Blue Planet (IMAX)

Starring:James Buchli, Toni Myers
Director: Ben Burtt
Studio: Imax
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The IMAX film Blue Planet offers an eloquent reminder--and a cautionary warning--that the planet Earth is a delicate living organism, constantly reshaped and rejuvenated by the awesome forces of nature. The film targets a grade-school audience but will prove informative to anyone fascinated by our home planet's evolution. Hurricanes, glaciers, volcanoes, thunderstorms, asteroid impacts, undersea furnace vents, and earthquakes are all explored as a system of interconnected forces that ensure the planet's survival. The difference between this and other nature films is that the Earth's delicacy is emphasized by stunning views from space, filmed in the IMAX format by NASA astronauts in orbit 200 miles above the Earth's surface. With astonishing clarity, this orbital perspective supports the film's ultimate purpose: to reveal the awesome beauty of the Earth, and to emphasize that we, the custodians of this miraculous gift, are also the greatest threat to the planet's delicate health. Proof of man's destructive influence offers a sobering reminder that our responsibility toward nature is perpetual, essential, and routinely abused.

Blue Planet combines state-of-the-art sound and image, principally directed by Ben Burtt, the Oscar-winning sound designer whose credits include the original Star Wars trilogy. No home-theater system could do full justice to the film's technical achievement, but the sights and sounds of Blue Planet are awesome nonetheless, and it's impossible to overstate the importance of the film's message and its hopeful emphasis on the potentially wondrous future of our one and only home. --Jeff Shannon
Description
From the unique vantage point of 200 miles above Earth's surface, we see how natural forces - volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes - affect our world, and how a powerful new force - humankind - has begun to alter the face of the planet. From Amazon rain forests to Serengeti grasslands, Blue Planet inspires a new appreciation of life on Earth, our only home.

DVD Features:
Interactive Menus
Other:Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1

Average customer rating:

Wrong narrator
A wonderful series!
Wonderful & amazing
love it.
Gods Creation revealed like never before!

Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
Starring: David Attenborough
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4)
Casino Royale (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
An Inconvenient Truth
Life in the Undergrowth

ASIN: B000MR9D5E
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Amazon.com

As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you'll ever experience from the comforts of home. The premiere episode, "From Pole to Pole," serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming--a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact. With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea's various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia's nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild.

That's just a hint of the marvels on display. Accompanied by majestic orchestral scores by George Fenton, every episode is packed with images so beautiful or so forcefully impressive (and so perfectly photographed by the BBC's tenacious high-definition camera crews) that you'll be rendered speechless by the splendor of it all. You'll see a seal struggling to out-maneuver a Great White Shark; swimming macaques in the Ganges delta; massive flocks of snow geese numbering in the hundreds of thousands; an awesome night-vision sequence of lions attacking an elephant; the Colugo (or "flying lemur"--not really a lemur!) of the Philippines; a hunting alliance of fish and snakes on Indonesia's magnificent coral reef; the bioluminescent "vampire squid" of the deep oceans... these are just a few of countless highlights, masterfully filmed from every conceivable angle, with frequent use of super-slow-motion and amazing motion-controlled time-lapse cinematography, and narrated by Attenborough with his trademark combination of observational wit and informative authority. The result is a hugely entertaining series that doesn't flinch from the predatory realities of nature (death is a constant presence, without being off-putting), and each episode ends with 10-minute "Planet Earth Diaries" (exclusive to this DVD set) that cover a specific aspect of production, like "Diving with Pirahnas" or "Into the Abyss" (the latter showing the rigors of filming the planet's most spectacular caves, including the last filming ever officially permitted in the "Chandelier Ballroom," a crystal-encrusted cavern found over a mile deep in New Mexico's treacherous Lechuguilla, the deepest cave in the continental United States.)

With so many of Earth's natural wonders on display, it's only fitting that the final DVD in this five-disc set is devoted to Planet Earth: The Future, a separate three-part series in which a global array of experts is assembled to discuss issues of conservation, protection of delicate ecosystems, and the socio-economic benefits of understanding nature as a commodity that returns trillions of dollars in value at no cost to Earth's human population. At a time when the multiple threats of global warming should be obvious to all, let's give Sir David the last word, from the closing of Planet Earth's final episode: "We can now destroy or we can cherish--the choice is ours." --Jeff Shannon

More Planet Earth

Planet Earth on Blu-ray
Planet Earth on HD DVD
More BBC DVDs

Stills from Planet Earth (click for larger image)

Description

With an unprecedented production budget of $25 million, and from the makers of Blue Planet: Seas of Life, comes the epic story of life on Earth. Five years in production, over 2,000 days in the field, using 40 cameramen filming across 200 locations, shot entirely in high definition, this is the ultimate portrait of our planet. A stunning television experience that captures rare action, impossible locations and intimate moments with our planet's best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures. From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, this blockbuster series takes you on an unforgettable journey through the daily struggle for survival in Earth's most extreme habitats. Planet Earth takes you to places you have never seen before, to experience sights and sounds you may never experience anywhere else.

DVD Features:
Other:110 minutes of behind the scenes footage - one 10-minute behind the scenes program for each episode (SD release only)
Documentary:Planet Earth - The Future: This 3-part, 2 1/2 hour series looks at what the future may hold for endangered animals, habitats and -- ultimately -- ourselves. Following the environmental issues raised by Planet Earth, it asks why so many species are threatened and how they can be protected in future. (SD release only)

Customer Reviews:

Wrong narrator.......2007-07-09

The narration on Planet Earth is awful done by David Attenborough. I was hoping that I could buy the Planet Earth series as narrated by the American actress that narrates it on Animal Planet. This was a gift but as soon as the other is out, I will get it!!!

A wonderful series!.......2007-07-08

I bought this for my father in the US as he had seen one of the episodes while visiting me in the UK. It is an absolutely wonderful series, for children and adults. This edition is even better because it is narrated by Attenborough, not by Signourney Weaver as the US airing had inserted. The production and direction of the series is one of the best I have ever seen for a documentary and would recommend it with all my heart.

Wonderful & amazing.......2007-07-08

It's a wonderful video series. I enjoyed it personally. Didn't know such places still existed.

love it. .......2007-07-07

i thought it was great on the discovery channel but is does not compare to watching in on HD. it is like the animals leap our at you! i just don't know how they do it. the BBC cinametographer, producers, directors and art director know the secret sauce (i hate saying that).

the discover channel misses a lot of the behind the scenes which is very impressive. i love to see the how they made it kind of documentation. the imagery is beautiful, the narration is spectacular and th accuracy is amazing. the photo director should win an oscar (or emmy). it is very similar to the "blue planet" which was also well worth the money. i can watch it over and over again. i would highly recommend this series for anyone over the age of 10. it odes get quite graphic when it comes to the animals feeding. bravo BBC another great!

Gods Creation revealed like never before!.......2007-07-07

5 DVDs of truly stunning cinematography of some of the most astounding intricacies of the awesome planet on which we live.
An absolute MUST SEE for anyone who lives on planet earth!

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4)

Average customer rating:

Blue Planet series
The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4)
The Blue Planet
Blue Planet enchantment

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4)
Director: Alastair Fothergill
Manufacturer: BBC Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
The Life of Mammals
Life in the Undergrowth
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series [HD DVD]
The Life of Birds

ASIN: B000069HXC
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Product Description

Come explore years of incredible undersea photography and breathtaking views into a world we share. Choose four DVDs or four VHS tapes. Seasonal Seas/Cral Seas, Tidal Seas/Coasts, Ocean World/Frozen Seas, The Open Ocean and The Deep. Two titles per disc or tape. (Some scenes may be graphic in nature.)

Amazon.com

Extraordinary footage and eloquent narration by David Attenborough highlight the BBC's remarkable wildlife series The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. "Ocean World" begins with astonishing views of a gigantic blue whale--the elusive Holy Grail of undersea photography--and the marvels continue to demonstrate the power, diversity, and profound ecological influence of Earth's oceans. "Frozen Seas" examines whales, walruses, penguins, and other creatures under the extreme conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. The next two episodes are even better. "Open Ocean" travels thousands of miles into the vast "liquid desert," where currents determine how the ocean's diverse life forms will assume their places in the food chain. More amazing, "The Deep" descends with a state-of-the-art submersible to the ocean's abyssal plain and beyond, filming such bizarre creatures as the fangtooth, bioluminescent jellies, transparent squid, the giant-mouthed gulper eel, and the never-before-seen hairy angler fish.

"Seasonal Seas" focuses on the explosion of life that accompanies every annual blooming of plankton, numbering in the countless billions and captured here with brilliant microphotography. In "Coral Seas," miles-long reefs of living coral are explored, from deep within (requiring brief computer animation) to the surrounding environs, where you'll see white-tipped sharks in a feeding frenzy while beautiful harlequin shrimp wrestle with a starfish. "Tidal Seas" explores the myriad life forms that thrive when lunar gravity pulls the oceans offshore. "Coasts" is easily the most brutal episode, but no less mesmerizing. The most unexpected, and horrifying, sequence is the orca, earning its "killer whale" nickname by capturing, killing, and tail-tossing a seal pup--a sequence so mysteriously primal that even the most seasoned marine biologist will be utterly amazed. One of the finest wildlife programs you're ever likely to see, The Blue Planet: Seas of Life provides the privilege of visiting a truly alien world teeming with the rarest wonders of nature. The series was recut into the feature-length Deep Blue in 2005. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Blue Planet series.......2007-07-06

Best documentary I've ever seen! Fascinating stuff! If I wasn't scared to death of sharks, I'd want to go out and study most of this stuff myself. Incredible information and footage. The only problem with it is that it's too short :P

The Blue Planet.......2007-07-03

I could not believe it when I saw an ad for deep blue. I remembered a special I had seen on tv about the ocean. I kept trying to watch and see if it was ever going to come on tv again, because i wanted to try to catch it all. I was playing music at night and working in the daytime so it was hard for me to see all of the series. But here some of it was on the ad for Deep Blue. And I wanted it. So I got on [...] and much to my surprise I found Deep Blue and and The collector's set of The Blue Planet. So I ordered both. I had told my sister and her kids and grand kids about The Blue Planet. So I couldn't wait to take it to their house to let them see the amazing filming that was done on this remarkable collection. If anyone enjoys the ocean and films about the ocean, you have not seen anything and I mean anything until you see this collection. Do not see how it can be any better. Their All going to order it to add to their collection.

Larry Hull

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4).......2007-07-03

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4) Great series. Every science department K-college should have this in their library. Photography is top-notch.

The Blue Planet.......2007-06-27

This DVD collection is very well done and extremily educational. My teenage son loves these DVDs and watches them over other things on TV or other DVDs. Would make anyone a great gift!!!!

Blue Planet enchantment.......2007-06-27

Enjoyable fantastic film of life on earth. The ocean shots are the best I have seen. This is a set that we will watch over and over again.

Average customer rating:

Blue Planet (IMAX) [Blu-ray]
Director: Ben Burtt
Manufacturer: Warner Brothers
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

General | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000Q6GX1S
Release Date: 2007-07-31

Description

From the unique vantage point of 200 miles above Earth's surface, we see how natural forces - volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes - affect our world, and how a powerful new force - humankind - has begun to alter the face of the planet. From Amazon rain forests to Serengeti grasslands, Blue Planet inspires a new appreciation of life on Earth, our only home.

Average customer rating:

blue planet on imax

Blue Planet (IMAX) [HD DVD]
Starring: Toni Myers
Director: Ben Burtt
Manufacturer: Warner Brothers
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

IMAX | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

Documentary | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

Television | HD DVD | Formats | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000Q6GX22
Release Date: 2007-07-31

Description

Customer Reviews:

blue planet on imax.......2007-05-28

saw this on imax in ft. worth many years ago. if it is 1/3 as good on this dvd as it was in imax, it will be awesome. the imax version i saw in an imax theatre brought tears to my eyes.....it is very near a religious experience. no foolin!!

terry in tulsa
go sooners......

Average customer rating:

Great Earth Science Summary!
Dreary, boring, and too correctly spoken
Good Job production team
A natural alternative to Lunesta
My Blue Planet Review

Blue Planet (IMAX)
Starring: James Buchli , and Toni Myers
Director: Ben Burtt
Manufacturer: Imax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Into the Deep (IMAX)

ASIN: B00005BCKI
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Amazon.com

The IMAX film Blue Planet offers an eloquent reminder--and a cautionary warning--that the planet Earth is a delicate living organism, constantly reshaped and rejuvenated by the awesome forces of nature. The film targets a grade-school audience but will prove informative to anyone fascinated by our home planet's evolution. Hurricanes, glaciers, volcanoes, thunderstorms, asteroid impacts, undersea furnace vents, and earthquakes are all explored as a system of interconnected forces that ensure the planet's survival. The difference between this and other nature films is that the Earth's delicacy is emphasized by stunning views from space, filmed in the IMAX format by NASA astronauts in orbit 200 miles above the Earth's surface. With astonishing clarity, this orbital perspective supports the film's ultimate purpose: to reveal the awesome beauty of the Earth, and to emphasize that we, the custodians of this miraculous gift, are also the greatest threat to the planet's delicate health. Proof of man's destructive influence offers a sobering reminder that our responsibility toward nature is perpetual, essential, and routinely abused.

Blue Planet combines state-of-the-art sound and image, principally directed by Ben Burtt, the Oscar-winning sound designer whose credits include the original Star Wars trilogy. No home-theater system could do full justice to the film's technical achievement, but the sights and sounds of Blue Planet are awesome nonetheless, and it's impossible to overstate the importance of the film's message and its hopeful emphasis on the potentially wondrous future of our one and only home. --Jeff Shannon

Description

DVD Features:
Interactive Menus
Other:Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1

Customer Reviews:

Great Earth Science Summary!.......2007-01-09

This film not only has amazing filming and captures the beauty of our planet, but is also a wonderful Earth Science class summary.

Dreary, boring, and too correctly spoken.......2006-07-13

This is a disappointingly boring and formulaic show. Basically we get hit over the head with how miserable we are making the earth. All right, already. Tell me thirty six more times.

Whenever I hear the word "evolved" in a show about life on earth it annoys me. It is the new religion, the new dogma. It is just as dogmatic as its religious competition preaching Jehovah or Allah or some other fictional character. Why can't the evolution people just realize that someone very brilliant designed the tiger and the peach, and stop pretending that they just grew out of the soil, like a can of tomato sauce growing out of the dusty rocks on the moon.

The announcer is annoying as hell. She pronounces every word perfectly and bloodlessly. She speaks acceptably and "beautifully", so beautifully that it is ugly. Her speech is acceptable, yours is not. It's a bunch of bull. I took speech classes too, and I had the sense to ignore them. They get in the way of honest communication.

The environmentalists feel that they need to bang us over the head every chance they get, telling us how humanity is ruining the planet, and you can sympathize because our government doesn't give a damn about pollution, and in fact revels in it, since it means that their rich campaign contributors will save money by not having to clean up after themselves, making the campaign contributions excellent investments, paying huge profits. It does pay to own the U.S. government, so they let you do whatever you want. One hand washes the other.

Sometimes they showed us images of green or blue or white swirls, and they told us it was the Himalayas or Sri Lanka or something, and they really needed to use arrows to show us what they were referring to. All I saw was a bunch of colored swirls. Why couldn't they just use an arrow to point out where to look?

Imax should have thrown propriety and predictability and preachiness away and given us an interesting show. But they weren't creative enough to do that. So they gave us the same old stuff, preaching the same old new religion, and spoken the way they were taught to speak, artificially.

Good Job production team.......2005-10-27

It a very beautiful movie, giving us a perspective of how wonderful Mother Earth is!
Photography and narration is great. The team has done a great job, relating the analogy of an Astronaut to a space shuttle as Man to earth.
It opens up ones mind to the wonders of Gods creation and Mans destruction by depleting natural resources. A movie well made and drives home a point well worth it!

A natural alternative to Lunesta.......2005-10-13

OK...to start off with the positive, this DVD does have great sound and crisp, vibrant video footage. Also within the 40 minutes of this DVD, you will come away with a good understanding of the big picture of our planet and how our planet's atmosphere, oceans, land, life and and pollution are all interrelated. It is also explained in a way that makes it easy to understand. If you are an adult with with a true interest in Earth science then you can add a star or two to my rating.

I do not recommend this DVD for children. It will be a real sleeper for them! The very calming voice of the narrator and fairy tale type of music in the background will put almost any adolescent to sleep. I say this because I am a high school science teacher and have shown this to my students. While doing so I have had to nudge my students or get their attention to stay awake. Those that were awake had that glazed over look in their eyes. There are better videos out there for students that are more exciting and just as informative.

My Blue Planet Review.......2005-10-11

This movie was not very interesting. I'm shocked at how amazingly BORING this movie was compared to most IMAX films. I watched it as a classroom film. I watched two students fall asleep. One child left the room to go to the bathroom, and didn't come back for 10 minutes! I appreciate what these people were trying to teach us but it would have been nice if they had made it interesting.

Average customer rating:

Amazing
Launching Pad For a Career
Id give it 6 if I could
Whoa!
Ground-breaking!

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life (Part 2)
Director: Alastair Fothergill
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Blue Planet - Seas of Life (Part 1)
The Blue Planet - Seas Of Life (Part 3)
The Blue Planet - Seas Of Life (Part 4)
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 2

ASIN: B00005UM1S
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Amazon.com

The BBC's acclaimed nature series The Blue Planet will astonish you from start to finish, and these two episodes are even better than those included in Part 1 ("Ocean World" and "Frozen Seas"). "Open Ocean" travels thousands of miles into the vast "liquid desert," where currents determine how the ocean's diverse life forms will assume their places in the food chain. From manta rays to spinner dolphins, hammerhead sharks, and a plethora of smaller creatures fending for their lives, the patient cameramen capture a movable feast with intense proximity, while narrator David Attenborough brings these forces of nature into eloquent perspective. Even more amazing, "The Deep" descends with a state-of-the-art submersible to the ocean's abyssal plain and beyond, filming such bizarre creatures as the fangtooth, bioluminescent jellies, transparent squid, the giant-mouthed gulper eel, and the never-before-seen hairy angler fish. The Blue Planet provides the privilege of visiting a truly alien world teeming with the rarest wonders of nature. --Jeff Shannon

Description

See over 90 minutes of some of the most startling wildlife photography ever to have been shown on television! The Blue Planet: Seas of Life features amazing new discoveries and photographic breakthroughs in two episodes: "Open Ocean" and "The Deep." "Open Ocean": Endless blue stretches in every direction, this is the open ocean. In this marine desert there is nothing but the burning sun above and the blackened abyss below, yet here live many of the most spectacular predators in the ocean. Striped marlin, dolphin and the shearwater birds chase down large shoals of sardine and makerel. Survival in the open ocean depends upon, speed, cunning and agility. "The Deep": A place of mountain ranges, perpetual night, pressure extremes and cold and the weirdest life forms on our planet. Dive to the depths of the ocean, an eerie world where predators with teeth so large they can't even close their mouths, chase bioluminescent creatures of the deep. Discover the spectacular smoking chimneys of the hydro thermal vents. Go deeper down than you have ever been. 98 minutes

Customer Reviews:

Amazing.......2007-01-05

Really incredible images of the weirdest sea life ever seen. The footage of the faunal comunities of the thermal vent is particularly striking. A must see for anyone interested in sea life.

Launching Pad For a Career.......2006-12-12

This was an amazing documentary that I saw not long ago. I have always wanted to be a marine biologist and then I saw this movie and knew exactly what I had to do. This movie is fantastic with rare footage of live deep sea creatures uninhibited and fully entrenched in daily activities. This not only gives you an idea of what deep sea creatures look like, but amazingly shows predator/prey interactions (though some of that was dramaticized, it was entertaining none the less). Now working with one of the contributing scientists from the movie, I watch this every time I sea it on discovery or animal planet and I'm even more amazed when I see the fish the filmed in person.

Id give it 6 if I could.......2005-01-02

AMAZING dvd..The colour is just out of this world w/o a high Def TV. The footage makes the viewer feel like they're actually there..DEFINITELY worth buying as well as seasonal seas/coral seas..I couldnt decide which one to get so I bought them both and highly recommend them :)

Oh and they have behind the scenes footage for each section (so two BTS per DVD) very interesting to see how much effort and energy was invested!!!

Whoa!.......2004-07-03

The Blue Planet's two episodes on this tape are the very best I have ever seen on the ocean's bowels and surfaces. The best episode here is "The Deep", which alone completely trashes Steve M's film "The Living Sea!" The Deep is ten times more amazing than anything shown in "The Living Sea". This episode takes you
in a submersible down into the dark depths of the planet. The creatures shown are amazing, including: Gulper Eels, rodlike fish, Anglerfish, Sixgill Sharks, and many more! The submersible even passes over a trench 4000 meters down in the deep ocean. It is amazing and sometimes frightening. Very much worth the expense of the entire video!
"Open Ocean", is also very exciting. The real highlights of this episode are the battles between different fish. There is ocean footage almost every second of the 45 minutes.
You will have to view this for yourself and find out how excilirating it really is!

Ground-breaking!.......2003-03-18

All other documentaries should aspire to the level of that of the Blue Planet series. By far the most impressive documentary ever put together! Even though the Discovery Channel re-airs these programs; the high quality of DVD sound and audio make this worth paying for it.

Average customer rating:

Apes Rule!
This movie reeks :(
Just Plain Stupid -- Actually Zeo stars
Closer to the Novel we go!!
Video/Audio quality is great; the movie is so-so

Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg , and Tim Roth
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000K7VHHS
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Amazon.com

Billed as a "reimagining" of the original 1968 film, Tim Burton's extraordinary Planet of the Apes constantly borders on greatness, adhering to the spirit of Pierre Boulle's original novel while exploring fresh and inventive ideas and paying honorable tribute to the '68 sci-fi classic. Burton's gifts for eccentric inspiration and visual ingenuity make this a movie that's as entertaining as it is provocative, beginning with Rick Baker's best-ever ape makeup (hand that man an Oscar®!), and continuing through the surprisingly nuanced performances and breathtaking production design. Add to all this an intelligent screenplay that turns Boulle's speculative reversal--the dominance of apes over humans--into a provocative study of civil rights and civil war. The film finally goes too far with a woefully misguided ending that pays weak homage to the original, but everything preceding that misfire is astonishingly right.

While attempting the space-pod retrieval of a chimpanzee test pilot, Major Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) enters a magnetic storm that propels him into the distant future, where he crash-lands on the ape-ruled planet. Among the primitively civilized apes, treatment of enslaved humans is a divisive issue: senator's daughter Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) advocates equality while the ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth) promotes extermination. While Davidson ignites a human rebellion, this conflict is explored with admirable depth and emotion, and sharp dialogue allows Burton's exceptional cast to bring remarkable expressiveness to their embattled ape characters, most notably in the comic relief of orangutan slave trader Limbo (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti). Classic lines from the original film are cleverly reversed (including an unbilled cameo for Charlton Heston, in ape regalia as Thade's dying father), and while this tale of interspecies warfare leads to an ironic conclusion that's not altogether satisfying, it still bears the ripe fruit of a timeless what-if idea. --Jeff Shannon

Description

After a spectacular crash-landing on an uncharted planet, brash astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Desperate to find a way home, Leo must evade the invincible gorilla army led by ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth) and his most trusted warrior, Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan). Now the pulse-pounding race is on to reach a sacred temple that may hold the shocking secrets of mankind's past - and the last hope for it's salvation!

Customer Reviews:

Apes Rule!.......2007-06-07

I know that remakes are often ill-received (and rightly so all too often), especially by loyalist to the original, but when I read comments on this specific remake that the oscar-winning outstanding make-up is laughable, the acting a joke (through all that make-up by top-notch actors), or that there is nothing original here, I can't help but wonder what film those folks were watching and I have to question the objectivity they may or may not have had going into this film and we all have a bias when entering a remake or a change to an established character. I know that I had no intention of seeing, let alone liking the new James Bond, Daniel Craig (Casino Royale), but when I gave him and the film a chance, I was enormously surprised. I think this film needs a second chance by those who so off-handly dismissed it.

I agree 100% with Amazon's review and synopsis of this film. This remake is rather inventive and original in it's own right and is far closer to the novel than the original. The themes of racism, civil right, justice, love, and sacrifice are handled far more deeply and sincerely than the original film did although that is still an outstanding film in its own right. Of course, the make-up in this remake is nothing less than astounding and believable by the famous Rick Bakker and completely outshines the original film. The special effects are nothing great, but they are good. The acting, the heart of this film in addition to its literate script, is terrific by those in the ape make-up as their voices, eyes, and gestures must mean more to resonate with the audience because of the heavy make-up used. I do, however, agree with critics here regarding the casting of Mark Wahlberg who is rather pedestrian in this film. He simply lacks charisma in this role and I found myself caring very little for him even as the hero in this film.

An interesting twist in this film that admittedly annoyed loyalists to the original is that in this film all humans speak, which makes sense to me as why would we "forget" how to speak in the future when the apes take over. While I always thought that was a silly aspect to the ape film series for none of us to talk in the future, I must admit that it does make the apes seems even crueler when they go after humans that speak. I guess that only enhances the racism theme prevelant in all the ape films. After all, we did, sadly enough, considered African slaves to be soul-less and a less form of humans and they were capable of speech too. In fact, slaves owners only considered them just "property" and not even human. Again, this concept of having all humans speak in this remake makes the film all the more thought-provoking. In addition, the short-lived Planet of the Apes: The Complete TV Series also had all the humans speak.

In conclusion, this is an extraordinary film and definitely not worthy of the very harsh criticism its recently received although everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I just think some need to give this film a second and real chance (minus the bias one may have for the original). I highly recommend this film as an adventure, sci-fi tale, and message for its timely social commentaries.

This movie reeks :(.......2007-05-29

I can't really find anything good to say about this blasé movie. Just plain awful. Why remake a classic? It served no purpose. It doesn't replace the original nor did it add anything of value. Completely unnecessary. So many poor decisions were made. Casting Marky Mark was a mistake. The make-up is a joke. The acting was a flop. It won its Razzie awards for a reason; it was well deserving.

Just Plain Stupid -- Actually Zeo stars.......2007-04-28

Why was this ever made? Just to make fans of the original mad? Rod Serling is rolling over in his grave. When I originally saw this in Burbank, CA, we were screaming and groaning at the screen.

Closer to the Novel we go!!.......2007-04-20

This movie was fantastic despite what naysayers would have you believe. While the old Planet of the Apes is a classic this is just as good if not better. Why because it is closer to the novel than the original! people dont get that, the Old one was way off from the novel. ANyway its good and Tim Burton did a credible job, but its Rick Bakers special effcts and make up that make this a masterpiece.

Video/Audio quality is great; the movie is so-so.......2007-04-12

In reviewing a Blu Ray version of a movie, you have to separate the audio/video quality of the version as well as the movie content itself (which is, generally, the same as the standard DVD version). Planet of the Apes has an excellent picture and sound and is a good demonstration of the quality possible with Blu Ray.

The movie itself, however, has some flaws. It is difficult to review Planet of the Apes without referring to the older series of movies. The apes themselves look much more realistic in the newer version of the movie -- in fact the special effects are excellent. On the other hand, director Ridley Scott chose to change plot details, and especially the ending. Without giving "spoilers," I liked the first half of the movie a great deal, but found the ending to be lacking -- especially the final scene, for which no logical explanation is given.

So I rate it 5 stars on audio/video, but only 3 on content for an overall rating of 4 stars.

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Documentary
As good as it gets
If you are unsure my advice is go for it
'Awe and wonder' at its best
Beautiful images and narrative

The Blue Planet - Seas of Life (Part 1)
Director: Alastair Fothergill
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Blue Planet - Seas of Life (Part 2)
The Blue Planet - Seas Of Life (Part 3)
The Blue Planet - Seas Of Life (Part 4)
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1
Life in the Freezer

ASIN: B00005U2KU
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Amazon.com

Extraordinary footage and eloquent narration by David Attenborough highlight these two segments of the BBC's remarkable wildlife series, The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. "Ocean World" begins with astonishing views of a gigantic blue whale--the elusive Holy Grail of undersea photography--and the marvels continue to demonstrate the power, diversity, and profound ecological influence of Earth's oceans. From the surface feedings of dolphins to the pitch- black environs of deep-sea predators rarely glimpsed by humans, the oceans are seen as living entities teeming with nutrients and rejuvenating currents essential to all life on earth. This marvelous portrait of the food chain--from plankton to sharks to killer whales--continues in "Frozen Seas," examining whales, walruses, penguins, and other creatures under the extreme conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. The Blue Planet: Seas of Life is one of the finest wildlife programs you're ever likely to see. --Jeff Shannon

Description

See over 120 minutes of some of the most startling wildlife photography ever to have been shown on television! The Blue Planet: Seas of Life features amazing new discoveries and photographic breakthroughs in two episodes: "Ocean World" and "Frozen Seas." 135 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Documentary.......2007-02-27

This is one the greatest explorations of the marine world ever made for television. David Attenborough takes you on a journey through the oceans to see the animals and much more in their natural surroundings. If like many of us you don't have a big screen TV, get this version so that the picture will be as large as possible and look the most impressive. You won't be disappointed!

As good as it gets.......2006-02-26

If movies are the director's medium and television series the writer's, nature programs belong to the photographers. Good moving pictures, deftly edited, can make a good nature show great. The first two episodes of the BBC program THE BLUE PLANET, `Ocean World' and `Frozen Seas,' have some of the best nature photography I believe I've ever seen.

I'm not usually a great fan of nature shows. Most seem heavily loaded with warnings about global warming, human encroachment, lose of the rain forest, etc. All important issues, but usually more depressing than enlightening. Not too keen on the ones where the host adopts a grizzly cub or peels a poisonous snake off a mambo tree, either. Thankfully THE BLUE PLANET doesn't have an agenda to push or a host's ego to stroke. If you want to see a program that simply celebrates nature, this is the one for you.

Richard Attenborough hosts these programs, adding his considerable credibility to the proceedings. Highlights in the first program include the dolphins herding of the migrating sardines and the arrival of the creatures of the night from the ocean depths. There's some footage of blue whales, but because they swim alone - we don't see a human being in either episode - it's hard to get a sense of their size from the footage. Second episode highlights include a polar bear with cub on the hunt and herds of penguin huddling against the biting wind and bitter cold. Simply amazing footage in both episodes. Also included are a couple of short (9 minutes or so) featurettes profiling the film crews for the two episodes. Highest recommendation for this dvd.

If you are unsure my advice is go for it.......2006-02-25

If one is interested in marine biology then the Blue Planet series is the absolute best on the subject. Produced by the BBC, these videos are uncomparable in quality of production and sheer visual impressivness to any other documentary about sea life I have ever seen. If you decide to purchase any of this series of documentaries prepare to spend a lot of time watching and rewatching them and who knows maybea youll learn something in the process. I know I sure did.

'Awe and wonder' at its best.......2005-02-12

I was somewhat apprehensive about viewing yet another BBC natural history documentary, however, I need not have been concerned. 'Blue Planet' proved to be an awe-inspiring journey across the oceans of the world which left me both amazed and scared in equal measures about the creatures of our mysterious underwater world.

While the opening image of the series - a 'must be seen to be believed' blue whale at least the size of a double decker bus - is astonishing, I have to go with 'Frozen Seas' as the greatest episode of the series. In this episode the camera work and photgraphy is stunning, capturing both the physical beauty of the barren Arctic and the complexities of survival faced by the smattering of creatures who inhabit the area. The production team are similarly successful in revealing to us, the viewers, the distinctive personalities of these creatures, including the unforgettable sequence about the penguins trying in vain to make shore.

A 'must-see' for anyone who has ever been for a swim in the sea and wondered what lurks beneath them.

Beautiful images and narrative.......2003-06-29

I have all 4 DVDs (8 films) of the series; all are outstanding productions, and clearly the best of the marine documentaries I have seen (which is a lot).

Two aspects of the films stand out the most: the unbelievable image quality and visual narratives. The films capture aspects of animal behavior which have never before been seen on film (polar bears hunting beluga whales; orcas playing soccer with a baby seal, baitball feeding with marlin, dolphins and a sei whale; orca pods attacking a baby gray whale, and so on). And they capture this behavior with extremely moving beauty.

Amazon.com

The BBC's landmark series on marine wildlife continues with this pair of uncommonly beautiful episodes. "Seasonal Seas" focuses on the explosion of life that accompanies every annual blooming of plankton, numbering in the countless billions and captured here with brilliant microphotography. The plankton provide a seasonal feast for a stunning variety of creatures, including the gigantic basking shark, sea otters, immense swarms of jellyfish, bat rays, and dancing Australian squid. In massive kelp forests, we witness such delightful sights as white-sided dolphin playing a game of "pass the seaweed." In "Coral Seas" miles-long reefs of living coral are explored, from deep within (requiring brief computer animation) to the surrounding environs, where you'll see white-tipped sharks in a feeding frenzy while beautiful harlequin shrimp wrestle with a starfish. Stunningly photographed and supplemented by an informative DVD bonus interview with producer Alastair Fothergill, these episodes represent a filmmaking legacy that will reward viewers for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon

Description

See some of the most startling wildlife photography ever to have been shown on television! The Blue Planet: Seas of Life features amazing new discoveries and photographic breakthroughs in four episodes. The Blue Planet: Seas of Life #3 features: "Seasonal Seas" and "Coral Seas."

Customer Reviews:

About Hoplite's review.......2006-03-07

I've researched the spotlight review "hoplite Phalanx..." and it's apparent this person is creating multiple accounts to vote on his reviews! How amazon lets this person do what he is doing is appaling. The filthy language (although censored) he uses in his music reviews is not necessary, and in no way is it even possible for him to garner the vote count he has. Look at his rank.

Look at his rank.

Then look at his total number of votes, and just compare them to the other reviews around him. It is obvious whats going on. Sad and pathetic. As a newcomer to Amazon I find this distasteful to say the least. His account as well as all his reviews should be removed.

Betty

Seas For All Seasons: Storms, Calm, Temperate and Chaotic!!!.......2005-10-14

Potentially the most "boring" of Blue Planet subsets, the Seasonal Seas and Coral Seas grouping is, as a TV-produced documentary, one of few elitist, educational fares that not only disdains other attempts at the same ambitions but will, in posterity, probably continue to stand at the impregnable apex of undersea filmography. I'm not dismissing this offering from Blue Planet-----it's simply that, comparably, by the perversely intimidating standards of some of the other offerings in this series, such as `Coasts'; `The Deep'; `Ocean World' and `Frozen Seas'----this examination of decidedly less rigorous environments (inlets from the ocean and beaches) and decidedly less majestic animals (seadragons and pufferfish) lowers the consistency, but only by a grudging bit.

As always in this series, aggressive proximity of close-up detail is so harsh, it's perverse. For instance, in `Seasonal Seas' is contained a piece about the elusive salmon shark, which, heretofore, I had never ever heard of, much less seen. This segues into another beneficial aspect of Blue Planet. Complementing its unholy vivid cinematography is the rare find of being exposed to something utterly new and unprecedented, which may have been completely stagnated in the dark of unenlightenment for you. A smaller relative of the Great White (the shark, not the nightclub-fire setting band) that measures 10 feet long, these fish fit well under a "seasonal" heading because every year they return to the same Alaskan inlets to attack salmon, as the producer of this episode described at the end of this show's regular insights into the filming of these episodes.

Or how about another segment, concerning female spawning lobsters which move to warm shallows to look for a place to incubate their eggs in, wherein attention to the minutest detail is so hardened, it's perverse. They followed one particular lobster that, upon it's arrival, discovered that many craters in the sand had already been occupied by rivals. Blue Planet shows the fearsomely overlookable fight between the two, which is more of the smaller lobster yielding to the larger female with her eggs. Not to mention the preceding, yet torturously brief, feature relating to the basking shark. They have such an impressive shot of the fish, with it's mouth wide agape as it just propels itself through the water collecting plankton, almost like a loathsomely colossal sieve. This was after Attenborough had established that the plankton was some of the most microscopic ocean life.

Another curious facet was when they showed California otters surrounded by seaweeds. To sleep, these sea otters use the strands of kelp, coming up from 100 meters beneath them from the ocean's floor, as anchors to wrap around themselves to keep themselves from drifting off with the current. Successively, Blue Planet showed the otters' hunting methods, which consisted of diving down for shellfish, then bringing them back to the surface for consumption while swimming. Additionally, interesting was the sight of dolphin----in early autumn----appearing in B.C. to "play" with seaweed, as the crew caught them. It's doubtful whether this really was a game----one dolphin would carry the seaweed by its mouth or flipper and then desert it for the next dolphin to take, who promptly resumes this----because when animals move, they don't possess any dexterity.

In `Coral Seas', again citing the grudging let down of the theme of much sadder animals in this pack, it starts off exploring corals, catastrophically predictably. However, what's quite fascinating in this piece is the time-motion camera they use to illustrate the narrator's points concerning coral survival of the fittest. Namely that as coral beds grow atrociously, increasingly near each other, they tend to fight for space by one consuming the other, rival coral, because of overcrowding. They do this at night.

Other aspects are consistently the same warring mix of inferior animals together with the most obscurely witnessed, and probably heretofore, filmed, perversely specific acts of nature. Such as threats to corals, like the crown-of-thorns starfish, that attempts to eat corals live by sucking them outrightly through it's stomach, on it's outside. Blue Planet particularly shows this harshly magnified, as do they the next pertaining scene, where small crabs that inhabit the coral will emerge to defend their home, by pinching the thorns of the starfish, causing it's retreat. Also factually immaterial, yet new to me, was the revelation of parrotfish having jaws so ornery, they'll not only eat coral but also rocks. Parrotfish erode corals, yet surprisingly, they aid in the development of beaches----by defecating this coral and rock they ingest as the fine sand on beaches.

They also cover how nighttime in reefs is supplanted by nocturnal hunters like Moray eels and Whitetip sharks, which hunt using electrical senses. When their prey (fish) are hiding in the dark inside the corals, they use these senses to detect movement of these fish, since Whitetips are impeded visually because of the dark. In another one of this series' closing features where they interview camera people for their techniques, the divers disclosed their methods for shooting the feeding frenzy, once the Whitetips found their prey, occurring in what would be cloudily black water, at night. They created artificial lighting using colossal floodlights connected to a portable generator they took underwater with them, in turn connected to miles of cable going to the surface. The divers confessed they were distraught that their imposing lighting would disrupt the natural occurrence of the Whitetips' feeding, but then explained that the instinct of them was grievously powerful, that they would single-mindedly focus on their kills, and nothing else.

Closing `Coral Seas' out romantically is talk of turbulent ocean storms. Intimidating footage of the most tumultuous tempests is delivered severely close-up, with the animosity of waves and winds crashing in full fury to highlight the fact that, supposedly, in just such chaos, coral reefs hundreds of years old can be wiped out in hours. Contrastingly, out of such devastation emerge new coral larvae to re-colonize the ruined landscape where the storm just hit.

Out of our usual world.......2002-06-12

Just like I said, out of our usual world. Is it really like that under the water. The Blue Planet team not just filmed it, but brought it to life for all those of us who don't spend their lives under the sea. Excellent script, perfect photography, flawless sound mixing, magical music. A multiple thumbs up.

stunning.......2002-06-09

The photography was the best I've seen,the story line was highly interesting and informative,I was awed by the ability of the film crews to capture scenes that must rarely occur...one of the best series I have ever seen

Average customer rating:

Exotic Robotcs
exotic robotics
Highly Recommended Eye Candy
Dont like the banners
Music good, video not as good

Exotic Robotics:Pleasure141x
Starring: Blue Planet Corporation , and Starecase
Manufacturer: Video Music, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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Animusic 2 - A New Computer Animation Video Album
Animusic - A Computer Animation Video Album (Special Edition)
Illuminated Manuscripts
Caught Between Worlds - A Computer Animation Vision
Dimensional Connections - A Computer Animation Vision

ASIN: B00005ASP3
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Description

This 59 minute DVD utilizes dazzling 3D computer graphics and visual FX to electronic dance music from top trance producers in the UK & Germany. Music is by Blue Planet Corporation, Oliver Lieb/LSG, Starecase, Timo Maas v. Ian Wilkie, James Holden, Cabala, Cass and Slide, Max Graham, Humate v. Rabbit in the Moon.

Customer Reviews:

Exotic Robotcs.......2007-04-04

Ok Ok Ok I'll talk but please turn this dvd off! I've seen worse.
One has to wonder if they made their money back on this.

exotic robotics.......2007-02-10

I found the dvd boring. The visuals were the same kaleidoscope over and over. The title of the dvd has nothing to do with the content.I didn't find any exotic robotics in it. This dvd you will view once then put it away. Actually you may not want to watch it even once. I don't recommend purchasing this unless you are a hardcore trance listener. The trance music is ok but the visuals are hard to watch after a few minutes.

Highly Recommended Eye Candy.......2006-11-15

This DVD showcases some of the best visual artist talent in the VJ and nightlife industry today all mixed to some killer trance music. All of the visuals are stunning except I am not a big fan of the contributions made by Bionic Dots. They seem to be overly paranoid about showcasing their work so they obnoxiously brand their content with annoying info bars across the bottom of the screen.

The video content is great as is for playing at parties or can be utilized as source material by any interested VJ in mnay creative ways. This DVD is well worth a purchase for anyone that has been mesmerized by video screens at a top nightclub or underground party - highly recommended eye candy.

Dont like the banners.......2006-03-09

I bought this for projection shows for the visuals only and though it has some cool visuals, it also has on screen titles & banners that ruin the visuals.

Music good, video not as good.......2002-03-06

The progressive trance music is very good. The visual effects, for the most part, are no more exciting or advanced than a collection of WinAMP plugins. There are also some chapters (especially the two done by "Madame Chao") which make liberal use of seizure inducing--or at least headache inducing--flash strobing. This DVD is much more geared towards the DJ/Dance Party than casual watching. The music (and included audio CD) are great for any-time background trance music. Music 4.5 stars, visuals, 2 stars.

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Black Rainbow

Bill Bailey - Bewilderness - Live

My Life As A Dog [1985]

DVD: Blackmail (1929)/Easy Virtue/R

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