Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey Blu-ray Movie Review

It looks good, but...

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 19, 2015

It's not a replacement for a day trip to the zoo or a safari to Africa, but Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey is a solid little adventure from the comfort of the home theater that takes viewers into the heart of Africa for a look at some of the most interesting species the area has to offer. The film is available with voiceover narration that introduces audiences to the animals and runs through a checklist of basic facts, figures, and highlights. There's also an audio option that allows viewers to turn off the narration and enjoy the film with only the perpetual soundtrack on top of the images. What sets this one apart, however, is the 4K photography (presented here in 1080p) that offers one of the clearest, cleanest, and most intimately defined pictures yet of a part of the world that's home to some of the most amazing species on Earth.

"Excuse me, sir, there's a bird in your ear."

The film quickly, but efficiently, introduces audiences to a number of species that call the Serengeti home. There's a wide variety presented in rapid-fire fashion, with some species earning only a few seconds of cursory introduction while other, more "popular" species like zebras, lions, and hippos, earn more substantial screen time (but not a significant increase in raw facts and figures; the program is content to simply let the music play on top of the creatures). Amongst the highlights represented in the film, beyond the aforementioned trio of fan favorite animals, are antelopes, buffalos, giraffes, elephants, baboons, pigs, mongoose, gazelles, leopards, and hyenas. There's a nice cross-section of avian creatures including, but hardly limited to, ostriches, vultures, marabou, the sacred ibis, the secretary bird, and the flamingo. The film ends with a quick look at reptiles, including native snakes and crocodiles.

The film aims to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. With the sheer volume of species examined under the 4K camera, and with some understandably protracted looks at the most popular animals, it's no wonder that the film is content to hit just a few textbook factoids. The benefit is that it's less scientifically complex than its less accessible 4K cousin Adventure Yellowstone. The problem is that audiences may be left wanting more. The basic highlights include discussions centering on local geography, natural predators, hunting, preservation, physiology, feeding and water consumption, social skills, self defense, and reproduction (kids in the audience will giggle when the lions mate and urinate for the camera but may be turned off when a zebra -- just like the ones the film introduces at the beginning -- is a meal for the lions, who have picked it clean in spots and rip flesh from its body in others). There's nothing here that one cannot find using a quick Google search, but the information satisfies as a basic introduction to the creatures in question.

It seems, then, that the narrated portions are mostly window dressing. Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey clearly exists as little more than a tech demo. It at least provides some substantive content beyond the beautiful imagery, but make no mistake that the disc's highlight comes by way of the picture it delivers (more on that below). It's neither as complex nor as memorable as other nature/animal documentaries, content to simply rush through rather than explore, to show off but not to really, deeply share. That doesn't make it a bad program, it just makes it little more than background filler that can really only champion its picture as a selling point in a crowded field that much more established and widely trusted companies like Disney and BBC have taken the time to explore.

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey's 1080p transfer, sourced from a 4K shoot, is the unequivocal highlight of this package. Though it occasionally struggles with mildly pale blacks or general dark areas -- shadowy footage in particular -- there's no questioning the image's superiority. There's a nice, natural sense of depth even to the 2D image where the raw clarity helps to better define a lengthier field of view. Even distant animals, grasses, and trees look incredibly well detailed and distinctive. Up close, audiences will enjoy realistic, tactile grass, fur, and animal hides. Even flies buzzing around a buffalo are so clear that one can see their tiny wings against the black fur. Colors are satisfying and bold. There's a lot of earthy terrains and tan furs, but brighter, leafy greens, pink flamingo legs, and bloody red flesh are all outstanding in terms of pure color reproduction. The image suffers from discernible banding, noise, or blockiness. This is arguably the reference animal documentary on Blu-ray as far as pure picture muscle is concerned.

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey contains a pair of DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtracks, one of which offers narration and music and the other only music. And, really, those are the only two elements in question here. The narration is, unfortunately, not good. At reference level, it booms, blaring form the center with a grossly uneven prioritization that leaves it sounding crackly and harsh. Turn it down for better results, but then background music underneath becomes less audible and general overlay music less potent. During narration, music drops in volume so as to allow the already overcooked spoken word to take the top spot. In the music-only track, that's not an issue. It remains balanced at the same level for the duration. Basic music clarity impresses more than the narration. It's unfortunately a little over pumped, too, but not quite so badly. It's aggressive and generally well defined, with crisp, detailed instrumentals and a solid low end support. Choral chants are likewise nicely defined. There's no technical difference of note between music in the tracks, the only alteration being the constant volume level in the one without any narration.

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey contains only Picture Slideshow (1080p, 2:00), a collection of stills set to music (the same music from the main menu, in fact).

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Serengeti: Nature's Greatest Journey is essentially a tech demo masquerading as a serious documentary. The fault isn't with the ever fascinating subjects or the photography but rather the brevity and rapid-fire movement on down the line. A more thorough conversation about each animal, less repetitive music, and a more relaxed approach would have made this more than a bite-sized glimpse into the African animal kingdom. As it is, there are better options out there, but in terms of raw picture quality this one's hard to beat. Unfortunately, audio isn't great -- the narration is terrible in terms of its technical presentation -- and the supplement is worthless. Recommended, but only to diehard fans of nature programing and if found on a good sale.