Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-11-30
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 550 minutes

DVD Description
Discover the glorious variety of life on Earth and the innovative, intelligent and sometimes bizarre tactics animals and plants employ in order to survive. More than four years in the making, taking full advantage of the latest advances in filming technology, this breathtaking ten-part blockbuster reveals the natural world’s most remarkable behaviour in unprecedented depth and detail.

Full of amazing filming ‘firsts’ on every continent and in every habitat – from 250 six foot Humboldt squid hunting as a pack to Komodo dragons (the world’s largest venomous animal) stalking buffalo and cheetahs (notorious lone hunters) working cooperatively to hunt prey twice their size – this is evolution in front of your eyes. Yet this astonishing series is not simply about revelation, it is also about entertainment. With sequences that inspire awe, wonder, sadness and humour, Life allows us to truly relate to the animals and their endeavours, and to understand and appreciate them as never before.

Customer Reviews

Sir David Attenborough- The BBCs greatest asset
I sometimes despair of the BBC under current management with there huge salaries and 70p car parking claims! That said I can forgive Mark Thompson almost anything when it comes to squeezing every last drop of wisdom and learning from one of the greatest Britons of this century Sir David Attenborough. The words "national treasure" is overused but what we are witnessing is the development of the most remarkable "database" of natural history which will last through the ages but which also comes with a serious warning about our impact on the climate. Sir David and his partners the brilliant BBC natural history unit based at Bristol have generated one of the great bodies of research work of the past hundred years and a miraculous advert for intelligent television and quality programming.

You also sometime recoil when you consider what a wasted medium television has become. Bruce Springsteen once sung of "57 channels and nothing on" and surf that remote on any day and you sometimes long for the days of 4 firecely competitive channels who had to major on quality and not the lowest denominator. Quite how we have managed to debase the genre in this way is worrying and astounding. Yet before we lose faith there is always oasis of quality and in the case of Attenborough's programmes the standard never dips.

In this current programme "Life" there is so many highlights it is difficult to single them out. But one thinks of the filming of the tense and pitiful portrayal of the first footage of komodo dragons hunting a water buffalo and stalking the album for weeks as the poison they have injected through bites disable the creature. The tricks of Dolphins to catch mullets by stirring up ocean mud and the killer whales coming to shore to catch seals are equally memorable. Although the stars series are the three Kenyan cheetahs.

Another review on this page suggests that "Life" has a quality of De ja vu and has been done better in the series "Blue Planet" or "Planet Earth". A churlish argument in my view since much of Attenborough's work is complimentary and while I accept that the two aforementioned series are magisterial, "Life" stands in its own right as a thrilling addition to his oeuvre. This is the only programme that my children will actively leave various X Boxes and Play stations to sit down and watch. They will also not complain if it clashes with some celebrity nonsense or trivia on another channel. Attenborough's programmes challenge, stimulate, provoke and most importantly make you think. They are also populist, intelligent, hugely watchable and thus viewed by millions across the the world. He has done broadcasting a massive service and we all owe him the most profound debt.

Nature In All Her Glory!
I am watching the series each week & bought the dvd the day it was released. There are so many wonderful scenes it's all but impossible to pick out just one. But if I had to choose a favourite, it would have to be those young meerkats falling asleep standing up.

'Life' is filled with such gems, those clever dolphins, that selfless octopus, the stalk-eyed flies, the elephant family, that incredibly cute little shrew, that young ibex outwitting a predator it's never seen before, the cheetahs working together to bring down an ostritch, etc, etc, etc,.

This is definately one for the dvd shelf!

Deja vu
There is little doubt that the BBC are unrivalled in their outstanding natural world documentaries. Their production values, exclusive access to David Attenborough, vast experience and ability to spend millions on the shows means they constantly set the standard for everyone else.
The 10 episode series 'Life' see's the up-close and stunning technical wizardry of 'Planet Earth' reproduced but this time it is looking solely at the life upon the planet. Divided into categories such as 'Amphibians' & 'Birds' & 'plants' etc plus a couple that look at sub-genres like 'Hunters & hunted' & 'Challenges of life'.
Before offering any criticism let me say that the values here are as high as ever, the creatures & plants fascinating and the depth of research breathtaking. The photography at times takes on a surreal aspect that almost leaves the viewer feeling detached and makes certain scenes seem almost 'unreal'. The problem here is that, while the simply superb 'Planet Earth' was a groundbreaking use of new technologies, unheard of patience, previously unseen moments and a collection of quality footage that was fantastic, it drew the viewer in and almost as it were put you in the front seat of the filming vehicle or up in the balloon or helicopter etc. You felt as if you were there and the huge array of machinery & technology used to capture those moments was kept in the background while every effort was made to make everything seem real and close. It wasn't until the last 10 minutes of every programme, when just how it was all done was shown, that you realised just what went in to it all and how complicated and at times mind numbing the efforts to capture a scene were. With 'Life' the exact opposite is true. The main 50 minutes are interesting, eye opening and well worth a watch but the eagerness to showcase new technical abilities has left this feeling, as I said, unreal. It's not until the final 10 minutes of behind the scenes footage that a sense of reality is restored.
Added to this is the fact that this almost feels like the unwanted bits of 'Planet Earth' & 'Life of Mammals'. Both of those were new, previously unseen and exciting but 'Life' retreads a by now well trodden path and although it has much to offer and is worth while I'm afraid that it simply cannot compare with the sheer scale and jaw dropping achievement of 'Planet Earth'.
I simply don't feel that this is a necessary title to own if you already have the likes of 'Planet Earth', 'Life of Mammals' or 'Blue planet'. Surely those easily re-watched and much loved pioneering series would simply leave this gathering dust upon the shelf once the initial 1st watch was over?