Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series | 
| Actor: David Attenborough
Studio: BBC Warner
List Price: $79.98
Buy New: $29.95
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Rating:  1794 reviews
Sales Rank: 44
Format: Anamorphic, Box Set, Closed-captioned, Subtitled
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Items: 5
Running Time: 44 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.6 x 1.3
MPN: WARDE2938D
UPC: 794051293824
EAN: 0794051293824
ASIN: B000MR9D5E
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/24/2007 Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you'll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, "From Pole to Pole," serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming--a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact. With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea's various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia's nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild. That's just a hint of the marvels on display. Accompanied by majestic orchestral scores by George Fenton, every episode is packed with images so beautiful or so forcefully impressive (and so perfectly photographed by the BBC's tenacious high-definition camera crews) that you'll be rendered speechless by the splendor of it all. You'll see a seal struggling to out-maneuver a Great White Shark; swimming macaques in the Ganges delta; massive flocks of snow geese numbering in the hundreds of thousands; an awesome night-vision sequence of lions attacking an elephant; the Colugo (or "flying lemur"--not really a lemur!) of the Philippines; a hunting alliance of fish and snakes on Indonesia's magnificent coral reef; the bioluminescent "vampire squid" of the deep oceans... these are just a few of countless highlights, masterfully filmed from every conceivable angle, with frequent use of super-slow-motion and amazing motion-controlled time-lapse cinematography, and narrated by Attenborough with his trademark combination of observational wit and informative authority. The result is a hugely entertaining series that doesn't flinch from the predatory realities of nature (death is a constant presence, without being off-putting), and each episode ends with 10-minute "Planet Earth Diaries" (exclusive to this DVD set) that cover a specific aspect of production, like "Diving with Pirahnas" or "Into the Abyss" (the latter showing the rigors of filming the planet's most spectacular caves, including the last filming ever officially permitted in the "Chandelier Ballroom," a crystal-encrusted cavern found over a mile deep in New Mexico's treacherous Lechuguilla, the deepest cave in the continental United States.) With so many of Earth's natural wonders on display, it's only fitting that the final DVD in this five-disc set is devoted to Planet Earth: The Future, a separate three-part series in which a global array of experts is assembled to discuss issues of conservation, protection of delicate ecosystems, and the socio-economic benefits of understanding nature as a commodity that returns trillions of dollars in value at no cost to Earth's human population. At a time when the multiple threats of global warming should be obvious to all, let's give Sir David the last word, from the closing of Planet Earth's final episode: "We can now destroy or we can cherish--the choice is ours." --Jeff Shannon More Planet Earth 
Planet Earth on Blu-ray | 
Planet Earth on HD DVD | 
More BBC DVDs | Stills from Planet Earth (click for larger image)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1789 more reviews...
 A new appreciation for the wonder that surrounds us! Show it to your children... April 21, 2007
Anjana Nigam (Atlanta, GA)
397 out of 407 found this review helpful
Never have I been so moved by a series to exclaim in wonder and actually shed tears of joy at the beauty that surrounds us on this wonderful planet.
I have been watching it on Discovery HD Theater when it premiered in March. The first episode "Pole to Pole" set the tone by showing the range of life and species that exist on this planet. The subsequent episodes delve into the habitats one by one. Mountains, Fresh Water, Caves, Deserts, Ice Worlds, Great Plains, Jungles, Shallow Seas, Seasonal Forests and Deep Ocean are the subsequent episodes. This is one series that has to be seen to be believed of what the intrepid cameramen of BBC/Discovery Channel have been able to capture through their sheer perseverance in remote locations. The HD technology has captured some scenes and images never seen before and some seen before but never with this clarity and beauty. 5 years, 62 countries and 204 locations is what it took to make this series, and the result is a lifetime TV series.
This is one series that fascinated my kid as much as it amazed me. She wanted to watch her cartoons but the moment the episode began she was captivated. Both of us shared together the wonder that is our Planet and it was she who brought up the subject of what we might be doing to it by our actions. We cried when we saw how polar bears have begun to drown as ice melts faster every year. The image of one lone bear trying to walk on ice but falling into the slushy waters, and having to swim longer distances to capture food and finally dying with exhaustion was heart breaking. The series makes no references to the present conditions, just in passing as with the polar bear. I think the directors and producers of the series just wanted to show us the beauty of the natural world, the fight for survival of several animals even when there is no climactic change. And as we keep watching and are filled with awe and wonderment that we're lucky enough to live on this planet, we begin to appreciate quietly in our hearts how we need to change today to ensure that we save our planet.
That is what my daughter felt on her own, she asked me why we were not doing more to save our natural world and I did not have any good answers. The last 3 episodes, Planet Earth: The Future delve deeper into these issues, which I haven't had a chance to see yet.
I watched a clip of David Attenborough's version video on the web before I started watching the series with Sigourney Weaver's narration, and I was disappointed by her blandness and lack of depth. I bought this set like many others to listen to Sir David's narration. I was torn between the regular DVD set and the HD DVD though. This series is good enough to make me buy an HD DVD player just to be able to watch it in its true form! However, the regular set has the Future series and the Planet Earth diaries which the HD set does not have. I loved the Planet Earth Diaries (or behind the scenes) with cameramen, it made a fascinating documentary on it's own, and wished some were longer. If they had the extra material in the HD DVD set, it would have been my first choice.
I had saved the Discovery HD Theatre epidodes on my HD Cable box and I was able to compare their image quality with this Standard DVD version playing on an upconverting DVD player. The Discovery Theater images were crystal clear, and you could literally see each grain of sand on the sea bed or each crevice on a rock face. The Standard DVD looked pretty good when upconverted to 720p and if I had not seen the HD version I would have been quite amazed with the image quality. Right now I've been spoilt by the Discovery Theater version. If you're considering the HD version it's a great choice if you have an HD DVD/BluRay player. You'll probably not see a better HD disc. This series was shot completely in HD format. From my experience in the media industry I can tell you that this is a very, very expensive format to shoot in especially given the 5 years that it took to make this series. Most television is shot in a regular digital format and then upconverted to the HD format later. That gives great images but they cannot compare to something shot totally in HD. That is the reason the image quality of this series is spectacular. In HD they were able to capture the action which when replayed in slow-motion also stays crystal clear. Therefore you have breathtaking images of a shark capturing its prey (and many others) in slo-mo.
This really is the set to buy. It's like a living documentation of the beauty of our earth, some of which was starting to disappear right as the cameras were rolling. Perhaps, that is why BBC and Discovery spared no cost to produce this series and it is a masterpiece.
 Perfect series....with one very minor flaw April 1, 2007
Allen (Los Angeles, CA)
374 out of 394 found this review helpful
First off, let me say Thank you to Amazon for clarifying that the great David Attenborough is the narrator for this series. No Attenborough would have meant no purchase on my part. Simply put the most amazing documentary on life and animals and the world around us that I have ever seen. The clarity is simply breathtaking(and that was on my tv brodcast which was in 720P...the HD transfers are in 1080p!!!!).A huge tahnak you to the creators and producers for doing this for people like myself and many others who care deeply about the world around us.
My one minor complaint has to do with the fact that on the HD transfers, there is absent the supplemental material that is present on the standard defintion release. There is no 110 minutes of behind the scenes footage of what took place on these excavations to these wonderous places or interviews with the people, Attenborough or anyone for that matter. The other special feature not found on either the Blu-Ray or HD-DVD transfer is Planet Earth: The Future, which is a 150 minute documentary(Shot entirely in high defintion mind you) which chronicles how the whole series was created, and how we can continue to preserve our earth so that we may continue to have wonderous documentaries like this for our children's children. Finally, amazingly there are charging the HD customers around $25 MORE for a product that has LESS content than on the standard defintion release.
Otherwise highly reccomended presentation that is extremely addictive and immeasureably sensational from the first scene to the last. Its simply amazes me the beauty of God's creations.
Attenborough not Weaver!!! March 26, 2007
Trotski (Springfield, VA USA)
199 out of 288 found this review helpful
Having already watched David Attenborough's entire BBC series Planet Earth last year on the BBC, I was somewhat looking forward to seeing this series broadcast on high definition here on the Discovery Channel today. To my horror, instead of hearing the familiar voice of Attenborough, I hear some female voice reading through the narration. After a brief search on the internet I have found out that Discovery Channel execs decided that they would change the narration for this program to Sigorney Weaver (yes, the actress who hasn't worked since the last Aliens sequel) specifically for American audiences.
Blech!!!! WHY??? I'm sorry I set my TiVo to record anything with David Attenborough as a narrator. You can hear in his voice that he KNOWS what he is talking about. He is PASSIONATE about the subject. Sigourney Weaver is simply awful. Every line is given with the same over-dramatic, lilting, "I'm reading this from a script" voice.
Do the execs at Discovery Channel think that Americans are so stupid that they would be confused by Attenborough's pronunciation of the word "zebra"? Or that he would say "from a to zed" instead of "a to zee" or that he would *gasp* use the word "nil" instead of "zero"? David Attenborough practically invented the nature documentary and has been making them since the 1970s. Replacing him with a Hollywood actress is like having Michael J Fox stand in for Howard Cosell to announce boxing.
Shame on you Discovery for cheapening this otherwise extraordinary program because you think that Americans won't understand proper English. Thankfully I have my copies of this program from last year's BBC broadcast.
Sweetness! March 26, 2007
Sarah Olivia (United States)
180 out of 228 found this review helpful
I begged a couple of guys across the hall in my apartment complex to let me watch this mammoth production with them this evening (since I don't get the Discovery Channel on my Limited Basic Cable package). The two men were agreeable, provided neither college nor professional basketball was on during the 8pm to 11pm time slot. They ended up loving it as much as I did, and all three of us marvelled at the wonder of nature.
They were far more enthusiastic about the brutal, action-packed hunting scenes than I was, but they tolerated my squealing about how cute the baby animals were (the red panda in particular). All of us had a good laugh over the male Bird of Paradise and his failed attempt to attract a mate---this puts a new spin on the phrase "trying too hard."
The ocean life was awesome--but if you've seen The Blue Planet, you'll already be familiar with most of the material covered. We were all disappointed that the creepy-looking Angler fish was not featured--this creature is long overdue for some serious orthodontics--talk about an overbite, or is that an underbite?--It can't even close its own mouth! After the ocean episode, we see from "behind-the-scenes" where one of the camera men was all but provoking a hungry shark in order to get a close-up, wearing no more protection than his wet suit and diving gear.
What a project, and what a great dividend we "shareholders" in Planet Earth get to behold! New high-speed camera technology allowed never-before footage of otherwise reclusive and elusive animals (and this nature documentary borrowed tricks from Hollywood to get the best shots, including low-hanging helicopters that kept up with the chase). If this project doesn't get the ball rolling for some serious conservancy, I don't know what will.
I enjoyed Sigorney Weaver's well-articulated narration and pleasant-sounding voice, but I think she could have put more emotion into narrating the more intense scenes of Planet Earth, especially considering what a fine actress she is.
Next Sunday can't come too soon!
 A sensationalist companion piece to The Living Planet July 24, 2007
Zev Toledano
95 out of 116 found this review helpful
You may be wondering why I didn't give this beautiful work 5 stars. This is because I'm objectively reviewing its educational value. As a life-long avid fan of the BBC nature documentaries and all things Sir David Attenborough, I will be reviewing Planet Earth in a more historical context, comparing it to previous releases:
Overview: Planet Earth attempts to cover the rich natural variety of the planet by focusing on one type of habitat/region per episode and displaying both the landscape and wildlife that occupy it. The venerable David Attenborough narrates (but is only partially involved in the writing this time) with his incomparable and dependable blend of warmth and objectivity. The BBC crew, as always, take their technical know-how to new heights, filming in high definition with all the advancing technology at their disposal to create another beautiful series.
This conceptual approach is not new for the BBC and has been covered already by The Living Planet (TLP) and will therefore be compared to it. Also, the heavy emphasis on spectacular hunts has been covered in Predators, as have the specific topics of penguins (Life in the Freezer), oceans (Blue Planet), birds (The Life of Birds) etc. and in much more depth.
Scope: The habitats covered overlap the ones in TLP but also cover new 'exciting' areas such as caves and mountains, skipping some of the more mundane but basic territories of grass-lands and coast-lines covered in TLP. Therefore this release is somewhat complementary to TLP in this regard.
Focus: Planet Earth is somewhat weak here, seemingly unable to drop beautiful images and stop exploring specific animals that it finds, all to the detriment of the theme of the episode. TLP managed to show only what is necessary for the topic, quickly skimming over many examples and varieties, and yet also provided more depth and information.
Structure: Very weak, even pathetic. TLP progressed logically from small to big, from simple to complex, and followed the timeline and progression of the features/animals it explored comprehensively. Planet Earth, however, feels almost random, in love with its beautiful images, slow-motions, and whimsically exploring very specific animals for many minutes at a time.
Educational value: Due to all of the above and its lack of depth, Planet Earth obviously suffers in comparison when it comes to making you feel educated. It focuses more on exotics, sensationalism, exciting hunts and kills, rare animals, wonders of the world, grand vistas, big dangers and huge numbers rather than bombarding us with information on the relevant facts and necessary details as in TLP.
Presentation: Obviously, Planet Earth is miles above TLP in terms of image quality, the rarity of things they managed to capture on film, and its style. But is that all we need?
David Attenborough: I miss the more intimate era of TLP where he used the planet as his classroom.
Summary: This is a sensationalist companion piece to The Living Planet. It gives a good feel of the riches of the planet, both overlaps and complements TLP in its scope, but is much less educational and well-structured. If you want screen-saver images, amazing footage and beauty, grab it. If you emphasize educational value, I suggest starting elsewhere first.
Side-Note: This release makes me think...what's next? I mean, Blue Planet and Life in the Undergrowth covered the last two obvious gaps in the BBC nature documentary repertoire. Planet Earth is their first 'remake'. Are we to expect more of the same? Will they start scraping the bottom of the barrel from now on? Will there be only more beautiful but mindless repetition? Or perhaps they will just keep seaching for new exotic things we haven't seen yet? Obviously there is always more to learn and see with nature but it feels like they covered everything systematically and the era of the fascinating introductory overview series is over. Perhaps more in-depth documentaries is the way to go but given the trends and where the money is, i doubt they'll do that. I'm apprehensive - is this the beginning of the end?
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