Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Dynasties 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Lions and tigers and...painted hyenas?

Much like their past explorations of our world, BBC Earth's Dynasties (2018) is a multi-part documentary that offers incredible sights, sounds, and moments from nature that most of us might never see first-hand. A different approach is used this time around, as Dynasties serves up five distinctly different character-driven episodes featuring vulnerable or endangered species -- chimpanzees, emperor penguins, lions, painted hyenas, and tigers -- as their families (or communal groups) adapt to prolong survival. Pulling double-duty as a behavioral study, these hour-long episodes also reveal interesting similarities to our own biological instincts. Dynasties was developed and shot over a four-year period on three separate continents and might continue with a second series in the years to come. Narrated by long-time BBC fixture David Attenborough, it's another revealing production that nature lovers should enjoy.

Note: Unlike most current releases, no separate Blu-ray edition -- DVD combo pack or stand-alone release -- is currently available for Dynasties. Whether or not you've moved on to 4K, this is the only high-definition version you can own domestically. Luckily, it's priced in like with most multi-disc collections of this type.

• Chimpanzee (52:58) - Shot in the forests of Senegal, this episode follows alpha male David who has stayed at the top of his community for the last three years. A prolonged drought and competition from younger, stronger chimps -- especially during mating season -- has threatened David's alpha status, even with the protection of another member of his group. After being viciously attacked and left for dead when his fellow chimps leave to find a new water supply, David slowly attempts to regain his strength and, roughly a week later, return to the group and reclaim his leadership. If he's lucky, he might even find a few mates in the process.

  Although armed with a dramatic and compelling story that almost resembles The Revenant, its anthropomorphic "naming" of key characters -- not the mention the music cues -- makes Chimpanzee feel more overcooked and manipulative than most BBC documentaries. Still, the visuals here are undoubtedly beautiful, with interesting but unsubtle comparisons made towards humanity's own habit of using social politics for personal gain.

• Emperor (51:48) - Moving far south to Antarctica, this story follows a group of emperor penguins at the start of their fall breeding season. Moving beyond the mating process to egg-laying, we also see females hunt for food while their mates dutifully guard unhatched eggs for up to four months and collectively battle unforgiving weather. Their problems don't stop there, of course: childless mothers aren't afraid to steal away newborns, and even the surviving baby penguins must face adult challenges during their first few months of life.

  While this is an arresting tale told skillfully, it takes far too many cues from existing documentaries (most notably March of the Penguins) for its own good, although the scope and visuals are slightly stronger. Even so, the harsh wintry landscape stands in good contrast to other episodes, so it's at least worth a once-over.

• Lion (52:29) - Kenya's Maasai Mara wildlife reserve is home to many lions, including cousins Charm and Sienna of the Marsh pride. Their lives and families are threatened after the males abandon their group, leaving them in charge to deal with attacking tribes and rogue male lions. What follows is a series of dramatic turns spanning roughly two years in total that sees pride members die, leave, join, and even give birth.

  Quite possibly the largest episode in scope and success, Lion -- similar to Chimpanzee -- almost shoots itself in the foot with continued reliance on anthropomorphic names and heavily seasoned drama, but these elements feel a bit more seamless and earned. It's also the most impressive visually, with stunning African landscapes that capture colorful sunsets, vast savannas, and creatures dangerous enough to make you glad you're just watching TV. More than any other episode, Lions also shows how the direct involvement of humans has contributed to the narrowing fate of these creatures without feeling too preachy and overbearing in the process.

• Painted Wolf (51:40) - Travelling roughly 1,500 miles northeast to Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park, we meet painted wolf Tait and her pack's rivalry with another group of wolves...coincidentally led by Tait's own daughter, Blacktip. Fighting for their own territory amidst the expansion of other species including lions, humans, and hyenas, Tait's pack must venture into enemy lands with Blacktip and company in hot pursuit. Neither pack makes it out without suffering heavy losses as there are unexpected deaths (and births) along the way.

  Like Lion, this outing is slightly larger in scope and, due to the complexity of its story and rival factions, the naming of key characters feels earned and even necessary to keep everything straight. Overall, this might be the sleeper hit of Dynasties: much less attention has been lavished on this species in comparison to the others, which means you'll learn a lot while soaking in all the impressive sights and sounds.

• Tiger (51:16) - The final episode takes us to India's Bandhavgarh jungle reserve, where tigress Raj Bhera attempts to protect her four young cubs and the territory as they (hopefully) grow into adulthood. Among other family behavioral traits, it also shows how male cubs are often treated differently than their female siblings.

  Although the least eventful of these five episodes by a fairly wide margin, Tiger is beautifully shot and captures a lot of small moments that "in the wild" documentaries can't help but pass over. As Dynasties takes a decidedly more family-focused approach to its subjects, viewers may learn more than expected here. Just don't expect a nail-biting marathon of high drama and you'll enjoy what this episode brings to the table.

Dynasties 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I was expecting a lot from Dynasties' 4K video presentation, especially after BBC's top-tier efforts on Blue Planet II and (especially) Planet Earth II; the latter received high praise for its stunning detail pushed even further by the obvious benefits of HDR encoding. Bottom line, BBC's 2160p/24 presentation delivers, and it can't be overstated just how much its subtle -- and not-so-subtle -- refinements create a more enjoyable viewing experience. Much like those previous two releases, Dynasties is a native 4K production and, as its opening narration implies, makes every effort to go into greater depth and more detail than ever before. Close-ups and mid-range shots burst with detail and clarity, with some of the strongest textures seen on any home video release. (The phrase "looking out a window" is tossed around a lot when describing high-resolution imagery, but it clearly applies here.) Wide shots also benefit greatly from the format's increased resolution, with BBC's trademark aerial footage revealing a tremendous level of tiny details and other elements hidden from even the best Blu-ray transfers. Black levels are also deep and rich, with no obvious signs of crush. But the colors are the true standout here: those equipped with HDR-supportive displays will notice a substantial increase in natural saturation and depth, especially in the African locales, while colder episodes like Emperor get an obvious boost from deep blues and the occasional pink and orange splashes of sunlight. All things considered, it's a jaw-dropping 4K presentation that stands up to the studio's best offerings every step of the way.

As for the Blu-ray discs, their 1080p transfers also run at 24fps and offer a respectable alternative for those who haven't moved on to 4K yet. Fine detail is quite impressive in close-up and mid-range shots; textures such as tree bark, sand, dirt, foliage, fur, and feathers are cleanly displayed with no obvious signs of digital noise reduction or processing. The natural color palette is very striking even without the benefits of HDR, especially during sunrise/sunset and other landscape "beauty shots". Greens are especially impressive during jungle and forest scenes, with terrific layering and shadow detail that displays an impressive amount of depth. Wide shots are where the limits of 1080p are most evident, however: there are plenty of birds-eye views and distant observational shots, both of which look fine in passing but don't hold up as strongly during closer inspection. Other busy compositions, mostly those involving dense brush and weather-related elements (rainstorms and blizzards, specifically), occasionally suffer from slight compression artifacts and banding, but I'll chalk those up to format limitations and possibly even source material issues. Overall, Dynasties looks extremely impressive even in 1080p -- it wasn't hard to pick out great-looking screenshots for this review. Since all 40 were taken directly from the Blu-ray discs, I'll let them speak for themselves.

Dynasties 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, the audio presentation (identical on both the 4K and Blu-ray discs) is extremely impressible and, at times, ventures into "demo" territory. Although both formats default to a superfluous DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track -- a respectable effort, to be sure -- the real winner is the Dolby Atmos mix, which folds down to Dolby TrueHD 7.1 if your receiver or soundbar doesn't support it. It goes without saying that Dynasties doesn't represent what most folks might think of as an ideal candidate for Atmos, but I beg to to differ: BBC productions like this make regular use of wide and immersive sound stages, from weather-related elements (snow, rain, heavy winds) to background animal chatter, and their precise placement makes for a subtly more effective overall experience that make everything feel that much closer to realism. David Attenborough's narration also sounds crisp and clear and, despite some extremely obvious overdubbing (especially when he appears onscreen during a few brief shots), there are no apparent sync issues or other defects. Low frequency effects are used sparingly but add another layer of sonic detail, along with some rather pronounced channel separation and other not-so-subtle tricks. It's a great-sounding release, to be sure.

Optional English subtitles are included during all five episodes and bonus features, displayed in a nice white font that's perfectly legible and placed at a good height within the 1.78:1 frame.

Dynasties 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BBC presents Dynasties as a four-disc 4K/BR combo pack; it's housed in a dual-hubbed case with stacked discs and a matching slipcover. Not the most ideal packaging solution for collectors, but the discs' protective coating should stand up to potential damage if handled carefully. Identical in total episode content on both formats, the following bonus documentary also appears on each second disc.

• On Location (50:31) - This episode-length piece features behind-the-scenes footage from all five episodes with narration by David Attenborough and words from key members of the production crew including director William Lawson ("Emperor"), camera assistant Stefan Christmann, cameraman Mark Macewen, director Rosie Thomas ("Chimpanzee"), anthropologist Jill Pruetz, producer/director Nick Lyon ("Painted Wolf"), conservationists Peter Blinston and Krithi Karanth, camerawoman Sophie Darlington, and several others. Topic of interest include setting up camp in Antarctica for a year, packing lots of food, dressing for sub-zero temperatures, meeting a pod of killer whales, hiking 2500 kilometers though Senegal, tracking painted wolves over two decades, keeping your distance, finding (and protecting) tigers in the wild, working with local guides and trackers, following lions for 400 days, lighter moments, witnessing the Southern Lights, and much more. There are plenty of terrific moments here and I could've watched this for twice as long, even though each segment might have felt more at home if paired with its respective episode as in past home video releases.

Dynasties 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

BBC's Dynasties continues their long tradition of quality nature documentaries with top-tier imagery from around our natural world, tied together by reliably good narration from David Attenborough. Though I'll admit that I wasn't quite as enamored with the first two episodes, there is no shortage of great moments here and, not surprisingly, the visuals remain stunning even if the story doesn't capture your interest. This 4K/Blu-ray edition is the only option available for high-definition enthusiasts, but serves up demo-worthy material on both formats -- the 4K obviously wins out, as its increased resolution and HDR encoding make the viewing experience that much more compelling. Although the bonus features leave something to be desired, this release is highly recommended to fans of all ages.