A Perfect Planet 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

A Perfect Planet 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Damn nature, you pretty!

Continuing their long and lustrous run of globe-trotting nature documentaries, BBC's A Perfect Planet serves up another five connected stories that weave together a common theme. Reliably narrated by Sir David Attenborough (who turns 95 next month and is currently involved in the studio's next show, Green Planet), it showcases four different natural phenomena and how they've shaped and supported life on Earth for billions of years: "Volcano", "The Sun", "Weather", and "Oceans", with the final episode "Humans" detailing our own role in the planet's past, present, and future. It's as visually arresting as any previous BBC production (including the ongoing Planet Earth), capable of impressing viewers of all ages with a comfortable but cautionary tone that flatly reminds us: we're only here by chance.

• Volcano (53:39) - Our tour begins as we visit only a handful of the Earth's 1,500+ active volcanoes, beginning with Hawaii's Mt. Kilauea, with the reminder of just how important lava flow is in the formation and development of new land masses, as well as the atmosphere and oceans. We also visit Tanania's Ol Doinyo Lengai, which has erupted 15 times in the last century, as well as unlikely beneficiaries of volcanic activity such as lesser flamingos, giant tortoises, river otters, and the bears of Kamchatka, who feast on spawning salmon.

  Episode highlight: The vampire finch, a blood-sucking bird that preys on unsuspecting Nazca boobies.

• The Sun (51:12) - Things heat up with a brief overview of everyone's favorite star, which provides almost all of Earth's known life forms with much-needed light, warmth, and energy. Varying day and night cycles around the globe -- as well as the changing seasons -- have made certain regions inhospitable to all but the most hardy creatures, reminding us of life's resilience and adaptation over millions and billions of years.

  Episode highlight: 20,000 male garter snakes vying for the affection of a few females, using their stored warmth from sunlight and cliff-climbing skills to get some sweet, sweet lovin'.

• Weather (50:47) - Although this episode starts off with an impressive montage of violent storms, it's more a reminder of the planet's relatively consistent weather patterns and overall temperature... until recently, at least. Yet countless events still happen regularly, from falling Amazon river levels every October -- which provide vital egg-laying land for giant river turtles like clockwork each year -- to seasonal South Asian monsoons that deliver crucial rainwater to Christmas Island's cute li'l red crabs (who, surprisingly, can't swim).

  Episode highlight: Nile crocodiles and African fish eagles tag team a flock of Carmine bee-eater birds.

• Oceans (50:28) - It's very familiar territory for BBC documentaries, sure, but that doesn't make this mostly underwater outing any less interesting. Hypnotic currents are shown shaping the path and direction of sea life during 1,000-year cycles, from dolphins of South Africa to the islands of Indonesia and the even gentle tides of the Bahamas. Climate change is also addressed strongly in the final stretch (also true of other episodes in this set), where entire species and even the strength of ocean currents are threatened.

  Episode highlight: The flamboyant (but deadly) cuttlefish struts his stuff.

• Humans (60:21) - Not surprisingly the most controversial of the bunch, this final episode changes format and structure dramatically by featuring humans front and center while detailing the climate change-related warnings of earlier episodes -- mostly due to overpopulation and fossil fuels -- along with a few glimmers of hope. Several scientists are featured in first-person interviews as well, including biologist Dr. Niall McCann, marine biologist Dr. Asha De Vos, and environmentalist Jeremy Rifkin. Dire? You bet. But it's necessary and totally appropriate under the circumstances. (Also, if you don't believe in climate change, you're an idiot.)

  Episode highlight: A brief montage of David Attenborough's younger days.

A word about running time: Each of these five episodes runs 7-9 minutes longer on the included Blu-ray discs, in the form of short episode-specific behind-the-scenes featurettes. These bonus segments have been compiled into a longer "Making Of" documentary featured on UHD disc 2, covered in the "Supplements" section below.

A Perfect Planet 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

BBC's nature documentaries routinely rank very high in the "demo disc" department, with frequent moments of jaw-dropping clarity and rich, deeply-saturated colors that almost look too good to be true. A Perfect Planet continues that trend from start to finish, as this 2160p, HDR-enhanced image absolutely bursts with color and fine detail, showcasing exotic landscapes and animals most of us will probably never see in real life. (What's more, it's very easy to forget that these sights weren't captured under controlled conditions, which easily smoothes over the occasional framing issue and sporadic patches of noise or softness.) The series opener "Volcano" obviously serves up no shortage of glowing reds and yellows, both of which stand out strongly even against the darkest brown rocks or deep blue waters that lava flows over; "The Sun" follows suit, while later episodes like "Oceans" cool things down with rich tones above and below the water. Greens are also strong with an impossibly varied palette under dense forests and thick foliage, blanketing predators and prey alike. And we can't forget the busy compositions of migrating birds, mating garter snakes, and cityscapes that usually crumble under the more strict compression of Blu-ray and DVD. This absolutely phenomenal 4K image, every bit as good as previous BBC discs, suffers none of those fatal flaws: it runs at an extremely high bit rate, shows no signs of excessive noise reduction, and struts its stuff with some of the best uses of HDR enhancement to date. From the widest landscape to the most revealing close-up, almost every shot here is a keeper.

Like most recent BBC home video releases, a separate Blu-ray option is not available but this four-disc set includes both formats. Either way, the Blu-rays provide a capable silver-medal presentation that still pushes the boundaries of 1080p while obviously not standing toe-to-toe with their 4K counterparts in color, clarity, or depth. But this is still a great-looking pair of discs: colors run reasonably deep, close-ups frequently reveal ultra-crisp details, and the whitest whites show almost no blooming even in the harshest gradients. Only the compression can't quite keep up: a handful of artifacts were easily spotted, as were very subtle signs of banding, and the busiest compositions even showed trace amounts of macroblocking. But that's likely due to format limitations rather than genuine defects, and also the result of watching the Blu-rays after their 4K counterparts. Disc compression has come a long way since even Planet Earth, and this 1080p presentation is still a more than respectable effort that's full of razor-sharp highlights.

All 40 screenshots in this review -- eight per episode -- are sourced from the included Blu-ray discs.

A Perfect Planet 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Perfect Planet's thunderous Dolby Atmos mix -- which strangely isn't the default option, so be sure and visit the setup menu first -- is up to the formidable heights of its visual presentation, delivering a truly immersive mix that goes a long way to preserve the series' full-bodied, convincing atmosphere. Although I'm not sure exactly how many effects were added in post-production (some, for playful effect, are very easy to pick out), such attempts to "sweeten the pot" are entirely forgivable under the circumstances. From heavy rainstorms to rushing overhead waterfalls, violent hurricanes to an intimidating cloud of bats, flowing lava to screeching eagles and crashing waves -- it's easy to lose count of the discrete panning effects, including terrific use of the height channel, that place viewers right in the middle of the action. Even the series' quieter moments, whether it be an animal close-up or echoing gust of dusty desert wind, provide a great sense of space that stands in great contrast to its more immediately attention-grabbing moments.

As always, the Dolby Atmos mix automatically folds down to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for those not equipped with the newer format, while the default option -- a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track -- is on board for those without receivers to do most of the heavy lifting. Any way you slice it, this is a fantastic audio presentation... and one that's 100% identical on both the UHD and Blu-ray discs, so those without 4K equipment won't have to make any sonic sacrifices.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all five episodes as well as the bonus material.

A Perfect Planet 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Similar to recent BBC titles, this four-disc combo pack ships in a dual-hinged keepcase with attractive cover artwork and a matching slipcover. The lone bonus feature listed below can be found on the second UHD disc, although its footage seems to have been neatly divided amongst the slightly longer Blu-ray episodes.

• Making A Perfect Planet (49:32) - BBC's familiar "all-in-one" featurette is basically a bonus episode full of moments from the difficult production of this five-part series, which involved over 1,000 days in the field across 34 countries. From curious animals to weather-related setbacks and equipment malfunctions, it offers viewers a taste of the challenges met to produce yet another feather in the studio's cap. Although not presented with HDR enhancement -- and noticeably less crisp at times -- this mid-length doc is produced at a similar quality to the main episodes and features both audio mixes listed above, as well as optional English (SDH) subtitles.

A Perfect Planet 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

BBC's ongoing nature documentaries are always a treat to experience. These technically ambitious and scientifically sound productions are the pinnacle of escapist entertainment for nature lovers, each one admirably weaving together an important message with stunning sights, sounds, and reliably great narration by living legend David Attenborough. They're also a natural fit for 4K, with the native 2160p footage providing plenty of demo-worthy visuals and totally immersive Dolby Atmos audio that gives audiences of all ages a stunning front-row seat. BBC's combo pack is another top-quality release, boasting a pitch-perfect A/V presentation and a bonus documentary to boot... and if you're not set up for 4K yet, the included Blu-rays will at least hold you over until then. Very highly recommended.