Planet Earth
The BBC Natural History Collection
Documentary
Host: David Attenborough
BBC Video
Release date: January 22, 2008

BBC’s immensely popular documentary series on the planet we all call home is a unique set which surpassed all other nature documentaries I have seen, though it would undoubtedly take countless years to truly document all the wonders that fill our planet. Planet Earth is a good start, with each hour-long episode dedicated to various regions or environments to bring the large gamut of life on Earth into view.

Each episode in this 5-disc DVD set consists of exactly what each titles suggest, an in-depth view of the lives of various species in all extremes of habits. I found the episode about caves to be particularly fascinating because, as the opening monologue mentions, a majority of the caves on Earth are still largely unexplored, and the potential for new discoveries in our own backyards so to speak is still very much alive.

To say the cinematography of Planet Earth is beautiful would be an understatement of unprecedented proportions. There is a reason that this series was one of the highest selling HD-DVDs during the format’s short lifespan and continues to sell well on Blu-Ray. If you are unable to watch this series on a HDTV, you are truly missing out. Never have I seen any documentary with such amazing visuals as Planet Earth. Whether it is an ice flow, a ranging herd, or even a flock of literally millions of bats, I found myself being hypnotized by the beautiful way nature moves and was captured on film. I am hardly what you would call a nature lover, but from a filmmaker’s perspective I found the shot compositions in this series to be truly amazing and found myself thinking… “gosh what it must have been like setting up that shot.”

And to my pleasant surprise, I found my curiosities satisfied by episode bonus features, which show exactly that. Commentary from crew members and behind the scenes footage is usually humdrum and nothing original on most films, but Planet Earth is different in that there is no sound stage, no studio lights, and no special effects. To see and hear about the experiences of the crew members as they set out to capture this amazing footage is both educational and amusing to behold (especially in the case of the cave full of guano).

I will say that this series is great, but unless you love nature and documentaries, you will find little rewatch value in it. It is a beautiful series to behold, but visuals alone cannot carry it. Nature can sometimes be as brutal as it is beautiful, so you must have the stomach for it. The quality substance is there, but whether you’ll find it interesting boils down to personal taste. If you are the kind of person who enjoys watching National Geographic specials and round-the-clock specials on the History Channel, it’s unlikely Planet Earth will ever be far from your DVD player.

Planet Earth is also available as part of The BBC Natural History Collection (Planet Earth / The Blue Planet / The Life of Mammals / The Life of Birds)