8.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Narrated by renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough, this extraordinary series takes you to epic, never-before-seen locations and captures the incredible new behaviors of the creatures that struggle to survive in a rapidly-changing continent.
Starring: David AttenboroughDocumentary | 100% |
Nature | 85% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
"As you've never seen it before" should be a familiar tagline to anyone who's ever watched a nature documentary. It's a tantalizing promise too often made, too often broken. But Mike Gunton and James Honeyborne's latest BBC Earth series is a different beast entirely. In just six engrossing episodes, Africa presents the untamed continent as you've truly never seen it before. Rhinos gather by moonlight to socialize and share an intimate conversation. Giraffes swing their heads like wrecking balls in a fierce battle. The landscape shifts and changes, forcing wildlife to adapt suddenly and desperately. Lizards hunt in the shadows of sleeping lions. Gorillas are marooned in isolated stretches of highland jungle. Frogs fight to take and hold coveted perches. Fertile volcanic ash breeds grasslands on an immense scale. Zebras clash and mole rats burrow deeper and deeper. Predators gather to gorge on sardines. Man co-exists with animal in a new ecosystem, where both conservation efforts, ecological threats and greed vie for supremacy. This is Africa, an absorbing BBC Natural History Unit/Discovery Channel journey of sights rarely seen and stories rarely told; some amusing, some heartbreaking, but all fascinating.
Aside from some minor but frequent video noise (primarily visible in the blazing Savannah and Sahara skies), a reasonable amount of filmic softness and some inherent camera/source anomalies (particularly during night scenes, underground shots or slow motion footage), Africa's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is always impressive and often stunning. Colors are warm and natural, with vibrant blues, lush greens, lifelike earthtones and deep blacks. And detail, though not consistently razor sharp, is as revealing as can be expected (especially considering all the challenges of shooting a documentary series of this caliber). Edges are nice and crisp (with only a few instances of ringing per episode) and textures, scales, hair and fur are proficiently resolved, allowing the Natural History Unit photography to stand on its own merits without any pesky distractions. Significant compression issues are nowhere to be found either, and the only eyesores I noticed, again, trace back to the source, not a deficient encode. All told, the BBC Earth series continues to deliver some of the finest nature documentary presentations available, and Africa doesn't buck the trend.
Note: Despite being presented in HD, the ten-minute "Eye to Eye" behind-the-scenes featurettes attached to the end of each episode are of lesser quality. As such, aliasing, macroblocking and other problems are common. However, seeing as the featurettes amount to bonus content rather than actual extensions of the episodes, such shortcomings have not been factored into my analysis or score.
BBC Home Entertainment has granted Africa a full-fledged DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and it's safe to say the series couldn't sound much better than it does here. David Attenborough's narration is clear, suitably centered and well-prioritized, while the sounds of the African plains, jungles, highlands, deserts, rivers and oceans are given ample opportunity to flourish. The LFE channel is restrained but never tame, lending support as needed with surging waters, brewing thunderstorms, deafening stampedes and the blows of various wildlife battles. The rear speakers aren't entirely aggressive either but certainly earn their keep, filling the soundfield with enveloping environmental ambience, subtle directionality and breezy cross-channel pans. Chases, hunts and clashes are particularly thrilling and decidedly immersive, and very little fails to satisfy. Ultimately, Africa's lossless mix is one of its greatest assets and shouldn't be discounted or dismissed.
Africa is one of the best BBC Earth series to date, and in just six episodes at that. Attenborough's narration also anchors some of the finest Natural History Unit photography in recent memory, as Gunton and Honeyborne's team continually tops itself, capturing amazing sight after amazing sight; scene after scene, episode after episode, from the series' breathtaking beginning through to its thoughtful end. BBC Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release is a marvel all its own, with a terrific video presentation, an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and two hours of solid behind-the-scenes content. Africa is one of the easiest Blu-ray purchases you'll make this month and rarely, if ever, disappoints.
The Original UK Series
2011
BBC
2011
2009
BBC
2011
2014-2015
2008
2006
2008
2009
BBC / Narrated by David Attenborough
2009
2007
2015
2011-2012
2001
2009
The Complete Series
2006
2013
2011
IMAX
2008
1992