Life (Attenborough) / Planet Earth - Special Edition Collection (Blu-ray)

This remarkable collection brings together the two most riveting, highly praised natural history series ever produced, the new, Six Disc Special Edition of Planet Earth and the original UK broadcast version of Life, both narrated by world-renowned naturalist, David Attenborough! Planet Earth is already the #1 best-selling documentary DVD and the #2 Blu-ray release of all time, and the new Six Disc Special Edition now adds over four hours of new extras making over seven hours of extras in total! Planet Earth takes viewers on a breathtaking tour of the entire planet. From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, the beauty and majesty of our amazing planet is brought vividly to life like never before in Planet Earth. Life uses breathtaking advances in micro and macro photography to present 130 stories from the frontiers of the natural world, 54 of which have never been filmed before. Together, these two blockbuster series present a stunning and revelatory picture of our miraculous planet that will leave you in awe.

Planet Earth
Pole to Pole - This episode looks at our planet as a whole and considers the key factors that have shaped its natural history. Without freshwater there is no life on land, while the sun dominates the lives of all animals and plants on Earth and defines their habitats.

Mountains - This program explains the geological and volcanic forces that shaped the land and its mountain chains. Humans like to think that once they've climbed a peak, they have somehow conquered it. But they can only ever be visitors to this hostile world.

Fresh Water - Just three percent of the Planet's water is fresh water and it is our most precious resource. Where it flows or falls it controls the distribution of all terrestrial life. This episode follows the descent of rivers from their mountain sources to the sea, and showcases the unique and dramatic wildlife found within its unexplored waters.

Caves - Caves are one of the only habitats not directly driven by sunlight, but this doesn't mean there is no wildlife. This episode probes the mysterious, perpetual darkness and reveals the unknown underground world of caves, caverns and tunnels.

Deserts - When astronauts peer down on Planet Earth, the one environment they all notice are the deserts, which make up a staggering 30 per cent of the land's surface. From space they look empty and lifeless. A closer look reveals a very different picture...

Ice Worlds - A journey to the polar extremes of our planet, where for most of the year the Arctic and Antarctic are locked in ice. As the sun abandons one pole and journeys to the other, these frozen worlds undergo the most extreme seasonal transformation on the planet...

Great Plains - The vast open wildernesses of African savannah, Asian steppe, Arctic tundra and North American prairie are the great plains of the planet. Together they cover more than a quarter of the land on Earth and one living thing is at their heart - grass.

Jungles - Beautiful floating aerial shots introduce the world's most spectacular forest vistas and high-definition cameras enable unprecedented views of the species that live on the dark jungle floor.

Shallow Seas - The newly discovered coral reefs in tropical Indonesia reveal that they are one of the richest in the world. They are home to fantasy-like creatures - such as the head-butting pygmy seahorse, the flashing 'electric' clam and bands of 30-strong sea snakes...

Seasonal Forests - From the evergreen forests of the frozen North to the deciduous dry forests of the Equator, Seasonal Forests reveals the greatest woodlands on earth.

Life
The Challenges of Life
Introducing the extraordinary things animals and plants must do in order to survive and thrive. Witness capuchin monkeys smashing open palm nuts with stone ‘hammers', hippos launching from the water into the air and chameleons stealing prey from a spider's web. Sprint with cheetahs as they band together to tackle ostriches; watch dolphins form perfect rings of mud to trap fish and swim with a seal as it struggles to escape attacking killer whales in the ice of Antarctica.

Reptiles and Amphibians
From icy wastes to arid deserts, reptiles and amphibians have used their ancient, cold-blooded body plan along with sophisticated behavioral innovations to master the harshest environments on the planet. See Komodo dragons hunting buffalo, sea snakes with one of the most toxic venoms in the world that breed in caves, the seemingly suicidal leaps of a waterfall toad, the tender giant African bull frog that digs water channels to save not only its own young, but that of others too; and lizards that can walk on water.

Mammals
New filming techniques reveal behavior that was previously impossible to capture in extreme locations. Fly among one of the largest migrations on Earth, as more than ten million fruit bats leave the Congo basin and converge in a few special trees in Zambia to feed, sprint with the tiny, extraordinary-looking sengi as it escapes a predatory lizard, see 30 polar bears gather to feed on a bowhead whale carcass and witness the biggest fight on Earth - male humpback whales battling for a female.

Fish
Fish can fly, sense electricity, swim at over 100mph and even walk on land. From the open ocean to coral reef and storm-ravaged surf to the freshwater springs of Kenya, swim with sharks, mudskippers and convict fish. See the hilariously named "sarcastic fringe-head" fighting for its home territory; hunt with sailfish; glide with flying fish; enter the secret world of courting sea-dragons; and even join the epic journey of the tiny, cliff-climbing goby.

Birds
Birds are supremely adaptable, capable not only of flying at phenomenal speeds and covering great distances, but of displaying a murderous nature, running on water in pursuit of love and even of building intricate structures. Using aerial camera techniques, Life flies with the birds and explores their incredible diversity and behavior: dodging the piratical frigate birds; soaring with the lammergeyers; dancing with a thousand flamingos in the lakes of Africa; and witnessing the extraordinary displays of spatula-tailed hummingbirds, western grebes and bowerbirds as they all attempt to attract a mate.

Insects
Insects are the most diverse animal group on the planet. The key to their success is their unique ability to reshape themselves. They possess fearsome weapons, yet can display surprising tenderness and sophisticated behavior. Take to the skies with millions of monarch butterflies in Mexico, see a beetle spray boiling chemicals at its enemies, witness giant bees fight to the death over females, join the marching columns of grass cutter ants and spend a jeopardy-filled day with damsel flies.

Hunters and Hunted
Every day, in the jungles, grasslands, deserts and frozen wastelands, battles are won, fought and lost between carnivores and their prey. See cheetahs join forces to bring down an ostrich, a tiny stoat take on a rabbit ten times its size, elephant seal pups snatched from their nursery pool by a killer whale, the antics of a squirrel as it outwits a rattlesnake and at an amazing 2,000 frames per second, the strike of a bulldog bat flying at 60 mph.

Creatures of the Deep
Using specially developed underwater tracking time-lapse techniques, LIFE takes a journey to the unchartered corners of the ocean. It's here the newest discoveries are being made and the strangest creatures live, from huge spider crabs which gather in their thousands, seeking safety in numbers as they shed their protective shell, to cross-dressing giant squid. Join a 250-strong pack of Humboldt squid on a hunting expedition, see the ultimate self-sacrifice of a Pacific giant octopus mother who starves to death tending her young and dive under the permanent ice of Antarctica to see a seething carpet of starfish as they devour a seal pup carcass.

Plants
The drama of the plant world is impossible to view with the naked eye. But using the latest time-lapse technology, all is revealed: how a Venus flytrap snaps shut and imprisons its prey and how the animal-like grasping hooks of the cat's claw creeper and the sticky pads of the Boston ivy help in their fight for light. Fly with the seed that inspired the design of gliders, watch the fastest growing plant on Earth rocket up two feet a day and discover the water-trapping abilities of the bizarre dragon's blood tree, which oozes red sap from its branches.

Primates
Primates are uniquely intelligent - engaging in problem solving, communication, tool use and intimate social interplay. Primates are uniquely intelligent, engaging in problem solving, communication, tool use and intimate social interplay. In the Congo, meet a tightly bound group of western lowland gorillas led by an ancient silverback, whose chest-beating sends shockwaves more than a mile through the undergrowth. See grey Phayre's leaf-monkey mothers in Thailand battling for the privilege to babysit bright orange newborns, encounter the violent disputes of a thousand hamadryas baboons and join chacma baboons shark egg hunting on the coast of South Africa.

New animal behaviors
• The first filming of a humpback whale mating contest called a heat run - the largest animal battle on Earth
• Three cheetah brothers hunting together to bring down ostriches twice their size
• Stalk-eyed flies ‘growing' their eyes out on long stalks
• Dolphins filmed from the air ‘mudringing‘ - creating circles of mud to entrap fish
• Giant starfish devouring a dead giant Pacific octopus, filmed in time lapse
• Komodo dragons bringing down an animal 10 times their size - a real life drama that lasted over two weeks
• A pebble toad rolling down a mountain, bounching like a rubber ball, to escape a tarantula
• Thousands of pink starfish, urchins and monster nemertean words feeding on a dead seal under permanent ice in Antarctica, filmed over a month in tracking time lapse phtography
• The male Vogelkop bowerbird building an ornate seduction parlor that lures in a willing mate
• A mass spider crab molt where thousands of crabs come to mate and shed their too-tight shells
• Capuchin monkeys cracking open palm nuts with rocks, while the young ones slowly learn the method from the adults
• Probably the largest gathering of polar bears ever filmed, they confront one another around a huge whale carcass
• Tiny goby make an epic journey up Hawaiian waterfalls, 400 feet high, to lay their eggs in safe pools
• Greater bulldog bats hunting fish - filmed at 2000 frames per second
• Shot at night, massive numbers of Humboldt squid cooperatively hunting for sardines
Filming techniques
• The Heli-Gimbal - the HD Heli-gimbal produces rock-steady aerials from a lens with a zoom range from 10-800mm (equivalent to 1100 mm lens with a super 16mm camera). This allowed the LIFE team to film a spectacular range of aerials and dramatic "zoom outs" that take viewers from intimate close-ups of individual animals to massive wide-angle scenics and allows previous unfilmable behavior to be shot from the air
• Extreme High-Speed Photography - There are now extreme high-speed digital cameras that record images at very high resolution at speeds as high as 1,000 frames per second. The main adantage of these cameras compared to high-speed film cameras is they work directly onto a hard disk which is continually recording. Previous high-speed film cameras were really only practical in studios, but these new digital cameras can be taken out into the field, allowing the LIFE team to record animal behavior in a totally fresh way
• Low Light Photography - Extremely sensitive color HD, low light cameras can now provide new images and insights into nocturnal behavior
• Underwater Time-Lapse Sequences - New rigs that allow HD time-lapse underwater filming in natural environments (rather than tanks) have never been possible before and deliver stunning footage of new and natural behavior in the oceans
• Macro Photography - Chip-in-the-tip cameras, remote control "Ant-cam," and super-sensitive video cameras allow new insights into the world of the smaller creatures. With full depth of field and eye-level viewpoints, they give images that no longer look like traditional macro
• Additional Breakthrough Imaging Systems - New types of microscopy, infra-red, and ultrasonic imagery took the LIFE team into unexplored realms, from the deep ocean to the subterranean world

Planet Earth
"...jaw-dropping television from start to finish." -Sunday Express

"...sure to be the most dramatic and talked-about TV event of the year ... it might not be an overstatement to suggest that this series is so breathtaking that some viewers could find themselves at serious risk of respiratory failure." -Michael Holden, Mail On Sunday

"One programme towers head and shoulders above everything else tonight ... this is the most awesomely spectacular and wide-ranging natural history series to have hit our screens, the crowning achievement of the BBC's Natural History Unit ... Even on a non-HD screen, these images look very special. There's a clarity and depth that is closer to what we expect to see in a cinema ... With the right kind - and size - of HD TV screen, the effect is amazing." -Nigel Andrew, Daily Mail

"...it really isn't a show you can watch any less than twice. On the third viewing, I note, my boggling about the magnitude of Nature (Herds! Shoals! Teeth! Wing! Tundra!) had shifted, solipstically, to boggling about the magnitude of the humans. Dear God, but some effort has been put into this series. However amazing the creatures are that we witnessed, this is also a programme about how brilliant us guys - people - are." -Caitlin Moran, The Times

"Every few years we are treated to a series so compelling that it puts all other shows in the shade ... Every single second of these epic new films is a joy to behold ... mindblowing..." -Daily Mirror

"Planet Earth is the BBC's Natural History Unit at its biggest and boldest." -Sally Kinnes, Sunday Times

"This is the BBC doing what it does best - beautifully made, ambitious programmes fronted by a genuine, world-class expert. If I were looking forward to it any more, I would need a knife and fork for it." -Richard Hammond, Daily Mirror

"These programmes should be compulsory viewing for every school child, before they ... start to believe that it does not matter what happens to other species on this planet." -Philip Coggan, Financial Times

"...marvellous to look at ... breathtakingly beautiful photography..." -Peter Paterson, Daily Mail

"Stirring, hugely enjoyable and likely to be a deservedly massive hit ... almost every scene gained an instant place in television history." -James Walton, Daily Telegraph

"...sets a new benchmark in broadcasting ... an exquisite feast, from the opening sequence ... a natural history treat complimented expertly, as ever, by David Attenborough's polished commentary." -Robin McKie, Observer

"...filmed with such crispness and clarity that even my knackered old television, which I suspect once belonged to John Logie Baird himself, looked as if it had secretly been upgraded for high-definition broadcasts." -Thomas Sutcliffe, Independent

"...essential viewing ... crammed with grandeur ... and even humour." -Karl French, Financial Times

"Stunning footage ... it was like a snapshot of our planet in action, from its continental weather systems to its tiniest pond-life and, without trying, it instilled a deep sense of awe and respect. With a uniquely intelligent and cliché-free voiceover from David Attenborough, Planet Earth did exactly what good TV should. It showed us things we'd never get a chance to see otherwise, and left us feeling grateful for the experience. It also reminded us that the real world can be as amazing as anything conjured up by computer graphics ... a vivid reminder of why we all need to start caring, now." -Matt Baylis, Daily Express

"...the crowning glory of David Attenborough's extraordinary career." -David Chater, The Times

Life
"An amazing visual feat."
--Jonathan Storm, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 21, 2010

"Gasp inducing clarity.... Prepare to be amazed."
--Matt Roush, TV Guide, March 21, 2010

"Dazzling vision of nature."
--Robert Philpot, Fort Worth Star Telegram, March 21, 2010

"Nature is hot."
--Gloria Goodale, Christian Science Monitor, March 21, 2010

"Series of stunning beauty"
--Mike Hughes, TV America (syndicated), March 20, 2010

"Life is rich, rare and pure video gold. Life is bigger than all of us."
--Tom Shales, The Washington Post, March 19, 2010

"It's eminently essential TV ... Pupil-popping visual eloquence."
--Tom Shales, The Washington Post, March 19, 2010

"An 11-part series that's nothing short of mind-blowing - a shocking view of just how vibrant and dynamic our terrestrial brethren actually are."
--Daniel Stone, Newsweek, March 19, 2010

"Brace for a stunning armchair adventure, one that's surprising, beautiful, moving and dangerous - just like life."
--Joanne Ostrow, The Denver Post, March 19, 2010

"Fire up your flat screen"
--Robert Bianco, USA Today, March 19, 2010

"An amazing spectacle."
--Jacqueline Cutler, Tribune, March 21, 2010

"The reason flat screens, blu-ray and high-definition TV were invented.... Dazzling and precise"
--Mary McNamara, The Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2010

"that's what "Life" can do: make one weep over the fate of a species once relegated to nightmares and science fiction."
--Mary McNamara, The Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2010

"photography that is so gorgeous that every frame could win an Oscar..."
-- Linda Stasi, New York Post, March 18, 2010

"Discovery Channel's extraordinary and extraordinarily beautiful 11-part series, "Life," ...is narrated by Oprah Winfrey, who does a bang-up job, giving the voiceovers just the right tone - joyful when it calls for it, serious when it's needed, tense when required."
-- Linda Stasi, New York Post, March 18, 2010

"'Life' picks up beautifully where ‘Planet Earth' left off ... delivering a sumptuous, high-definition romp through astounding nature footage that quite simply defines the best Discovery Channel can be."
-- Brian Lowry, Variety, March 17, 2010

"...the most remarkable sequences might be the ones that illustrate the lengths to which the filmmakers went to bring back this footage. They're hunting big game, all right, and they've bagged another veritable treasure trove of it."
-- Brian Lowry, Variety, March 17, 2010

"For those reared on "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," well, we ain't in Kansas anymore. The imagery is spectacular... Take it as praise of the highest possible order that ‘Life's' jaw-dropping pictures and panoramic scale are enough to overshadow even Oprah's presence."
-- Brian Lowry, Variety, March 17, 2010

"The sequences in the series could fill more than a few movie trailers. ... astonishing ... gripping... "
--Brian Stelter, The New York Times, March 18, 2010

"...gorgeous natural history series ... Informative and fun."
-- Tom Gliatto, People, March 29, 2010

"Another stunning beauty ... Grade: A"
-- Verne Gay, Newsday, March 17, 2010

"Life takes cameras where few have been."
-- Bruce Schwartz, USA Today, March 18, 2010

"...stunningly beautiful ... filled with surprising close-ups of Earth's most mysterious creatures in action."
-- John Griffiths, US Weekly, March 29, 2010

"With one incredible sight after the next, this mesmerizing miniseries shows just how alike humans and animals are in our everyday fight to adapt and survive in an ever-changing world."
--Len Feldman, National Enquirer, March 22, 2010

"Eye-boggling ... Stunning ..."
--Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly, March 10, 2010

"At least as far back as the baby-boomer touchstone Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, the nature-TV genre has been constructed in this manner, but never so gorgeously. We are left to gawp and admire. A-"
--Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly, March 10, 2010

"Get your popcorn and wow-meters ready!"
--Ileane Rudolph, TV Guide, March 2010

"...it actually brought a lump to my throat."
-- Julie Vandal, Elle, April 2010

"But it's fair to say that after the popularity of "Planet Earth,'' the Discovery Channel confronted the pressure-packed question of whether it could produce another water-cooler show. The question's answer? That's "Life.''
--Don Aucoin, Boston Globe, March 19, 2010

"Brilliant"
--Don Aucoin, Boston Globe, March 19, 2010

"Bottom Line: An astonishingly close-up look at the glory and eccentricity of nature. ... honestly, there's never been anything like "Life.""
--Barry Garron, The Hollywood Reporter, March 19, 2010

"the ingenuity of Mother Nature to adapt species to their surroundings will elicit gasps of admiration from viewers. That was my reaction."
-- Seth Arenstein, Cable360, March 17, 2010

"But this is no mere sequel. In tone, pacing and even narration, everything about "Life" feels fresh and newly wondrous. That is saying something, when you consider that "Planet Earth" set the bar ridiculously high for nature documentary series."
-- Aaron Barnhart, Kansas City Star, March 17, 2010

Re: Oprah: "... the perfect choice for "Life."
-- Aaron Barnhart, Kansas City Star, March 17, 2010

"The Oprah Winfrey-narrated extravaganza, 'Life,' (captures) some of the most exotic, sensationally filmed moments of our planet's natural history..."
-- Christian Science Monitor, March 15, 2010

"...Discovery's freshest, fiercest perspective on the primal beauty of plant and animal existence in a series that's been four years and 150 worldwide expeditions in the making."
-- Channel Guide Magazine, March 2010

"...some of the most jaw-dropping scenes ever captured on film."
-- Channel Guide Magazine, March 2010

"Coming on the heels of Planet Earth, ...Life takes the natural history genre a step further, using ultra high-speed high-def digital photography to capture animal behavior that, in some cases, has never been seen before."
-- Emmy, Issue No. 1 2010

"As with Planet Earth, the real wonder is how the hell they got those images."
-- Outside, March 2010

"...full of how'd-they-get-that-shot moments..."
-- More, March 2010

Planet Earth
BAFTA® Awards
2007 - Best Original Television Music: George Fenton for Planet Earth
The Peabody Awards
2007 - Winner - The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious public service by TV and radio stations, networks, producing organizations, individuals and the World Wide Web.
International Emmy Awards ®
2007 - Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming
2007 - Outstanding Music for a Series - George Fenton
2007 - Outstanding Nonfiction Series - Maureen Lemire, Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
2007 - Outstanding sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming - Kate Hopkins