World's Nature 3D - Europe's Most Beautiful Places Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		1.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

World's Nature 3D - Europe's Most Beautiful Places Blu-ray Movie Review

Most beautiful places? Maybe. You wouldn't know it from this documentary, though...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 24, 2014

3D Media has delayed and released, delayed and released... and further delayed a string of 3D nature documentaries this year and last, with several more sitting idly by on the increasingly distant horizon. The reason behind the perpetual delays is unclear -- the latest batch of titles were just pushed back from May to July, with further street date changes inbound -- but titles are slowly creeping and crawling out of the primordial ooze and onto the Blu-ray market; one by one, two by two, here a doc, there a doc, everywhere a doc-doc. Unfortunately, judging by the label's latest and not-so-greatest, these delays aren't being used to bolster or enhance the quality of the series or individual movies in any way. As natural history productions go, World's Nature 3D: Europe's Most Beautiful Places is a mediocre screensaver first and a woefully subpar documentary second, with sparse, unengaging factoids separated by lengthy silences. The wilderness and wildlife photography is decent enough I suppose, in a handheld home movie sort of way, but only because the shores the Rockies are already gorgeous. Filming in such a stunning locale amounts to point, shoot and impress. If only the disc's 3D and 2D AV presentations delivered anything remotely beautiful. Instead, World's Nature 3D, like so many before and after, is an unremarkable, underwhelming, laughably narrated bargain bin Blu-ray that isn't even worth the price of admission.

World's Nature 3D: Europe's Most Beautiful Places - "Journey into the wild desert of Middle-Europe and be impressed by the wonderful symbiosis of tradition and natural beauty of the flora and fauna. Be impressed by animals in their real natural environment and experience these unique moments in 3D."

3D Media has a bad habit of slapping misleading titles on their releases and this one's no different. Europe's Most Beautiful Places doesn't venture out into greater Europe at all, a product of the low budget woes the photography, narration and overall production values all point to. Like Wild Africa 3D and other 3D Media releases, the wildlife in World's Nature 3D doesn't really do anything of note, the landscapes are lovely but too much like still-life art, and the whole of the documentary doesn't feel like a documentary in the slightest. There's bargain bin and then there's bargain bin, and this one definitely warrants some italicization.

World's Nature 3D - Europe's Most Beautiful Places Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Both 3D Media's 1080p/MVC-encoded 3D experience and AVC-encoded 2D presentation are a mess from start to finish, no matter the scene. The documentary's palette bobbles between washed out, modestly strong and garishly hot, with at-times undersaturated, poorly contrasted imagery followed (sometimes within the same sequence) by unsightly, hotly contrasted photography. Primaries cross extremes too, from diluted to overbearing, as do black levels, which bounce from horribly muted to oppressive. It all bears a regrettably striking resemblance to an off-label title you'd pick up on standard DVD a decade ago, or worse, something you'd stumble across late at night while channel surfing at a low-rent roadside motel. Macroblocking is common. Banding and shimmering are at play. Aliasing and ringing are present throughout. And don't even try to catalogue the pulldown anomalies, crosstalk-prone 3D shots and other random eyesores that litter the already problematic proceedings. It's as close to a lost cause as it comes.

Detail ranges from middling to smeared to downright disheartening as well, all of which makes for an at-times grueling viewing experience, regardless of whether you select the film's 2D or 3D presentation. Worse, 3D depth is a joke (I'd argue non-existent if there weren't a handful of animal close-ups that actually have a reasonably three-dimensional appearance), dimensionality is completely disappointing, and even the best of the film's 3D scenes may as well be in 2D, as flat and uninspiring as they are. The disc's only real selling point -- the 3D -- is designed solely to lure in those still eager to buy every 3D disc on the market, whatever the consequence. And that's a rapidly dwindling subset of 3D adopters, most of whom are hopefully growing wise to the tricks of the bargain 3D trade. Is there any saving grace? Anything at all? Those who've had the misfortune to purchase other 3D Media releases already know the answer: not really. Scratch that: no, not a single thing.

World's Nature 3D - Europe's Most Beautiful Places Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

World's Nature 3D includes two DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks: the first with narration and music, the second a music-only mix. Sadly, lossless or no, narration is slightly muffled and flatly implemented, dynamics are average at best, rear speaker activity is inconsequential, and the documentary's generic, barrel-bottom music barely registers. Again, the word DVD springs to mind, even though there are a few moments that exhibit some DTS-HD heft. These moments are the exception rather than the rule, though, and the tracks are serviceable at best, if I'm being generous. Ultimately, like its video encode, Nature's lossless audio tracks flounder.

World's Nature 3D - Europe's Most Beautiful Places Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Other than the music-only lossless track, World's Nature 3D doesn't include any special features.

World's Nature 3D - Europe's Most Beautiful Places Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

No. No. No. No. Never have such stunning, fascinating places been so tiresome and off-putting. Screensavers at best, 3D Media's docu-duds are a waste of time and money. The video presentations may as well be hitched to DVDs, the 3D experiences falter and fail, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks are merely passable, and there aren't any special features to speak of. A bargain price may sound like a bargain, but don't be so easily fooled. Sometimes you get what you pay for... other times you just get ripped off.