David Attenborough - Life Story [Blu-ray] [2014]

Excellent video. We enjoyed every chapter of amazing photography and nature facts.

(The title of this one may be a bit confusing: Don't mistake this with Attenbourough's more personal 'Life Stories')So it's been two years, and the BBC produced another flagship nature documentary series. I've been watching dozens of these for 30 years now and I keep expecting to get tired of them, but I figure either I really like nature documentaries, or the BBC is just that consistently good. But then again, I've watched several that didn't grab me, and this one is definitely an exciting and interesting one. (By the way, they also produce many 'lesser' documentary series that are only available on the UK site, the best of the recent lot being 'Monkey Planet').Thematically, this is not new, covering the challenges of life at its different stages for a wide variety of animals: First Steps, Growing Up, Home, Power, Courtship, and Parenthood, for a total of six episodes. This theme was used in 'Life' as well as 'Trials of Life'. But the content itself is mostly new, with a very dedicated team working for years to capture incredible scenes of animal behaviour never before caught on film.Some behaviours have been covered before by the BBC, such as the fights amongst turtles underwater while the male hangs onto the female (Life in Cold Blood) or the often-used drama of turtles trying to get back from the beach into the sea after laying eggs, and the first attempts at flying by albatrosses with sharks standing by to eat every failure (Trials of Life), as well as the often-used meerkats and bower birds.But the majority is new and there are many surprising, dramatic or funny scenes. The one that stands out is the mind-blowing scene of young barnacle geese jumping off a cliff and bouncing their way down very painfully, some not making it alive. And then there is the unbelievable, underwater 'crop-circle' made by Japanese puffer fish, the dancing male peacock spider that tries to seduce a very aggressive female that only wants to eat him, mantid kung-fu, Arctic foxes hunting by torpedoing their faces into snow, and a line of hermit crabs sorting themselves by their size while waiting to move into a new home.It's Gunton producing this one, so you get surprising behaviour in the vein of 'Life' rather than the postcards of 'Planet Earth'. And we get the usual ten-minute diaries at the end of each episode so that we can empathize with the hard work of the team.David Attenborough's voice is showing its age a little this time, but after thirty years of listening to him, there is nothing more soothing to my ears.The image quality is stupendous. Obviously.

BBC "Life Story" crew spent 1,900 days filming in 29 countries on six continents, generating 1,800 hours of footage. Renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough has a remarkable treasure trove of stories following his 6-year career with the BBC. This series will bring to life some of his most memorable. This production is in the same line as the Earth collection. What a privilege to watch wild animals undisturbed in their natural environments and no one accomplishes that like the crew of BBC and the talented, dedicated and educated David Attenborough. I wish David lots of health since he is truly indispensable. No better way to watch a nature documentary other than having David as the narrator with his unique accent and personality. These are amazing stories, survival stories of different animals in the wild. Amazing work. Bravo, bravo, bravo.Do not mistaken this for Life Stories (David Attenborough) [Blu-ray] which was produced in 2013. BBC documentaries usually do not become available till they are played on PBS first so most likely the DVD is a EU version.

For those who said it won't play. You may have bought the wrong region version. I had a similar issue with human planet and I had to return it and bought the north American version. Alternatively it is on comcast - if you have DVR and comcast- on demand you will just miss out on sound since it's only stereo

What a great show.. After you watch enough David Attenborough you realize Animals Are People Too... They have cultures, feelings, friends and foes.. They communicate all over the place.....

maybe sir david's best long live the king

Won't play on my brand new Sony blu ray player. I bought a copy, returned it thinking it was just a defective copy. I reordered it, only to have the same problem. Iam so disappointed. I love Sir David Attenborough and these amazing bbc nature shows and I haven't been able to watch this. I hope they produce some specifically for region 1 or solve this problem somehow.

Defective product. Neither disc would play on my Blue-ray player. Returning to Amazon. But will order a new copy as we saw the first episodes on CBC and really want to have this programme in our David Attenborough collect.

Les séquences sont remarquable et le commentaire est épatant. La première séquence vaut tous les thrillers

Definitely at par with planet earth, life and the other top nature series.

This series was shown for the first time on television in 2014 and created considerable admiration for the latest levels achieved in the photography. When this Blu-ray version of the series became available it received even greater acclaim. Now the same discs can be viewed via the latest 4K televisions, a level of technology which was unavailable for the general public at that time. With the aid of these increasingly available 4K televisions, the series packs even more of an awesome punch visually.The structure of the series essentially charts the transition though the stages of life from birth to parenthood. This sequence of stages is seen to be the essential aim of all varieties of life as each struggles to continue its own individual survival. Examples of this development are drawn from all parts of the world with each episode focusing on one stage at a time. A wide selection of creatures representing the range of invertebrates to vertebrates are focused upon throughout in order to make the series universally applicable to all forms of life.The challenge for the film makers was to revisit previous life topics in a fresh way and to attempt to illustrate facets of life never before captured on ‘film.’ Just having improved technology was not considered sufficient to justify the series. It can be confirmed that, without doubt, such intentions have been fully met in each episode with some truly remarkable coverage.The commentary by David Attenborough for many viewers, and that includes this one, is an integral part of the success of these programs. At all times the depth of his understanding and his commitment and belief in what he says is absolute. It takes the experience far beyond casual, although awe-inspiring, visual entertainment and deeply into the realm of studies. These are delivered in a way that transforms what could be an academic exercise into a gripping natural drama that has implications for all life on earth. The responsibilities for all forms of life are made clear as well as the consequences of failure.Quite apart from the main feature of each program there are also the additional 10 minute documentaries added on which give an insight into the making of part of each program. One mesmerising documentary in this series, for example, features the team enduring the most unimaginably inhospitable environment in their attempt to capture the behaviour of bonobo apes. The privations for the team are extreme and lead from initial hope and determination through to utter dejection. The final success results in ecstasy for the cameraman only just falling short of tears.The above is only intended to give pointers as to what lies within this series. To do full justice to the series requires an understanding and appreciation that can only be gained by purchasing the discs.This is yet another wonderful series from the BBC. This makes an imperative viewing experience.

Extraordinaria, como prácticamente todos los productos de la serie documental de Sir David Attenborough. Aviso que el Blu-Ray no tiene subtítulos en ningún otro idioma que el inglés. Con la capacidad de estos discos me resulta increíble esta carencia. Solo por eso le he quitado una estrella.

Diese Doku zeigt nicht nur fantastische Bilder der Tierwelt. Sie zeigt auch alles über den Kreislauf des Lebens. Einfach anschauen. Ist eine der besten!