain, backbone, two legs and two arms was created in the ocean. 'Land Grab' follows life as it changes from a fish to a human; and 'Airborne' illustrates the four evolutions of flight. In 'Living Together', relationships - predatory, competitive and co-operative - are revealed. And in 'Human Life', the differences between us and chimps, phenomenally similar creatures, are examined. The latest graphic techniques recreate evolution before your very eyes, providing viewers with a spectacular representation of how life came to be






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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Planets [DVD]


While watching The Planets, be prepared to fight your way past all kinds of computer animation which makes Walking with Dinosaurs seem like the last word in realism. It seems that no solar or planetary event which ever happened (or which may or may not have happened) is worthy of mention here without recourse to lovingly detailed shots of implausible-looking collisions and explosions. These come complete with sound effects, despite the fact that there is no sound in the vacuum of space, and are enhanced by a range of colours, some of which are visible only to bees. Somehow Patrick Moore's The Sky at Night manages to convey just as much excitement with little more than a couple of diagrams and the presenter's hyperactive enthusiasm.

Fortunately, this two-DVD set is redeemed by both its subject matter and its sheer scope, offering all eight 50-minute episodes of the 1999 documentary series covering the history of the solar system and humanity's age-old desire to learn its secrets. Detailed indexing and scene access makes this a convenient reference source too, so amateur astronomers everywhere can finally bin those off-air VHS copies. --Roger Thomas

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Great Barrier Reef [DVD]




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Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Life of Birds [DVD] [1998]


Like the albatross glimpsed in the beginning of this 10-part series The Life of Birds quickly takes flight. Sir David Attenborough hosts this unprecedented and extraordinary global look at the magnificent and often curious winged species with which we share our planet. Like the best wildlife shows, The Life of Birds offers a fresh and accessible view of creatures we may take for granted (didn't Alfred Hitchcock warn us about that?). The focus of this series is not on the different bird species, but on bird behaviour. Remarkable and awe-inspiring footage preserves the wide range of tools and techniques with which birds fly, hunt for food, attract a mate, hatch their chicks and defend themselves against predators. Attenborough pops up in the most remote, most exotic locales, with occasional comic effect: at one point, night-vision cameras capture the rare sight of the nocturnal kiwi as it forages for food on a New Zealand beach; the camera pans to reveal scant paces away our guide shining a flashlight on the nonplussed bird. --Donald Liebenson

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Planet Earth: The Complete Series, Special Edition [DVD]


As befits the BBC’s reputation for producing some of the world’s best nature documentaries, Planet Earth is an epic travelogue, focussing on different ecologies and the unique animals that inhabit them. Once again, Sir David Attenborough provides the narration, as the cameras fly across the surface of the earth, zooming in to give us a bug’s eye view one minute, zooming out to give us an eagle’s perspective the next. The BBC’s cameramen filmed more than 200 locations, resulting in some truly spectacular footage, much of which has never before been seen--such as the rare sight of an endangered snow leopard hunting in the Himalayas, or great white sharks leaping from the water as they hunt. The creators of Planet Earth endured some of the world’s most hostile environments, from the deepest ocean depths to an Antarctic blizzard to a fetid, cockroach- and bat-infested cave, just to grab a few moments of film. --Ted Kord

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The Wonders Collection - Special Edition Box Set [Blu-ray][Region Free]


Wonders of the Solar System Review
The latest example of just how much a terrific documentary series can benefit from the Blu-ray format, Wonders Of The Solar System is a fascinating six-part series that simply looks stunning in high definition.

Presented by Professor Brian Cox, the series takes time to investigate the solar system around us, and the many natural beauties contained within it. Across the episodes, Cox covers the likes of planets themselves, the rings of Saturn, the question of whether we’re alone in the universe, and the sun itself.

What lifts Wonders Of The Solar System above the many shows that have tackled the subject before, however, are two factors. Firstly, it’s Cox himself, an enthused and interesting host, who explains things well and really helps make accessible the material. Secondly, it’s the utterly stunning visuals. The BBC has mixed in CGI along with images sent directly from space to quite breathtaking effect.

And this, inevitably, is where the Blu-ray kicks in. Wonders Of The Solar System simply looks wonderful in high definition, with the visuals coming across terrifically well. On DVD, this all looked very impressive. Here, it’s simply brilliant, and the end result is a series that can sit alongside Planet Earth as an example of just what Blu-ray can do for material of this quality and ilk. --Jon Foster



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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

David Attenborough - Life on Earth [DVD] [1979]


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

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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Tribe : Complete BBC Series 1-3 Box Set [DVD]


United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Box Set, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Multi-DVD Set, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Former Royal Marine officer and expedition leader Bruce Parry, sheds the trappings of a western existence and lives alongside tribes, such as the forest people of central Gabon, adopting their methods and practices. Taking adventure into a whole new realm, Parry dares to go where other presenters fear to tread: hunting, cooking and eating like a native and even trying the local recreational and ritualistic poisons. He also examines the way in which western influence is encroaching on these remote areas and asks whether this is a good thing. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Tribe - Complete Series 1-3 - 6-DVD Box Set ( Going Tribal ) ( Tribe - Entire Series One, Two & Three )

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Walking With Beasts : Complete BBC Series [2001] [DVD]


Walking With Beasts is an introduction to the animals (predominantly mammals) that roamed the earth from the extinction of the dinosaurs until the rise of early humans. The sequel to the BBC’s acclaimed and highly successful series Walking With Dinosaurs, Beasts also uses a combination of clever special effects and computer-generated imagery to create a realistic world as it may have appeared millions of years ago. As to be expected from any BBC nature programme, the images are visually stunning; the prehistoric animals look impressively lifelike, interacting seamlessly with each other and their environment to create an entire world that could have been photographed only yesterday. Best of all is Episode 2, "Whale Killer", which follows a female Basilosaurus, an enormous ancient predatory whale, as she travels through shallow seas and along coastlines--the underwater images could have just as easily originated in the BBC’s spectacular Blue Planet series. It’s unfortunate, therefore, that Walking With Beasts is let down by its script and the often dubious science therein. Episode 3, "The Land of Giants", begins with an anthropomorphic statement better suited to a Disney film than a scientific documentary, referring to the featured animals as "The good [a herbivore or plant-eating animal], the bad [a carnivore or flesh-eating animal] and the ugly [a giant warthog which is, admittedly, pretty ugly]." Still, Walking With Beasts has a host of little touches and flourishes that add to the feeling of realism (the animals knock over the cameras, pebbles hit the lens), which make this programme a success as a piece of pure entertainment and prehistoric escapism. A companion book and soundtrack CD is also available. --Ted Kord

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