Earth

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we forget how beautiful and complex our planet is. Each corner of the globe is different with different inhabitants, different landscapes and different forms of survival. But Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield’s Earth, reminds us that no matter where you are, this third rock from the sun of ours is a gorgeous thing.

A compilation of sorts of the BBC’s wildly popular Planet Earth, this theatrically released version maintains all the beauty that helped drive HDTV sales into the mainstream. From polar bears emerging from their snow caves for the first time to infant elephants making their way across the savannah to baby humpback whales learning to breath to ducklings leaving their nest for the first time, Earth focuses on the planet’s young. It’s the perfect dramatic launching point for showcasing the world as it gives viewers a rare view at occurrences rarely caught on film but also to show what’s at stake from the very beginning.

Watching Earth I couldn’t help but see the connections amongst all of the planet’s inhabitants. As a parent I could relate to the plight of the adult elephants as they tried to protect their young from a pride of hungry lions. I felt for the male polar bear as he flopped across the melting ice struggling to find food. I also couldn’t help but chuckle at the ducklings as the leapt out of their nests, flew through the sky and harmlessly bounced on the leaf-covered ground.

Perhaps the most amazing part of it all is the idea that it’s all natural without special effects. I’ve only seen isolated bits and pieces of Planet Earth thus far so most of what I saw in the movie was new to me. But even what I did see previously remains as jaw dropping as ever. Special effects are nowhere to be seen other than the extreme patience I image the cameramen would have huddling in the wild and waiting for nature’s drama to unfold.

Although one does get the sense that Earth voices a need for preservation, it doesn’t carry much of a political agenda. It simply shows the world as it is. Some of it does touch on environmental issues but it never goes as far as pointing fingers and threatening us of an impending doom. Instead it goes for a love song approach that pays tribute and, in turn, encourages everyone to take care of the world if they want it to stay as beautiful as it’s shown in the film.

Earth might not be entirely new content but it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since Baraka. It’s a tribute to our planet and all of its non-human residents. If nothing else, it should be a reminder that we all need to stop every now and again and watch the astonishing natural world around us.

Earth Blu-ray Review

If you’re looking for a reasonably priced reason to go Blu-ray and computer-generated animation or wall-to-wall action isn’t your thing, this release might be. Firstly, Earth comes to Blu-ray as a combo pack that also includes the film on DVD.

Technically, Earth is jaw-dropping. The widescreen 1080p picture (1.78:1 aspect ratio) is flawless save for one scene in which spray from a waterfall makes things look a little wonky. However, I suspect this might have been an issue at the time of filming, not during the transfer stage. The picture is sharp, bringing out all the sharp details from ridges in mountains to single hairs on the backs of polar bears. Audio is in English 5.1 DTS-HD as well as French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.

Rather than going the traditional feature commentary route, the Blu-ray opts for something called fillmmaker annotations in which scene-specific comments are made by the film’s crew. “Earth Diaries” is a lengthy featurette that looks at the innovative technical aspects that went into the production.