BBC – Discovery | 2009 | 484 mins. | Rated PG
Four years in the making, shot entirely in high definition and helmed by the BBC Natural History Unit, Life comes to Blu-ray in two distinctly different releases. The first, courtesy of Warner Brothers, offers the original UK version of the series, and features narration by Sir David Attenborough. The second, arguably inferior U.S edition, aired on the Discovery Channel earlier this year with narration by the queen of daytime television, Oprah Winfrey. Regardless of which narrative style you prefer, Life stands as another monumental achievement in nature documentaries, right up there with the earlier Planet Earth series.
Spread over ten episodes, Life relies on a series of high speed cameras, advanced photography techniques, and the dedication of its crew to capture some truly amazing footage. Through the crew’s tenacity, we get to witness several events and behaviors that have never been captured on camera before. The series begins with “Challenges of Life,” which introduces us to the survival techniques and hunting methods used by animals throughout the world. We watch as capuchin monkeys learn to crack palm nuts with crude tools, a pack of cheetahs track and kill a much slower ostrich and dolphins that herd fish into their own mouths with walls of silt stirred up from the ocean floor. Because this segment covers almost every animal family, many of which are explored in greater depth later in the series, Challenges of Life serves as an excellent starting point.
“Reptiles and Amphibians” provides insight into some of the oldest species on the planet. Chameleons, crocodiles, komodo dragons, pebble toads, garter snakes, basilisks and geckos, and elusive collared lizards prove to be captivating subjects. Many fascinating things come to light: pebble toads make themselves rigid and fall from great heights to get away from predators. A lizard is nicknamed the Jesus Christ Lizard for its ability to run across water. Most interesting, is the Komodo dragon, who look downright possessed when driven by hunger.
“Mammals” gives viewers a look at seals and their pups in the Antarctic, tiny lemurs in Madagascar, elephant shrews in Africa, and reindeer herds in the Arctic tundra, legions of fruit bats in Zambia, and hyenas on the Plains, not to mention more familiar animals like humpback whales and African elephants. We witness difficult migrations, polar bears struggling to survive and hoards of reindeer searching for food. It should be pointed out that this section has some of the most beautiful photography of the entire series.
Utilizing high speed underwater cameras, “Fish,” takes us beneath the water to examine the behavior of fish that, until recently, have been much too fast to effectively film. Flying fish, sailfish, clownfish, mudskippers, Hawaiian gobies, sardines, seadragons, sharks, and other carnivorous species are all shown and discussed, revealing the secrets of their survival. The crew really gets to show off their camera work here, as some of the shots of swaying seaweed and underwater plants create some of the best 3D effects I’ve ever seen. The patented high definition slow motion used by the BBC is in full swing here as flying fish skim over the water like tiny blue shooting stars.
“Birds” soars and dives alongside thermal-gliding vultures, pelicans, Papau bowerbirds, grouse, lightning-quick hummingbirds, flamingo chicks, blood-eyed grebes, cape gannets, boatswain birds and their mortal enemy, the aggressive, red-breasted man o’war. Breeding habits, food gathering methodology, and nest building techniques are brought to light, and new discoveries are made at every turn. The best part of “Birds” is the story of the lammergeier, a vulture-like bird with a nine-foot wingspan and eats bones. That’s just strange. However, before watching this series, I didn’t know the lammergeier existed.
“Insects” shows migrating monarch butterflies, battling Darwin beetles, Japanese hemiptera nymphs, acid spewing carabids and bombardier beetles, damsel flies, and millions upon millions of grasscutter ants swarm the proceedings, giving the film crew a unique chance to examine insect armor and defense mechanisms. Not a fan of bugs of any kind, this segment gave me the shivers. Though, like every segment prior, we are given an unprecedented look at these creatures.
“Hunters and Hunted” is equal parts killing, and escaping. We get to see predators like killer whales in action, but we also get a glimpse into the finely tuned escape plans that different animals have perfected over the years to escape death. As unpleasant as watching animals die can be, “Hunters and Hunted” serves to remind us that killing is a natural part of nature’s ecosystem.
“Creatures of the Deep” dives to great depths to visit a vast kingdom of underwater invertebrates. Witness the hunts of jumbo squid, egg-yolk jellyfish, and massive king crabs; the scavenging of sea urchins, ribbon worms, and starfish; the adaptive advances of giant cuttlefish, North Pacific octopi, and porcelain crabs; and the endless coral gardens of the seas.
It may seem like “Plants” is about to pull away from wildlife altogether, but don’t be fooled. Plant life not only regulates and maintains the health of the planet, its more sentient species are as assertive as the four-legged beasts and finned fish that have dominated the series. Venus flytraps feed on unsuspecting insects, drosera plants feast on mosquitoes, Saguaro cacti spread their seeds through unwitting animals, and milkweed defends itself against hungry caterpillars.
Finally, we get “Primates.” Hamadryas baboons establish discipline amidst conflict, silverback gorillas attempt to communicate with anything that approaches, capuchin monkey’s use rocks to split nuts, white-handed gibbons sing to soothe their young, snow monkey’s work to preserve and reward the strongest genes, and chimpanzees and orangutans learn to problem solve when obtaining food and moving through the jungle. Primates truly are as curious as humans, and fascinating to watch.
The Oprah narrated version of ‘Life’ clocks in at 484 minutes spreading across four 50GB Blu-ray discs. There are 18 minutes of scenes that were deleted from the series, but which appear in the Attenborough (U.K.) version. My only explanation for this is that they were cut out to fit in more commercial time.
Life is a series made for Blu-ray, and this 1.78:1 1080i transfer is superb. The image is sharp and clear throughout. Colors are bright and true to form, and no visible grain is evident. The cinematography is top-notch—shots range from wide to close-up to underwater and high in the sky—with nary a moment looking overdone.
Oprah´s narration occasionally drowns out the natural noise from the English 5.1 DTS-HD Hi-Resolution Audio soundtrack, but the audibles that make it through are dynamic and easy to understand. The music, arranged and placed by Fred Karns and Richard Fiocca, roars through speakers but controls its own personality enough to not steal the spotlight from the visuals. Also included is a less exciting but serviceable English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, along with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Life offers solid special features. The bulk of the material is spread across ten BBC-produced “On Location” mini-docs (Discs 1-4, HD, 109 minutes), each of which digs into the process behind filming such diverse wildlife, the challenges both the documentarians and film crews faced along the way, and the various techniques they employed to capture some of Life‘s most breathtaking shots. A full-length bonus special, “The Making of Life” (Disc 4, HD, 42 minutes), expounds upon the team’s efforts even further. In it, Oprah Winfrey introduces nature enthusiasts to the experts and cameramen who braved many a dangerous locale to follow and study a myriad of creatures. Finally, a batch of “Deleted Scenes” (Disc 4, HD, 18 minutes) serves up some memorable, series-worthy footage complete with finalized narration.
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