Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
I watched this program on the BBC in England. I could hardly wait from week to week for the next episode, and I wanted more when it ended. Sir David Attenborough is wonderful. He has said in interviews that he truly enjoyed this series and it shows. The photography is stunning, the narration is phenomenal "attribute Sir David", above all, the knowledge gained is more than worth the time and money spent on this great series. ENJOY!!
14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
To their credit, the producers of Planet Earth give viewers the opportunity to get a glimpse of the stunning beauty of (what is left of) the natural world that is inaccessible to most humans. Planet Earth producers explore the different natural habitats such as the seas, caves, great plains, and forests in the first four discs. Thanks to the BBC, the producers have been able to mobilize top-notch talent and state-of-the-art equipment to accomplish this tour de force. Like other media productions made about the natural world over the last 30 years, Planet Earth helps raise awareness about nature’s beauty and diversity as well as the human footprint on nature. One of the greatest merits of the series is to market the huge economic value of the environmental services that nature renders scot-free to humanity, e.g., pollinating, cleaning water, cleansing the atmosphere, and restoring soil. But there is a downside to Planet Earth’s accomplishment. Jonathon Porritt, Chair, U.K. Sustainable Development Commission, rightly states in disc five that natural history programming has turned most viewers into passive voyeurs of nature rather than engaged co-habitants with nature. That type of programming can give people the false impression that because nature is captured on film, it is all okay out there. To their chagrin, Planet Earth producers knew that what they were capturing on film was often disappearing under their eyes. Russell Mittermeier, President, Conservation International, reminds his audience that Antarctica aside, only a quarter of the Earth’s land surface is still wilderness. For example, James Leape, Director General, WWF International, point outs that about half of the world’s forests have already been lost. Another example is that more and more species such as the Amur leopard, Walia Ibex, Saiga antelope, and Bactrian camels are on the edge of extinction because of their human predators. However, not everything has yet been lost. As Jeffrey McNeely, Chief Scientist, World Conservation Union, observes, about 12% of the land cover is protected area. To compound the challenge of environmental protection, M.A. Sanjayan, Lead Scientist, The Nature Conservancy, adds that 80% of the world’s biodiversity does not exist in national parks. To their credit, the producers of Planet Earth raise one controversial issue after another about nature conservation in disc five which is by far the most important of all five discs. Here follow a few examples for illustration purposes only: 1) Narrator Simon Poland provocatively asks the question: Is conservation only a wealthy Western concern, a luxury, a fantasy? Mittermeier acknowledges that wilderness protection, which was born in the West, has not necessarily spread worldwide. As Doctor Craig Packer, Ecologist, bluntly puts it, people who have high environmental ethics will have to put their money where their mouth is. Packer correctly points out that they will have a hard time convincing local people who have to feed themselves and their family that they can eat ethics. In Costa Rica, there are companies that are charging their customers an extra fee for the water bill they pay in order to compensate the farmers for the 300,000 hectares that they convert back to forest beyond the 500,000 hectares of national parks. Forests are water factories. 2) Poland also asks the non-PC question: Is population the greatest threat to wilderness? It is no coincidence that the natural world shrinks as human population grows. Ignoring population strikes Porritt as the biggest own goal that the environment movement has ever scored. There are currently over six billion people on this planet the number is expected to grow to nine billion by the middle of this century. These people need to be fed. In order to feed those people, humans need to convert some nature to agriculture, preferably where they destroy the least biodi
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
This is an awesome collection. I'm going to be a junior in high school and when Planet Earth came out that's all anyone could talk about. The camera shots are amazing. This is by far the best documentary on the life on the earth. I don't one person that hasn't liked it yet and I don't think I'll ever meet anyone who doesn't like Planet Earth.I recommend it to everyone.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Planet Earth is an amazing body of work. My 5 year old son and I love to sit and watch - he is a nature and animal lover through and through. The cinematography is unbelievable and the music and narration blend wonderfully with the images. I am astounded at the beauty of our world and animals every time I watch - they were captured so well you almost feel as though you were there. Our set gets a lot of use. We gladly watch the same ones repeatedly. I highly recommend it. We received it as a family holiday gift and we LOVE it! It is well worth the money. Enjoy!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
The insight of an eight year-old can be astonishing. My daughter asked Santa for the Planet Earth series for Christmas and it was a gift the whole family has enjoyed . The photography captured our attention and the story kept us glued to the screen, even though we do not tend to sit idle and indulge in television. The narration propelled us to wonder what we could do to change the course of our collective actions and protect the natural resources to ensure the animals that we share earth with will continue to not just live, but thrive. We live on a beautiful planet and this series captures its essence in vivid and sometimes private moments. This is a series that everyone should experience...embrace! The producer, director, and narrator exceeded our expectations and have set the bar very high. We were moved emotionally, mentally, and intellectually...!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
This was absolutely the best documentary i've ever seen. There's no words to describe the beautiful mountains and all the scenery in this film. I would recommend this to anyone of all ages. Definitely a family film!!!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
This is the best ever documenatry i have ever seen. This is a must see for everyone in the planet earth.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Simply the most visually stuuning nature documentary ever made. Which only serves to spotlight the way our species has trashed our planet. Make it a double feature with Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth."
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Sadly, among those who submitted their reviews here, nobody got it. Sure, the picture quality and the presentation of the subject as a whole is totally breath-taking but the real point of this presentation is survival of the fittest. In the wild as well as here in the concrete jungle, you have to do whatever it takes to survive - the basic instinct that is hard-wired to every living thing. On disc 1, there is a part where a group of otters with their strength in numbers were able to stand-up and even harass a crocodile - an exercise in teamwork. There is also a part where a group of hunting dogs using the strategy of a well-trained army - multipronged attack then cutting the possible escape route - to hunt their prey. These are just a few examples of survival. Observe and learn - you will need it in this planet earth.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
even my 5 and 8 year olds loved to watch this documentery. i was pulled into it. especially loved the diaries from the film crew for each chapter.highly recommend geting this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
The number of rarely seen species captured on film is truly amazing. This will set the standard for nature documentaries for years to come. You will not see anything better on tv than this. Awe-inspiring in so many ways.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Wish everyone could see this magnificent series. Bob the Hunter and NRA junkie - you guys are so sadly clueless.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
The photography is stunning. The series is a bit too focused on the harshness of the food cycle. However, this is not the version that aired on the Discovery Channel "which was included as one of Oprah's favorite things". - Noga Rosenthal
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Planet Earth is amazing, an absolute must see if you like this kind of show. I loved it, and i am sure you will too.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
This is a phenominal series for anyone. I never thought I would be interested in a 'nature' documentary. But just try watching it for 10 minutes. You'll be hooked. It's fascinating.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
One of the best epic documentaries of all time. I am so glad I purchased the BBC set rather than the Discovery version. David Attenborough's passion for nature comes through in his narrative style. Though Miss Weaver did an acceptable job in the American release, it lacked the vitality this production deserved. It was rather like decaf coffee, the energy was not transmitted as well. And, after all, it is Attenborough's project. Be sure to watch the "Diaries" segments. Some of the crew and videographers are wonderfully entertaining, especially the bat cave crew and the balloonist episode.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Simply gorgeous throughout. Informative, though more in a trivia sort of way most of the time. A snippet from the diaries of the production crew are at the end of each episode and it's amazing to see what they went through to make this stunning piece. Some of my friends were a bit surprised by David Attenborough as narrator rather than Sigourney Weaver, but I kind of prefer him.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
It does NOT need to be said that the series is about survival. The beauty of the footage is what is remarkable. We have all seen various nature footage before, that teaches us about various creatures and how they survive in specific habitats. If one wants to critique other reviewers comments as being less important than a blatantly obvious summary of a series, then I will certainly ignore it. This is one series that should not be missed.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
This kind of cinematography is totally unmatched. It's a deeply moving film.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
Such magnificent animals, you can imagine the skill it would take to hunt them. The narration is wonderful to listen to while cleaning the gun cabinet. What's nice is that you can watch it on HD DVD or BluRay and switch over to the Food channel for recipes and tips on how to cook various types of meat that appear in the footage.
1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Overview