Product Description

From the BBC's internationally renowned, award winning Natural History unit comes the second release in this extraordinarily ambitious undertaking. BBC Atlas of the Natural World is a unique survey of life on Earth in all its remarkable richness an beauty. This six-disc set brings together four landmark BBC series that combine to give one of the most comprehensive portraits of Africa (Wild Africa and Congo), the Mediterranean (The First Eden) and Europe (Europe: A Natural History) ever assembled. In over 12 hours of programming reaching back over three billion years, viewers will examine the birth of these vast continents from the dawn of time and examine how the rise of human civilization has forever changed the landscape.

DVD Features:
Documentaries
Documentary

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24710 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2007-10-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 1055 minutes

Features

• From the BBC's internationally renowned, award winning Natural History unit comes the second release in this extraordinarily ambitious undertaking. BBC Atlas of the Natural World is a unique survey of life on Earth in all its remarkable richness an beauty. This six-disc set brings together four landmark BBC series that combine to give one of the most comprehensive portraits of Africa (Wild Africa

Customer Reviews

Great Documentary on Our Planet
I knew prior to ordering this set, sight unseen, that it would be very good but it surpassed my expectations. The BBC is probably the foremost producer of outstanding nature documentaries and in this series lies the proof. The BBC Atlas explores how geology, and human history among other factors formed the Continents as we know them today. It covers how humans altered and adapted to life in Africa and Europe with fabulous visuals and amazing photography. Ranging from pre-history right up to the 21st century we see how man and animals have co-existed through the ages and adapted to the environment as it has gone thru various changes. All the various narrators of segments are excellent, especially Sir David Attenborough. I highly recommend both sets.

Excellent set with one annoying fault
It might seem somewhat petty to withhold a 5-star rating from this set for one complaint, but for people buying this chiefly for David Attenborough's "The First Eden," it's a pretty big complaint: It's not complete. The 4th episode, "Strangers in the Garden," is not included -- at least nowhere that I can find. Very strange, considering there are so many extra documentaries; you're not merely getting the four main programs, but also shows about the Nile, Madagascar (mainly lemurs), Scandinavia, and Iceland. Couldn't one of them have been left out to make room for the final episode of "The First Eden?" Or even better, would it have been that much more trouble to spread "The First Eden" over two discs and supplement it with another documentary like they did with the other programs?

Other than that one problem, this set is magnificent. If you liked "Planet Earth" and/or the various Attenborough "Life..." series, you can't miss with this set. At over 1000 minutes, this what you call bang for your buck. Don't hesitate, unless you're only interested in getting the complete "First Eden."

An overview of the greatest continent for wildlife left
I'm not sure why this Africa feature is packaged with a DVD about European wildlife. Regardless, the Africa portion of this documentary is great. Each episode covers a different ecosystem on the African continent. The episodes discuss the environmental changes that have given rise to each species. I prefer looking at individual ecosystems on one continent rather than the "flying around the world" approach of Planet Earth. With that said, this documentary is much older than Planet Earth (first produced in the late 1980s), so it simply doesn't have the HD quality viewers are used to. Regardless, there are still some amazing scenes, such as sea lions sneaking up on gannets in the water and hippos fighting each other with bloody jaws. Also, the enhanced mode is actually informative and not too intrusive, mentioning interesting facts about the animals. Definitely worth checking out.