BBC HIGH DEFINITION NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTION - Blu-ray review

For nearly two years now, the British Broadcasting Corporation's "Planet Earth: The Complete Collection" has been a permanent fixture on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray bestseller lists everywhere--and for good reason. After the success of their critically acclaimed nature series "The Blue Planet," Alastair Fothergill and his team from the BBC ambitiously set out to produce a groundbreaking follow-up of epic proportions. Filmed by forty cameramen across two hundred locations over the course of five long years, "Planet Earth" is a tour de force of documentary filmmaking. Words simply cannot describe the awe-inspiring level of quality programming--it truly is a modern masterpiece and a must-own for every home video library.

Of course with Fothergill raising the bar so high, the winner of four Emmys, a Peabody, and a host of other awards is one tough act to follow. So much so that even the BBC will have an uphill struggle in attempting to dethrone their own creation. But in the meantime, the studio has decided to reissue the definitive "Planet Earth: The Complete Collection" with "Galápagos," "Ganges," and "Wild China" as part of "The BBC High Definition Natural History Collection"--a gift set ideal for the holiday season.

"Galápagos" (2006) studies the unique geology and wildlife found on a cluster of volcanic Pacific islands--the Archipiélago de Colón--scattered across the equator nearly 1000 km off the west coast of South America. Named after the massive saddlebacked tortoises dwelling on some of the islands, the Galápagos consists of thirteen main islands and over a hundred smaller rocks and islets. For hundreds of years, the harsh climates and barren landscapes would label the islands as a "hellish" place until a young scientist named Charles Darwin visited the area with a fresh pair of eyes aboard the HMS Beagle in 1835. Darwin's studies on four of the islands played a pivotal role for his theories of natural selection and evolution--paving the way for his instrumental book "The Origin of Species."

Besides touching on the islands' history, the "Galápagos" series also captures high-quality footage of some of the strangest creatures on Earth. We get to see sunbathing Marine Iguanas blasting water from their snouts to flush excess salt from their systems, the bizarre mating behavior of the Blue-Footed Booby, and witness how the Woodpecker Finch actually uses tools to pluck grubs hiding in their foxholes deep within tree bark. The Galápagos Tortoise is another amazing animal that weigh upwards of 500 lbs. and can live to be 150-200 years old. The sad thing is, they've almost been driven to extinction as their low metabolism made them excellent sources of food that could easily be stored alive on ships for early European sailors. "Galapagos" is narrated by Tilda Swinton and consists of three 50-minute episodes: "Born of Fire," "Islands That Changed the World," and "Forces of Change."

"Ganges" (2007) studies the natural history of India's sacred "River of Life." Flowing from the Gangotri Glacier in the Indian Himalayas, east through the Gangetic Plains, and all the way to its delta in the Bay of Bengal, the 2510 km river is the driving force behind the area's culture, religion, and survival. Besides exquisite footage of lush forests, majestic mountain ranges, and rare wildlife like the Indian rhinoceros and river dolphin, I was also impressed how "Ganges" touched on certain elements of Hinduism. The writing is done in a manner so that it doesn't preach or force-feed anything down the viewers' throats which is respectable, and I especially found the connections of the river to a few of the religion's deities particularly intriguing. Sudha Bhuchar provides soothing voice narration for "Ganges" and the series is divided into three 50-minute episodes: "Daughter of the Mountains," "River of Life," and "Waterland."

Following a similar trend, "Wild China" (2008) is a virtual tour of one of the world's most exotic and enigmatic lands. The project was the symbiotic collaboration between the Natural History Unit and China Central Television (CCTV) that would not only be used to expand the BBC's nature catalog, but also help promote the country for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. "Wild China" is narrated by Bernard Hill and consists of six hour-long episodes: "Heart of the Dragon," "Shangri-La," "Tibet," "Beyond the Great Wall," "Land of the Panda," and "Tides of Change."

For a more thorough look at "Wild China," check out my full review for the standalone release here.

While the previous three documentaries focus on specific regions of our planet, the flagship of the collection--"Planet Earth: The Complete Collection" (2006)--showcases the beauty of the world's various ecosystems. In my review for the Planet Earth: Caves/Deserts/Ice Worlds DVD, I commented that the cinematography is so amazing that every frame is worthy of an art gallery. The same holds true for the whole series. After learning how the filmmakers trekked for days, weeks, sometimes even months through some of the most remote and untouched locations just for the perfect shot, I've gained even more respect and appreciation for them. I've seen great white sharks on the Discovery Channel numerous times, but never seen them totally airborne in brilliant slow-motion. I've also caught shows featuring herds of caribou before, but not with gorgeous aerial photography quite like this. I could go on and on, although it still wouldn't do the show the justice it deserves. Sir David Attenborough narrates all eleven 50-minute episodes: "From Pole to Pole," "Mountains," "Fresh Water," "Caves," "Deserts," "Ice Worlds," "Great Plains," "Jungles," "Shallow Seas" "Seasonal Forests," and "Ocean Deep."

Video:
The first three documentaries in this set feature a 1080i high-definition picture with "Galapagos" presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio (VC-1 video codec), "Ganges" in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (VC-1), and "Wild China" in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (MPEG-4/AVC). "Planet Earth" is the only one in full 1080p--with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio (VC-1 codec). All of the discs are BD-25s except for the second disc of "Wild China," which is a BD-50.

Aside from some minor posterization and a little bit of grain in a few scenes (i.e. the night vision and some of the underwater footage), the overall picture quality of the set is visually stunning with near reference-quality transfers.

On DVDTOWN's video scale, "Galapagos," "Ganges," and "Planet Earth" easily rate at a 9, while the slight softness of "Wild China" brings it down a peg to an 8.

Audio:
"Galapagos" sits at the lower end of the spectrum with a single English Dolby Digital 2.0 track with optional English subtitles. It's a decent stereo mix, but it doesn't sound quite as good as the other three documentaries in this collection.

"Ganges" on the other hand tops the charts with an English DTS-HD HR 5.1 as well as Dolby Digital 2.0 in Hindi and Bengali. The dialogue is crisp and Barnaby Taylor's score is an audible delight. For a documentary, I'd have to say that some of the surrounds were quite impressive, too. Optional subtitles in English are also included.

"Wild China" delivers Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English SDH and Mandarin subtitles. One problem I encountered with the 5.1 mix is no matter what I tried, I just couldn't get Bernard Hill's narration to come through the center speaker. I doubt it's my setup since all of the other titles in my library seem to work properly. It could just be a flawed disc, but I thought it was worth noting anyways.

Lastly, "Planet Earth" has an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. It's a solid one, although slightly overshadowed by "Ganges" of course.

Individually, I'd rate the audio for "Galapagos" a 6, "Ganges" a 9, "Wild China" a 7, and "Planet Earth" an 8.

Extras:
On "Ganges," there's a Behind the Scenes (26:49) featurette where the filmmakers reveal some of the difficulties they encountered filming a sunrise in the Himalayas with time-lapse photography, trying to capture images of evasive Asiatic black bears in Tolma via motion detectors and infrared technology, and documenting an encounter with a problem tiger in one of the local villages. There's also a string of six Deleted Scenes (18:34) containing extra footage from the cutting room floor.

The only other real bonus is "Hunting Dragons" (26:47) found on "Wild China." This is another behind-the-scenes featurette where the filmmakers explain how they overcame some of hurdles they faced during production.

One minor quibble that comes to mind is it would have been nice if the BBC used "The BBC High Definition Natural History Collection" as an opportunity to upgrade the Blu-ray of "Planet Earth" to finally include the bonus features (such as the "Planet Earth Diaries") only available on the DVD version. Unfortunately, though, it appears the studio just recycled the original Blu-ray release without the extras into this set. On the plus side, it does contain an additional ninety minutes of footage not included in the original televised broadcast.

All four documentaries come in their own Blu-ray keep cases housed together in a stiff cardboard slipcase.

The Final Cut:
As previously mentioned, the critically acclaimed "Planet Earth" was a pretty sweet deal on its own, but "The BBC High Definition Natural History Collection" just adds icing to the already delightful cake. By including "Galápagos," "Ganges," and "Wild China" to the fold, this updated release contains nearly a full day's worth of remarkable content suitable for virtually any age.

For individual film value, I'd have to rate "Planet Earth" a 10, "Galápagos" and "Ganges" a 9, and "Wild China" an 8. While the entire set is probably a bit too hefty for a stocking stuffer, it'll surely make for a sound goodie to tuck under the tree.