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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > Animals > Environment > TV Mini-Series > British > Nature’s Most Amazing Events (BBC Earth/Mini-Series/Blu-ray + DVD-Video)

Nature’s Most Amazing Events (BBC Earth/Mini-Series/Blu-ray + DVD-Video)

 

Picture: B/C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: B

 

 

After so much success with David Attenborough and Planet Earth (2006, reviewed elsewhere on this site), you can see why BBC Home Video continues to issue more nature programming and with titles like Galapagos (also reviewed elsewhere on this site) among others, they have reinforced their reputation for offering some of the best special interest nature documentary titles in the field. Now comes another mini-series, Nature’s Most Amazing Events.  David Attenborough again narrates and the episodes this time include:

 

 

1)     The Great Melt

2)     The Great Salmon Run

3)     The Great Migration

4)     The Great Tide

5)     The Great Flood

6)     The Great Feast

 

 

Each of the hour-long programs are quick to point out an environment in decline and in crisis as it also shows the nature in fully realized ways you might not have seen before, and not just because of global warming.  The set as a while is a fine flipside to Planet Earth, though you should be advised that this can be graphic at times and not always child-friendly.  Still, it was not just a by-the-numbers “let’s run through the same old nature” situation.  Instead, Nature’s Most Amazing Events is the latest quality installment in a series of documentaries the BBC seems committed to producing and that is definitely a good thing.

 

The program was shot in 1080i HD and is presented in 1.78 X 1 on both formats, looking especially good on Blu-ray, though the 480p anamorphically enhanced, standard DVD is not bad but not great.  The is motion blur more than expected, some shots that looks soft and limited, especially in some shots over others.  The DVD can cover up some flaws, while the Blu-ray shows details, color and depth the DVD is not capable of.  The sound is sadly only available in both formats as Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with limited surrounds and not a 5.1 mix like Planet Earth, indicating that this is a production conceived earlier.  The combination is good, but could have been better.  At its best, the image looks great.  There are no extras, though Attenborough) hosts epilog addendum “Events Diaries” at the end of each show.  We’ll just count those as parts of the episodes, but they are all good.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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