This is not just one of the best wildlife documentaries ever made - superbly filmed using the latest techniques and equipment – it is one of the great achievements in any area of culture from this or any other year. Little else shows such skill and dedication from its makers, or is as moving in its sense of beauty and feeling of something larger than ourselves.
It is an emotive evocation rather than cerebral narrative, and to this end there is extensive and prominent use of music, and added sound effects. Some find these intrusive, but for me they were very effective. There were a few occasions on which I felt that emphasis on getting in close went too far - for example the fighting Komodo dragons broke from the top of the frame unnecessarily, and the framing of eagles fighting over a carcass felt a little tight. However pushing the boundaries in any field can sometimes mean going too far, and this is surely trivial set against the scale of the achievement. Sequence after sequence is profoundly impressive, and the cumulative effect uniquely wonderful.
This is of course worth seeing with the best quality source and the largest, best quality screen you can find. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent.
In reviewing last year's outstanding "The Hunt" I wrote that I found it hard to imagine how even the BBC wildlife unit could surpass that. Now I see. Can even the BBC wildlife surpass this? Maybe Planet Earth 3?
It is an emotive evocation rather than cerebral narrative, and to this end there is extensive and prominent use of music, and added sound effects. Some find these intrusive, but for me they were very effective. There were a few occasions on which I felt that emphasis on getting in close went too far - for example the fighting Komodo dragons broke from the top of the frame unnecessarily, and the framing of eagles fighting over a carcass felt a little tight. However pushing the boundaries in any field can sometimes mean going too far, and this is surely trivial set against the scale of the achievement. Sequence after sequence is profoundly impressive, and the cumulative effect uniquely wonderful.
This is of course worth seeing with the best quality source and the largest, best quality screen you can find. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent.
In reviewing last year's outstanding "The Hunt" I wrote that I found it hard to imagine how even the BBC wildlife unit could surpass that. Now I see. Can even the BBC wildlife surpass this? Maybe Planet Earth 3?