Life story reveals the challenges faced by individual animals at different stages of their lives all shot in sumptuous HD quality. Life Story has also been produced with extensive use of surround sound effects, and with out-of-frame sounds changing with each change of shot - something that is often minimised to avoid distraction but which works really well on wildlife material. These effects make you feel immersed and engaged in the visuals which are of course brilliant.
Some interesting production facts -
- It took 18 people 4 years to produce
- Filmed in 29 countries over 6 continents
- They spent 297 nights in tents
- 1800 hours of footage recorded which equates to over 64,000 dvds!
- 23 tonnes of equipment transported worldwide
- The crew took over 2000 malaria tablets
- Spent 48 days at sea
- Chartered 4 planes - 2 snow bikes - 5 boats
- 1 million flamingos deserted their nests before the crew got there to film them!
- 3,384 miles travelled by boat
- They walked over 1,000 miles through the congo alone
and they had one car crash - nobody was hurt! :)
This dvd is split into six episodes. . .Here's a quick synopsis. . .
- First Steps. . .
Introduced by David Attenborough we see meerkat pups emerging from their burrows as David documents some of the threats facing new born animals starting out in life. In Greenland, young barnacle geese face a perilous start in life. The parents coax their five goslings to jump from the nest, perched on the edge of a 400-foot cliff face. Their survival depends on luck and a good jumping technique! Baby humpback whales must grow quickly to build strength for a long migration, but when a group of over-eager males chase a female, the mother seeks the help of a lone male whale to protect her weakened calf from sharks, behaviour never filmed before. We also see Humming Birds, Arctic Foxes and more.
Growing Up. . .
This episode focuses on the challenges faced by young animals as they gain independence. Which in my case is how much money they can get out of me! A young Arctic fox is shown attempting to catch lemmings by snow diving, a skill it must master if it is to make it through the harsh winter. Here also see Indian Tiger cubs who are forced into independance early having to survive for themselves with consequences for one over confident cub. . .a pair of Cheetah sisters on their first hunt learn to work together to bring a larger animal down.
Home. . .
Here we see how animals go about establishing, using and defending their homes. Starting on the plains of Zambia we see African Hunting Dogs rearing and defending their young by using their territory. Shell swapping (house swapping) Hermit Crabs, Mountain Goats, Pikas and Chimpanzees feature in this episode also.
Power. . .
The fourth stage of Life's journey is for animals to gain power and the privileges it brings: enhanced social status and a better chance of siring offspring. Elder Chimpanzees ostracize a young male but through learning a spear hunting technique he gains access to the group females. We also see Archer Fish, Bald Eagles, Cobras, Honey Ants and witness the brutality of boxing Kangaroos! A great episode.
Courtship. . .
The competition to breed has created both the most extraordinary beauty and the most violent battles seen in nature. Waved albatross pair for life and spend hours canoodling with each other. But for a male peacock jumping spider one wrong move in his dazzling courtship routine may well prove fatal. A male flame bowerbird creates a stick sculpture decorated with shells and berries to impress a mate. The most extraordinary display of all is created by a tiny, drab male pufferfish! I find shoes, chocolates, perfume, flowers and handbags to the trick!
Parenthood. . .
In the final episode of Life Story, animals attempt to rear their offspring. This takes extraordinary commitment, and a parent may even need to risk its own life for its offspring. Here we see - A female turtle, returning to the island where she was born 30 years ago, hauls herself up the beach to lay her eggs in a safe place above the tide line - A mother bonobo chimpanzee lavishes care on her son for five years, deep in the Congo forest where one of her most important lessons is showing him a hidden forest pool where they harvest lilies rich in minerals essential for their good health - A mother zebra must decide where to lead her young foal across the Mara river so that they can reach new grazing grounds - In a touching scene elephants delicately stroke the bones of an ancestor. We cannot know what they are thinking, but perhaps like humans they have a sense of a shared history?
As ever with these BBC docs you get the making of for each episode and also included is a bonus interview with David Attenborough.
Amazingly filmed we witness all this in glorious vibrant colors and stunning visuals with brilliant audio. If you have a surround sound system you're in for a treat!
The audio and visuals are non other than first class here. Beautiful colours and crisp audio all the way.
An outstanding natural history documentary.
Thoroughly recommended
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