7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Imagine what Earth would be like without people. ... Based on expert research and featuring Industrial Light and Magic's state-of-the-art imagery, this program reveals what the planet could be like centuries from now, without human inhabitants. Stunning animations present the effect a human-free Earth would have on natural resources, plants and animals. The program also examines the fate of many manmade structures.
Documentary | 100% |
Nature | 71% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (256 kbps)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Rather than recap the various apocalyptic menaces scientists and zealots have warned will bring about the demise of civilization -- global warming, rogue asteroids, supervolcanoes, solar flares, nuclear holocaust, pandemics, man-made black holes, alien invasions, the ever-devious Mayan calendar... you name it, someone, somewhere has a theory and a nightmare to match it -- Life After People kills (or perhaps simply displaces) every man, woman, and child on the face of the planet. No explanations, no bodies, no destruction; just Earth, free of people, slowly but surely reclaiming the concrete kingdoms and asphalt gardens mankind has left behind. For ninety-four admittedly intriguing minutes, the History Channel presents a series of scenarios that examine the weeks, years, and centuries following humanity's disappearance. What happens when power plants begin to fail? When buildings begin to crumble? When the oceans' creatures are no longer threatened by fishing fleets? When subway tunnels cave-in? When our seemingly indestructible creations succumb to the might of the natural world?
It's an admittedly fascinating premise, one rife with grisly potential and endless possibilities. Unfortunately, as presented, Life After People overlooks several significant factors, each of which would make a substantial impact on a post-human world.
I'm looking for the Army of the Twelve Monkeys...
Life After People features an unsightly, problematic 1080i/VC-1 transfer that eeks by on low expectations alone. While colors have received notable Blu boosts and contrast is vivid, almost everything else about the presentation comes up short. Black levels? Inconsistent and prone to crush. Image clarity? Soft, hazy, indistinct, smeared and, on occasion, all of the above. Fine textures? Obscured by macroblocking, errant noise, and segments culled from poor video sources. Transfer proficiency? Hindered by artifacting, aliasing, low-quality archive footage, and additional anomalies including mosquito noise, heavy ringing, and banding. Granted, considering it's a low budget, multi-source television documentary, none of the aforementioned issues come as major disappointments. Be that as it may, the high definition presentation looks far too much like its DVD counterpart to earn a higher score.
The only audio mix included on Life After People is a decent (albeit underwhelming) Dolby Digital stereo track; one that handles the documentary's omnipresent narration and frequent interviews with relative ease. Voices lack top tier polish, but are nevertheless intelligible, clean, and well prioritized. Likewise, collapsing buildings would certainly benefit from LFE support, and the various environments would sound amazing were they spread across a proper soundfield, but the stereo track's front channels handle every aspect of the post-apocalyptic soundscape in stride. With no debilitating technical issues to speak of, Life After People's audio mix is a passable offering that, all things considered, is a fairly satisfying addition to this release.
The Blu-ray edition of Life After People only offers a series of additional scenes (SD, 19 minutes). It's a rather aimless and self-promotional collection of shorts, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
As seen on TV, Life After People is a well-intentioned distraction; the sort of thing insomniacs draw strength from in their 3am stupor. But, as viewed in the revealing light of day, the History Channel documentary is a bit of a mess; an underdeveloped, overwrought What If? special that merely skims the surface of its slick science and post-apocalyptic scenario. The Blu-ray edition isn't much better, offering little more than a problematic video transfer, an underwhelming Dolby Digital stereo mix, and a bland supplemental package. Worth twenty bucks? Hardly. A rental at best, approach Life After People with caution.
2010
2001
2007
The Original UK Series
2011
2018
IMAX
1991
2008
BBC / Narrated by David Attenborough
2009
2014
IMAX
2007
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2011
BBC
2011
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