Beautiful Planet: England & the Low Countries Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		1.5

Beautiful Planet: England & the Low Countries Blu-ray Movie Review

Same story: bad narration hurts an otherwise serviceable travel set.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 7, 2012

It's time for more of the Beautiful Planet series, the droning, borderline unwatchable travelogue collection that's better enjoyed on mute, that would make more sense with the sound down and subtitles on (if the disc had subtitles). Indeed, it's the same old story here as with past series entries: halfway interesting locations with rich histories are largely ruined by subpar picture quality and truly awful narration that's tedious at best, unlistenable at worst. The series finds a miserable cadence; its many instances of interesting information and captivating images are lost to poor production values that negate the purpose of the series: to educate audiences and substitute for seeing these remarkable places in person. There is some value here as a sound-down background piece or a source of information on places like Kinderdijk, Brugge, and Kew that are not normally the locales highlighted on the bigger and better European travelogue videos. Otherwise, best to save up for the plane ticket and go check them out in person rather than rely on the Beautiful Planet series for anything other than as an example of how not to narrate a video.

A familiar sight.

So by now readers should be familiar with the problems inherent to the series. This collection brings the same narrators. The first unidentified speaker covering the England segment is boring but speaks clearly in a bland monotone. The Low Countries narrator (again unidentified) speaks with awkward pacing, strange emphasis (something like "Kinderdijk is famous for its windmiiiiillllllllsssss"), and a scratchy delivery. It's the latter that makes the series plummet from "passable" to "terrible." It's impossible to enjoy with this particular narrator. The series shows other warts, too. It sticks to a pattern and script so precisely that's so concerned with raw facts and figures that it often fails to elaborate beyond specific data. Even when it captures the attention with some interesting note, it often doesn't follow through, simply moving to the next detail rather than dig deeper into something that's actually interesting. There's no heart or soul to the series, just poor video images (and awfully fuzzy in motion) and bland-to-awful narration. Then there's the music, which is a mixture of elevator, classical, and dance club. The classical fits in, but the rest of it is as out of place as the narrators. The series is saved by taking audiences to some interesting places that deserve Documentary attention, but otherwise every aspect of Beautiful Planet earns a failing grade.

Below is a summary of the programming found on the disc.

England

Rather than smaller cities and relatively unknown locations, this film takes place entirely in the city of London. Things begin at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site, famous for its plant and fungus conservation. Kew is home to more than 30,000 different varieties of plants, representing the most diverse collection in the world with species hailing from every corner of the globe. The film extensively surveys the gardens, attractions, and wildlife. Studied is the architecture and history of Alpine House and Kew Palace, including an extensive maintenance schedule and lengthy restoration. The film travels next to Westminster Palace, a London landmark and example of Neo-Gothic architecture. It's where Parliament meets and is one of the nation's greatest tourist attractions. Studied is the fire that destroyed much of the palace, the specifics of its architecture, and the wonders found inside and outside the palace. Also highlighted are Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and St. Margret's.

The Low Countries

This film begins in the Belgian city of Brugge. The entire city center is a UNESCO site, established in the year 2000. Cobblestone alleys and canals take visitors back centuries into the medieval period. A balanced environment, urban and natural, defines the landscape. The film tours the area's manmade landmarks, studying the history and architecture that make Brugge famous the world over. Next, the film takes viewers to the Dutch city of Kinderdijk. The nation is famous for its windmills, and many are situated near the city of Kinderdijk. The film offers a detailed history of the windmills that make the area famous in addition to a history of the land and its current state.

Beautiful Planet: England & the Low Countries Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Beautiful Planet: England & The Low Countries arrives on Blu-ray with a dull high definition transfer. The image is nearly unwatchable due to motion blur, and many shots are of the panning variety. When the image settles on static shots, it looks washed out and barren of vibrant colors and precise details. Close-up images reveal adequate textures on rock, stone, brick, and ornate objects, but medium- and long-distance photography yields flat, uninspiring details. Colors are bland as a general rule, but up-close images of flowers at Kew and some of the fancier work in the palace look quite nice. Watch out for washed-out skies. There's some banding and edge halos to worry about as well. This is a serviceable image, but videophiles need steer clear.

Beautiful Planet: England & the Low Countries Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Beautiful Planet: England & The Low Countries features a minimal Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Narration can be boomy and unbalanced on top of displeasing in a general sense. Music plays with modest clarity and spacing, whether classical notes, elevator beats, or dance hall tunes. Music stays in the background during narration -- it never overwhelms the speakers -- but blares when the narration quiets and music takes over. There's some background hissing to deal with, and some listeners may even hear the turning of the script page in between narration. It's clearly a bottom-end soundtrack that, like the video, gets the job done but only in the most basic manner possible.

Beautiful Planet: England & the Low Countries Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mill Creek Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Beautiful Planet: England & The Low Countries contains no supplements.

Beautiful Planet: England & the Low Countries Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sadly, it's the same old story with Beautiful Planet: England & The Low Countries: terrible narration, poor video, no rhythm, and raw facts and figures rather than an engaging narrative. If the series is to succeed in the future, it's going to need to make some drastic changes. There's a very good foundation here, but every supportive element sucks the life right out of it. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Beautiful Planet: England & The Low Countries features poor video and audio. No extras are included. Skip it.