Customer Reviews

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4) [VHS]

5 star:		(193)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There isn't a moment in these four DVD's that won't have you gazing in wonder and admiration at the effort and amazing footage captured in this series. Of all the DVD's I own, and that is no small number I assure you, this entire set never sits long enough to get more than a days worth of dust on it. I often watch an episode as I linger in bed waiting for sleep to overtake me. Equally as often, I have to switch it off so I can get sleep--it is that unendingly fascinating. No matter how many times I've watched it, the presentation and simply astounding events they have captured in this series always manage to keep my attention. To even try and relate what the hours of footage reveal would only do it an injustice. I won't even try and I'm sure others could describe it better than I. Let me say this, if you have never seen Blue Planet then you have been sorely missing out. It most certainly contains footage of the marine world that cannot be seen anywhere else. Not merely a few minutes here and there but nearly every minute of the series is unique and nearly unbelievable to behold.

Yes, I realize that it sounds like I'm waxing over this set in glowing terms--and I am, but for good reason. Don't rent these, don't borrow them from a friend and certainly don't just wait around trying to decide if this set is for you. Just click the order button right now and make this set your own. After you do, I think you'll agree it is among the best documentaries ever created, and simultaneously, one of the best DVD investments you've made.

There are many reasons to own this wonderful series on DVD, but one reason stands out: The Killer Whale/Seal Pup segment of the "Coasts" DVD. The Amazon.com main reviewer mentioned this scene in his review - and with good reason. It is THE most amazing piece of wildlife footage EVER captured on film - even surpassing the National Geographic special with the Great White Sharks breaching.

If you need more reasons than that, the "Ocean World" DVD contains unbelievable footage of Sir David in a skiff right above a Blue Whale (the largest creature ever to have lived) along with a stirring segment about an orca pod pursuing a gray whale and her calf.

All of my friends - who are decidely NOT nature buffs like me -were left speechless after seeing some of the segments in this set (particularly the aforementioned ones).

The Life of Mammals DVD set by Attenborough is also terrific.

This is a fine Anglo-American documentary that far surpasses most documentaries on most any subject. The narrator Sir David Attenborough may be a bit dull at times, but he knows his subject. Perhaps, only Jacques Cousteau knew more about the Oceans? The breathtaking visuals more than make up for the flatter parts of the narration. This focuses on the worlds oceans & gives the viewer a sea of information to absorb. Topics such as "survival of the fittest, the seasonal shifting of seas, plants, fish, evolution, the food chain, & the future of humans are all here in fine detail."

The visuals are sometimes brutal, predators chasing baby Turtles, & Killer Whales attacking Sea Lion pups bring natures cruel realities to life. The trailers, interviews, & fact files also added another dimention of depth to these four DVD's. This was worth every cent & more. Everytime you view it you will learn something that you may have missed during the first viewing.

This is a great documentary, as is Planet Earth. Both come highly recommended. However, for those considering purchasing this set, you should note that a new special edition containing a 5th DVD is coming out in October.

I recently watched all 8 segments of this series and found them far more riveting than I thought I would. Each one was excellent. I am a biologist, but I have to admit, some nature documentaries can be a bit dull, or they try too hard to be exciting by editing unrelated footage together and end up being silly or unrealistic. This BBC series of documentaries was outstanding in every way - even if the footage had been poor, Sir Attenborough's narration is elucidating and interesting and completely worth watching the series for; and if the narration had been dull, the footage is simply stunning and completely worth watching the series for. Together they are outstanding and I found myself often saying "holy cow - that's amazing!" Even as a biologist myself, I learned much watching these. I can't recommend these highly enough for everyone - kids, adults, nature buffs, non-nature-buffs, divers, non-divers, non-documentary-buff... even people who don't usually like documentaries or nature stuff can't help but have their interest piqued (as recently proved by my in-laws!).

A note to the sensitive or squeamish - the series doesn't gloss over the reality of sometimes grizzly deaths in nature. The pod of orcas hunting a grey whale and her calf, or snatching sea lion pups from the beach or polar bears ambushing belugas at their only breathing hole may be particularly disturbing. It's real, but not always pretty.

Some high points of the series: underwater footage of polar bears (who can swim hundreds of kilometers); a swirling school of mackerel being simultaneously attacked by dolphin, diving birds, tuna and marlin; bizarre hunting methods of alien animals from the very deep ocean; dolphins driving mullets out of the water to snatch them in mid-air or driving their heads into seafloor to catch buried razorfish; and the endless incredible facts about these creatures delivered by Sir David.
Not to be missed - the extra features ("The Making of" for each episode, fact files and photo galleries) are every bit as cool as the actual series'.
Kudos to the BBC for their huge effort and a truely excellent series.

For our family, this was the nature documentary series that got us hooked. We happened upon a Discovery Channel broadcast of one of the Blue Planet episodes, and our 2-year-old was hypnotized. For at least a year after, every time we turned on the TV, it was "I want to watch fish! FISH!!"

While our son likes all of the episodes, I think his favorite is "Open Ocean," which features an amazing sequence of just about every sea-dwelling predator herding and eating a school of anchovies. For the adult viewer, the narration by David Attenborough is minimalistic and informative. He really allows the cinematography to steal the show, which it does. You really do see something new every time.

We have watched these DVDs over and over again, and I'd probably only watch them slightly less if we didn't have kids. We've given the Blue Planet series to a few other parents as a gift, and have also since bought both The Life of Mammals and The Life of Birds via Amazon. Those two series are great as well, but not as well loved by our oldest boy as "FISH!!"

This series has astonishingly beautiful, mesmerizing photography of nature in its full beauty and brutality. It is both an education and a meditation. The segment on the deep sea will re-orient your mind completely. I bought it for my 6 year old nephew and he watches over and over and over and over and over....as do I, at 43, and my 85 year old father ...

This was an astounding movie series. I have never seen anything better. However, the way they portray the killings - killer whale drowning a baby gray whale, birds preying upon a fish they endeared us to, killer whales killing seals - was devestating to my children. The music and such was emotionalized the event to such an extent that my children said they "hated" the makers of the film. All that said, for an adult, this was the most beautiful film that superbly portrayed the majesty of the ocean and gave one a love for the sea. Incredible, really. And there weren't that many killings - just one or so in each segment. But that was enough for my four children ages 11, 9, 7 and 4. They were truly disturbed.

I just received my copy of the collector's set today, so this review is just based on my impressions after having seen the first two episodes (Part 1).

Maybe I'm biased from having grown up watching documentaries with him as narrator, but David Attenborough has to be the best narrator I've heard (with Avery Brooks coming in a close second). He does an excellent job in this series, and if you watch the "Making of" videos included on the discs you will even get to see him as he appears in the "Making Of" extras and is responsible for the narration in them as well. My only complaint related to the audio is that the narration is often separated by loud, overdramatic music. At times the score overlaps the narration and is sometimes loud enough that it is difficult to hear the Attenborough's voice. Also, the mix is slightly off and I often found myself turning the volume down during the dramatic music and back up when the narration continued. It did seem to get better as I got further into the disc, which may have been because I was so enthralled with the visuals...

...which have to be some of the best I've ever seen. The DVDs were excellently produced and are filled with the most vivid colors and sharpest images which are very comparable to those seen in the movie Baraka, which I also highly recommend. The excellent cinematography is evident throughout both episodes I have watched so far, although I did notice a speck or two of dirt on the waterproof camera casing in a few shots. There were also a few less saturated shots that didn't fit in as well with the rest of the footage. However, those are *very* minor flaws that will probably go unnoticed by the majority of viewers (I had to start looking for them to notice them at all).

The first disc contains two "Making Of" videos which describe some of the issues that the film teams had in filming the subjects in the first two episodes. I found these to be highly entertaining, and well produced. As I mention above, Attenborough does the narration for these videos as well. The only problem I had with the "Making of" videos was that I wanted them to be much longer.

The only 'gripe' I have with the DVDs (and the reason they get 4 stars instead of 5) would be the overall flow of the shows. They seem to jump from scene to scene with little to connect them. The overly dramatic music added to the feeling that I was being jerked around from animal to animal. Just as I would begin to be enthralled by the scene before my eyes, the score would rise to a crescendo and I was pulled on to the next scene. It's very similar to the start-stop feeling I had while being pulled from scene to scene in the recent Lord of the Rings DVD.

If you couldn't already tell, I don't hesitate to recommend these DVDs very highly.

If you're debating about buying this series my advice is BUY NOW! You won't be disappointed. It's beautifully done almost to perfection. If you grew up like I did fascinated by the undersea photography work of Jacques Cousteau - co-inventor of the SCUBA - then this takes it to a whole new level. Some of the underwater shots are SO amazing that you keep wondering how it was all done, and that is revealed in the special features. Only the BBC and David Attenborough could create such a beautiful piece of work.