The bar for nature documentaries was raised in 2001 with BBC’s The Blue Planet, their critically acclaimed look at the world’s oceans that wetted audiences’ appetites for a larger project. If The Blue Planet raised the bar, then it was launched into orbit in 2006 when the BBC debuted Planet Earth, its eleven-part episodic series that spanned the globe exploring its geological and zoological diversity in depth, from the tallest mountains to the deepest seas. Filmed over five years, Planet Earth has yet to be dethroned as the definitive documentary about our planet, and the mind blowing footage it delivers with each episode casts doubts on whether or not it ever will be. The high-definition presentation of this set features sights that most people in the world would never see any other way and in such a pristine and crystal clear format that you can make out the finest details and get totally lost in the depths of Africa or the Alps while sitting on your couch. Planet Earth, quite simply, is perfect. That’s not hyperbole, that’s the truth. With each image and each word by narrator David Attenborough, Planet Earth lets us see our home from a new angle, and it will rock your world over and over.
Planet Earth takes us through the jungles, across savannas, prairies, steppes, and tundras, and over the mountains to explore the sandy expanses of deserts, the icy fields of the arctic, the dense forests of the taiga, and the depths of lakes, seas, and oceans. In the process you’ll see great white sharks devour seals whole, charging from the murky dark of the great blue yonder and launching themselves into the air with their prey firmly gripped within their maw. You’ll watch the mating rituals of some of the strangest birds you’ll never see in real life and you’ll marvel at the aurora borealis that greets Alaskan wildlife on cold wintry nights. Nowhere else can you see such diversity of Earth’s wildlife in one place and at such a volume; with Planet Earth, BBC has created the visual resume of our home, and they’ve done an utterly astonishing job that will bowl over anyone with an HD system capable of showing the series in its phenomenally shot glory.
Planet Earth is a sight to behold, and BBC’s series of the same name makes that easy and enthralling all at once.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Apart from being the best nature documentary series created to this day and now being available in a slimmer set with improved HD functionality, this newest release of Planet Earth features a staggering number of extras that adds another seven hours of material to the mix. Starting with the most basic and immediate extras, the set includes the Planet Earth Diaries, 10-minute featurettes, one for each episode, functioning as behind the scenes looks at the filming of particular moments from the episodes they complement. It increases human visibility in the project, but it’s ultimately an added 10 minutes of content highly relevant to the episode, making it every bit as worthwhile as the main episode itself. Additional extras that relate to the viewing of the main episodes are the option to turn off Attenborough’s narration and just watch Planet Earth with the score and the natural sounds of the animals and locations or to turn on the producer commentary track. The former is downright magical and might be one of the best background noise ideas ever, and the latter commentaries are interesting but not quite up to par with the other options.
Outside of the 11 main episodes, you have four featurettes: “Great Planet Earth Moments” a condensed sizzle reel of some of the series’ most cinematically amazing scenes and the “Snow Leopard: Beyond the Myth”, “Secrets of the Maya Underworld”, and “Elephant Nomads of the Namib Desert” episodes from BBC’s Natural World series. Each of the latter three episodes are outstanding viewing unto themselves and by their inclusion it’s essentially as if Planet Earth has 14 episodes instead of just 11. Or rather, 17 when you take into account the three-part Planet Earth: The Future, a complementary series also included on the disc which goes back to some of the key environs and species from Planet Earth episodes and looks at the conservation efforts being enacted to save them. If it was possible to have too much Planet Earth, this would be how that happens – but it’s not possible, so it’s just a great perk.
Finally, there’s a sneak peek at the upcoming BBC nature documentary series Frozen Planet. It looks incredible.
"Planet Earth: Six-Disc Special Edition" is on sale October 4, 2011 and is not rated. Documentary. Directed by Alastair Fothergill. Written by David Attenborough. Starring David Attenborough.
