Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2786 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-01
• Rating: Exempt
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 715 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Life on Earth (1979) is an epic 13-programme series, presented by David Attenborough, offering a chronological account of the flora and fauna of planet Earth over a period of 3,500 million years. Whether recounting the first journey from the sea to the land, the development of insects and flowers, or "The First Forests" and "The Lords of the Air", Attenborough's enthusiasm is infectious. He guides us through "The Infinite Variety" of life from microbes to marsupials, via an unforgettable meeting with mountain gorillas, to conclude with "The Compulsive Communicators", mankind itself.

Three years in the making, involving 1.5 million miles of travel and featuring some of the most beautiful, breathtaking and ambitious photography then seen on television, Life on Earth was the first natural history blockbuster. It redefined TV by showing that an epic, serious wildlife documentary could be a massive success. As such, it remains a true television landmark and paved the way for Attenborough's The Living Planet and further entries in what became known as his "Life" series.

On the DVD: Life on Earth is presented complete in this DVD box set, with a total running time of 715 minutes (13 x 55 minutes). --Gary S Dalkin

Synopsis
Hosted by David Attenborough, this critically acclaimed TV series is a fascinating history of nature that captures the rarely seen mysteries and splendours of Life on Earth. It took Attenborough and his crew three years of painstaking, patient filming to capture this beautiful footage.

Customer Reviews

Still amazing after 25 years
First broadcast way back in 1979, Life on Earth remains the single most impressive achievement in the history of wildlife film-making.

The series offers a broad overview of the whole history of life, beginning with the very earliest cells and leading right up to the appearance of man, using footage of various living plants and animals from around the world to illustrate each major episode in the story. For anyone with an interest in nature, and who would like a good introduction to evolutionary biology that is both stunning and superbly explained, you can do no better than this incredible series.

It is true, as many reviewers have pointed out, that the content of this DVD shows some signs of age. This is inevitable when you remember that it is separated from us by 25 years of filming technology and scientific knowledge. Most noticeable to me is that the colour print is not as rich and vivid as a contemporary film, but then again the clarity of the pictures remains remarkably good with only a few short sequences seriously falling below par when compared with a recent film such as Life of Birds. For example, there are some underwater shots in one of the episodes that can't really hold a candle to the crystal clear material that we're treated to in the Blue Planet. The onwards march of scientific research means that, very occassionally, some of the information in the films might be considered out of date, but this is rare. Finally, there were no computer graphics to speak of 25 years ago and some of the animated sequences that are used in particular to illustrate features of ancient, long extinct lifeforms do look very dated. If the series were to be remade today then it would be augmented with much more sophisticated reconstructions.

However, when all of this is said and done, the two essential elements of this series still never fail to impress. These are the presentation of David Attenborough - always clear, authoritative and compelling - and, of course, the wildlife photography itself.

It is first and foremost to David Attenborough and the BBC that we owe our thanks for the fact that most British people's impression of the natural world about them includes many of the creatures and environments with which we are familiar today. If all we were fed was the kind of cutesy baby animals and crocodile baiting fare of the Disney variety then the effect that this might have had on environmental awareness and charitable giving to green organisations can only be guessed at. And besides, given that the spectacle and drama of the best wildlife films is often far better than most of what you see on TV and down the cinema, we would also have lost a great source of entertainment. Even if this kind of thing were all that the licence fee was spent on, it would still be worth every penny.

The greatest wildlife and natural history documentary ever
In January 1979, I was 6 years old when the BBC first aired Life on Earth. I was hooked from the first episode and have recorded the series on video from repeats.

After bombarding the BBC for the last 4 years about when the full series was going to be released on DVD, they have finally done it.

This series was ground breaking and sparked my interest in the natural world, which I'm just as keen on today. The footage shot from all over the earth was brilliant and the natural progression of the story of evolution was very informative and interesting. David Attenborough is the greatest communicator of the natural world in television. T

The photography editing and story telling is so good that you could sit through all 13 episodes back to back.

Watch and be amazed at the rich diversity of life this world has to offer.

Pure Brilliance
It has not lost any of it charm since it first appeared on TV. Vivid colours and great research behind a benchmark in Natural History programs. Some of the ideas/theories may have changed in th last 20+ years, but in essence, it is still a valuable introduction to Life on Earth