I’m a big fan of BBC documentaries. There’s something about them that’s so uplifting, so utterly positive, that even in a world where the Gulf of Mexico is disappearing, possibly forever, and the Great Barrier Reef is being chipped away at year by year, and the East coast of Africa is a toxic dumping ground, you can still take a moment and appreciate the beauty that this planet does have left.
When you consider the quality of most BBC Blu-ray sets and the quantity of video you get in them, the prices are actually an incredible bargain. I felt that way about Planet Earth and I feel that way about the latest Beeb series to hit shelves: Life.
Spanning four Blu-ray discs, there are two versions of Life available; one narrated by David Attenborough and one narrated by Oprah Winfrey. I’ve watched all of the Attenborough series and the first disc of the Oprah version. Both versions are excellent, but growing up with Attenborough documentaries makes his version stand out for me.
There are ten episodes, starting with the challenges facing life, then moving on to cover the elements of hunting, life in the major bodies of water on Earth, and the individual kingdoms of life. What’s mind-boggling is how the teams that captured this footage were able to do so, and in high definition no less.
Life is a brilliant purchase and a must have in your collection for a few reasons. First, it’s a stunning documentary that will teach anyone and everyone something about the planet on which we live. Second, it’s some of the best demonstration material for your HDTV available. I watch a lot of HD material, and I found myself with my jaw hanging open quite often while I was watching Life.
The picture and sound quality are excellent. It’s Full HD 1080p (except for the PLANTS, which is 1080i) and the audio is DTS-HS Master Audio.
Each episode has a special Life on Location feature that gives you an inside look to how it was filmed. Seeing the process is almost as impressive as the finished product.
There isn’t really a whole lot of detail to go into with a review like this. In short: Life is brilliant, it looks good, and it sounds good. If you don’t own a copy you’re doing yourself a disservice. The only downside to Life is that there isn’t more of it.
