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Planet Earth : Complete BBC Series (5 Disc Box Set) [2006]

starring: David Attenborough
directed by: Alastair Fothergill

November 27, 2006
My brother just bought this for me (I put him up rent free for months when he came back from traveling). One of the best things he has ever got me. There are five DVDs and I've already watched three, I've only had it a week.

When you watch it your just in awe of the scenery, it's beautiful. There is a purposefully made score for it that just adds to the enjoyment. As for people that say they can't hear David Attenborough because of the music, they must be deaf the music always quietens down when he talks. I love the Planet Earth Diaries parts, it's very enjoyable to watch.

I may be wrong but I think this was the first or first major nature progamme to be filmed fully in HD and it's all the better for it.

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Planet Earth: Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]

starring: David Attenborough

November 12, 2007
I wholly agree with the review entitled "Jaw-Dropping". The photography in this series is just staggeringly beautiful, intensely moving. The narration is perfectly paced, restrained, witty, thought-provoking. The variety of coverage is amazing and the experience as a viewer is to be carried along entirely, from being distressed at the fate of the creatures, to awe-struck by their beauty, to fascinated by their individuation and adaptation to their environment.

Forget the quibbles - the picture is awesome and the sound is wonderful. This is a Blu-ray must-buy.

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Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat [1999]

starring: Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman, Richard Attenborough, Joan Collins, Christopher Biggins
directed by: David Mallet

April 23, 2007
Doesnt everyone just love Joseph?! The songs are great, its really funny and up to date, and Donny Osmond is great. Do i really need to write anything else?
Its brilliant!

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Civilisation : Complete BBC Series (4 Disc Box Set)

starring: Kenneth Clark, David Attenborough

April 18, 2005
When I ordered the series, Civilisation, I did expect exactly that - A broad, informative and exciting review of civilization on our planet. What I got was a Mr. Clark's narrow-minded view bordering on arrogance, a series full of long, sweeping self-congratulatory panning camera shots of artwork set to classical music Mr. Clark, concentrates on what is mainly Western Europe art history between the 5th Century A.D. and the 20th Century. As if Western European civilization just sprang up out of its own efforts and devices, the great civilizations preceding it are hardly even a footnote. The shining beacon of Moorish or indeed Islamic culture and science as a whole during the dark ages, the power and influence of a Byzantium that stood alone while Europe was ... Read More:

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Life In Cold Blood

starring: David Attenborough

February 25, 2008
For some reason I enjoyed this series far more the second time around. As is usual with more recent BBC wildlife series, the actual camera work is visually stunning. Shots are posed for effect and I spent most of the time wishing for a bigger screen than my poor old CRT telly.

As most of the stars of the film are slower moving than the usual subjects of current wildlife documentaries, it was a pleasure to see David Attenborough daring to handle snakes, frogs and lizards, annoy nesting alligators and don a specially coated visor to demonstrate how a cheesed off snake spat venom. It will be very sad if this is his last series- either due to age -or worse the threatened BBC cutbacks.

There aren't any extra features over and above the originally broadcast ... Read More:

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A Matter Of Life And Death [1946]

starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough
directed by: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

September 14, 1998

This film has a fabulous opening sequence, and a lovely opening scene featuring David Niven as 'Peter Carter' and Kim Hunter as 'June'.

This is a fascinating movie with an interesting topic, and as so many have said before; this is a film way ahead of its time. The fact that this was filmed using both black and white and colour adds to the 'Special Effects'.

'Peter Carter' gets a second chance at life and love when he has to jump from a crashing Aeroplane during the War.

Marius Goring stars in one of his most 'colourful' roles as the 'Conductor 71' character. Also stars Raymond Massey.

An entertaining movie.

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Tiger - Spy in the Jungle [2008]

starring: David Attenborough

June 09, 2008
Covering 2 years in the life of a tigress and her 4 cubs, this 3 part documentary is truly - well- amazing. I'm so pleased that it remains unsentimental- the only tiger with a name is the father, "Charger" (after his unnerving habit of charging the film crew). (I just couldn't watch Meerkat Manor which I found cloyingly anthropomorphic). Yes it does slightly overplay the tension in the 3 episodes (will their mother return after a mysterious absence to catch them dinner?). But injury from territorial scraps with other tigers is a real threat to survival- as evidenced in the documentary. It's quite astounding that these cubs grow so quickly, yet are incapable of learning to catch their own food for such a long period of time- in fact they bounce around interfering with their mother's stealthy ... Read More:

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The Life Collection : David Attenborough (24 Disc BBC Box Set)

starring: David Attenborough

December 05, 2005
This collection of documentaries by David Attenborough shows us that he is still the benchmark when it comes to explain in simply and precise, yet captivating and inspirational language the beauty of our planet.

The imagery is stunning and even on the earlier series show an attention to detail and skilled craft of all aspects of film and documentary making that today's crocodile tamers will find very hard to emulate.

Lost for words in the face of such passionate professionalism! Inspiring and something to aspire to. As simple as that.

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Life of Mammals [2002]

starring: David Attenborough

April 07, 2003
David Attenborough introduces the mammals effortlessly and very well. He seems to be happy in each location and aware that the efforts of the team will result in brilliant television when broadcast. I think the programmes flow from one to the next better than other LIFE series because I didn't feel let down by a weaker episode. I'm not sure whether to thank the BBC or the Class that is the mammals for this. Cats Dogs Rodents Marsupials Anteaters Omnivores Primates Seals&Whales entertain and fascinate, but even so this could have flopped were it not for the world masters at work on sound visuals and editing. Credit to David Attenborough for dividing the mammals by DIET, this allows creative titles such as 'the Chisellers' the 'the Insect hunters', making it easy to empathise with the creatures and understand ... Read More:

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The Private Life Of Plants [1995]

starring: David Attenborough
directed by: Neil Lucas (II)

September 01, 2003
The quality of this series is truly remarkable and its title is not misleading: It reveals the private life of plants in a breathtakingly new way. It shows how varied the strategies of plants are in the struggle for survival and it sheds light on the intricate ways in which plants and animals have adapted to each other. The quality of the time-lapse photography in this six-part series is truly amazing. Camera movements, focus shifts and perfect lighting create dramatic time-lapse sequences with a quality unmatched by anything else that has been shown on TV. It's simply a class of its own. See how plants crawl, fight, and devour other plants and animals. The series also demonstrates how plants and animals live together, a relationship forged by half a billion years of co-evolution, and how plants often exploit ... Read More: