PLANET EARTH Blu-Ray (BBC America 2006) BBC VIDEO

Every once in a long while, a television franchise about the natural world comes along that is immense and captivating in its scope, able to create wonderment and genuine awe about the tiny planet we only ‘think’ we know, leaving us dumbstruck and enriched by the experience. Such is the case in reviewing BBC's Planet Earth (2006) - a comprehensive globetrotting trek across the remotest tundra, deserts, rain forest and polar ice caps. Through 11-one-hour segments narrated by David Attenborough, Planet Earth sweeps the viewer across a vast, untouched and narrowly forgotten landscape of untapped resources - exposing the rare, exotic, bizarre and dangerously raw, uncharted natural splendors in all their mythological glories. Winner of 4 Emmys, Planet Earth is a dazzling assemblage of primal wonders to behold. Employing more than 40 cameras to 200 exotic destinations circling the globe, from the comfort of our living rooms we bear witness to the poetic desolation of the Arctic Circle and blistering Sahara desert, travel deep into the bowels of the earth to uncover a glittering undercarriage of nocturnal activities from predators who have never seen the sun, sail high atop the most dangerous peaks of devastatingly rugged mountain ranges that have claimed both animal and human travelers alike, and finally, splash down and far below, into the estranged realms of underwater coral reefs where sea monsters of all shapes and sizes continue to rummage and ravage these open waters.

Perhaps not wanting to overtax our senses, the narrative by Attenborough is scant on all but the most captivating details, allowing instead the images to speak for themselves. George Fenton's momentous scoring of each episode provides a grand and solitary backdrop for this excursion, perfectly anchoring Andrew Shillabee's starkly poetic and haunting cinematography of the surreal. In the U.S., Attenborough's whimsical narration was inexplicably replaced with a less inspired commentary track by Sigourney Weaver. Thankfully, the BBC Video's new Blu-Ray compendium has restored Attenborough's voice-over. The series is divided into 11 segments; Pole to Pole is a brief cook's tour of all the places the series intends to visit in further depth elsewhere. Beginning with 'Mountains' the viewer is taken on a sublime aerial bypass of the most isolated caps, peaks and craggy rock formations studding the globe. Next up is an exploration of Fresh Waters', 'Caves', then Deserts and Ice Worlds - the latter, exploring the haunted solitary regions most remote and isolated from mankind. From the 'Great Plains' and 'Jungles' the series moves below the water line into 'Shallow Seas' concluding its exploration with 'Seasonal Forests' and a journey to the 'Deep Ocean'.

Running approximately 550-minutes, Planet Earth is the ultimate rush for the natural explorer. In an age ravaged by an overwhelming amount of microcosmic examinations of our own small contribution to this planet's development, Planet Earth is a fateful reminder that what was here before the dawn of man is far more fascinating and likely to endure for centuries yet to follow – with or without our participation. BBC Home Video's presentation of Planet Earth on Blu-Ray is - in one word - breathtaking. The 1080p image is near flawless - the one exception remains during those rare instances where hi-def cameras could not be employed to capture the images presented to us. Colors are rich and vibrant. Fine details are evident throughout. The lushness of greens and blues is truly stunning. Contrast levels have been superbly rendered. The audio has been viscerally captured in Dolby Digital 5.1. Truly, this documentary series belongs on everyone's top shelf and should be required viewing for geography classes in high schools across the world. Highly recommended!

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

4

VIDEO/AUDIO

5+

EXTRAS

2