David Attenborough's The Trials of Life: Fighting (VHS)

Wonderful collection of animal films (and some interesting insects!) with spectacular photography and narrated by David Attenborough with wit and humor in his inimitable style. Learning something had never been as much fun.The program’s stories were collected in categories (homemaking, courting, etc.), so you can watch first the stories where you have a particular interest. Of course, I highly recommend watching all discs from beginning to end, as all are fascinating. (I wouldn’t have believed before watching that I could be moved by the heroic efforts of a lace bug to protect her brood of tiny babies from a beetle!)The discs’ stories do run in order, sort of, showing the “trials” of animals’ lives from birth onwards, so watching them in order works best, but since it’s not a fictional tale with only one or two characters, you can certainly skip around and enjoy it just as much.Worth every penny to buy and every minute of viewing. I give it 10 stars!!

Attenborough is one of the great videographers of all time, and I have never seen anything by him that I didn't like. What sets this series apart is its central focus on animal behavior. Even after all this time, the illustration of key concepts in the study of animal behavior is generally spot on. Some of the videos such as the killer whales attacking seals on an Argentine beach or the birds of paradise courting are among the first of their kind, and thus have a place in history in terms of documenting behavior that had not been filmed previously, or not been filmed well. I wish it was available in the US format; however, these DVDs can be read by certain players (I use VLC media player) on your PC without monkeying with your DVD player's region settings. And, if you have a Roku or equivalent, they can be streamed from your PC to your TV. Be aware that the resolution of video is NOT high-def.

After starting to watch Planet Earth, and seeing the producers reminesce about Trials of Life, I had flashbacks to when I was a toddler, and Dad woud show me the episode on Hunting because it had those mesmerizing killer whales on film. As I remembered this, I set out to get a copy of the tapes. What shocks me after watching it 20 years later is realizing, as a kid, I had ignored some truly high-quality footage of other animals. While Planet Earth introduces new and unique footage of animal interactions and also brings to the table an increased perspective of the majestic habitats and ecosystems occupied by those animals, these original Trials tapes represent an encompassing and foundational library of organism-centered interactions on film including fungal parasites, plants, insects, birds, fish, crustaceans, and mammals. It is a choice collection.

I had this a long time ago and loved it so it was a replacement. David Attenborough is one of our families heroes. My daughter and I always loved this and she is now going to college to be a zoologist. I am sure James Herriot, Jack Hanna, the Krat Bro.s and Steve Irwin (God rest)and her Moms obsession had something to do with this as well but David, well he is a charmer!This series has stuff that may now be old news but when it came out it was like WOW I can't believe animals are that smart. I can't wait to build on my collection.

Probably the best series the mighty David Attenborough ever made. Brilliant, and now more beautiful than ever thanks to the Blu-ray upgrade. Had to buy a region free player so that my students and I could watch it in the US. Worth every penny/pence.

I had the vhs version of Trials of Life years ago and loved to watch them. HOWEVER, we cannot locate a DVD player that they will work in, so they are not much good to us. Can you recommend a DVD player?

Too bad I didn't read fine print. Not for U.S. couldn't return and couldn't use.

Was delighted to find these on DVD previously had some segments on vhs.

A superb blu ray transfer to a first class wildlife documentary. Colours look natural and well balanced, never too bright and aggressively vibrant. Contrast is good and the picture is quite sharp while still showing some film grain in darker sequences. The content of the series feels a little more factual and educational than some recent series from the BBC as if it's trying to educate rather than just entertain the viewer. There's a distinct lack of thundering music, cameras flying over exotic locations, short narrative and all the rest. As the series is about the different stages of life we all face it's a little more varied than something like Life in the Undergrowth (2005) or Life of Birds (1998) where in the former for instance we might get a whole episode just on spiders. Nor is it location bound as the BBC series Africa (2013) and Planet Earth (2006) are.The footage of the Killer Whales hunting is especially impressive. Attenborough also makes more of an onscreen presence than he would do in later series as his age advanced, personally I find it a pleasure to see him on camera getting up close to the wildlife. I'd recommend this for family viewing despite some disturbing and weird scenes such as cannibalism, mothers committing suicide to give birth, and seals being thrown around as if for sport by orcas.My Blu Ray also came with a nice behind the scenes look at how it was made. The series took over 3 and a half years to film meaning most of the footage was shot in the late 80s though broadcast in the 1990s, the range of locations is also very impressive. The opening credit sequence is a little dated but that is a small complaint to have. Some of the footage is truly impressive especially on a well lit bright day, this includes sea lions giving birth on sandy beaches. The footage of the bats in their cave is wonderful and lacks the distracting blaring music we often get now from more recent BBC releases. Some creatures may appear multiple times throughout the series as each episode switches to a new form of behaviour. E.g. fighting, homemaking, hunting, courting, etc. Some of the footage of the chimpanzees in episode 2 is also a highlight, particularly the young one learning how to crack open a nut, thankfully too we don’t get the epic music or gracious slow motion, everything is presented in a calm, matter of a fact sort of manner. The score is has a 1980s feel and a lot of it seems to be flute based. The series doesn’t quite have the range of impressive overhead shoots of Planet Earth (2006) nor the super smooth camera movement of Life (2009) but what it lacks in style it more than makes up for in it’s content. For those of you who are a fan of Springwatch too Chris Packham and Simon King are both credited with Cameraman work on the series.Only one terrible shot and that's of a bird migrating, clearly fake.

The original masterpiece re-mastered in stunning Blu-Ray quality from the original negatives.12 x 50 minute episodes on four discs with a few extras, but considering this is 30 years old now it has been cleaned up to an amazing clarity with the sound improved as well from the DVD version.And most importantly it's complete and uncut, unlike the original DVD Version!A master-class in film-making and presentation, this should be mandatory viewing for all school Biology Classes.David's original classic series Life On Earth is also now available on Blu-Ray, but does anyone know why the fantastic second series The Living Planet, Life In The Freezer, Lost Worlds Vanished Lives, The Private Life Of Plants, The Life Of Birds, The Life Of Mammals and The Blue Planet weren't released on Blu-Ray? Come on BBC, please release them now!An essential, stunning, 5 star purchase, very highly recommended. Superb.

This 4 disc set although not modern has hardly aged at all. Attenborough is usually very good and he does not disappoint in this series. The camerawork is top rate and film quality has kept up well.

This is the 1990 rekindled and brings back so many memories of this brilliant series. The sight of the Killer whale beaching to catch the Penguins and Seals was then and still is an amazing piece of filming. The naration by Sir David was then and still is today brilliant. This man and team just do not make bad documentaries. They are amazing and provide a wonderful education for us adults and for our children. First class entertainment and value.

When I bought this product I had only seen one episode. It is exactly what it says on the box, the natural history of behaviour but it is presented in a great way. There are hundreds of examples to keep you interested so it doesn't just focus on one animal. The facts are interesting and different. I actually used it as a revision aid for my Animal Behaviour module; it gave me more examples to talk about in my exam and helped me link together different aspects of the course.I would recommend this DVD to anyone, the footage is amazing and David Attenborough is as always brilliant.