How many different cameras did they have on the orcas hunting the seal????????? This is some amazing filmmaking. The editing, the cinematography, the narration.... Just incre
2 Reviews
The orcas alone!!!!
kateofmind19 November 2018
'Frozen Planet' in the polar regions
TheLittleSongbird24 November 2017
Despite how much he apparently dislikes the term "national treasure", that term really does sum up David Attenborough to a tee. He is such a great presenter (in his 90s and still sounds, and looks on a side note, great) and whenever a new series of his is aired they are often among the best the BBC has done in years.
Attenborough has done so many treasures over his long and remarkably consistent career (even his lesser work is still good) that picking a favourite is not easy. 'Frozen Planet' is one of those treasures, perhaps not as ground-breaking as something like 'Life on Earth' but it left me in the same amount of awe as when watching that series, both 'Planet Earth' series and 'Blue Planet' (am loving the second series too). It is a shame that despite being one of IMDb's highest rated shows, the ratings here for each episode individually has such a wide divide between them and that for the show overall.
"To the Ends of the Earth" is a fabulous start. Said in my review for 'Frozen Planet' that it transfixed, fascinated, moved and educated me more than any other documentary seen in a long time and is an example of how documentaries should be done. Still stand by that. Likewise with saying that one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art.
Visually, like all the 'Frozen Planet' episodes and all of Attenborough's work, "To the Ends of the Earth" looks wonderful. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The polar region scenery is some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life. Standout images here are a polar bear tracking his mate, the ice cliff rupture and killer whales toying with a seal as if it were a rag doll. The behind the scenes stuff gives a touch of honesty and humanity, such as the filming of the killer whales.
George Fenton's music score soars majestically, rousing the spirits while touching the soul. It not only complements the visuals but enhances them to a greater level. Some of my favourite work from him in fact, coming from someone who's liked a lot of what he's done.
Can't fault the narrative aspects in "To the Ends of the Earth" either. There are things already known to me, still delivered with a lot of freshness, but there was a lot that was quite an education and after watching the full series it honestly felt like the series taught me a lot (and no it's not just the Latin names for the animals), much more so than anything in my secondary school Geography class. The episode is actually one of the better ones in the series to do this. Attenborough's narration helps quite significantly too, he clearly knows his stuff and knows what to say and how to say it. He delivers it with his usual richness, soft-spoken enthusiasm and sincerity, never talking down to the viewer and keeping them riveted and wanting to know more. Who can't help love phrases like "seem to be borrowed from fairy tales".
The animals themselves are a wonderful mix of the adorable and the dangerous. The wolf and bison attack is a truly powerful sequence and one that stayed with me long after the episode ended and still has stayed with me. It was unlike any other nature documentary captured attack there's ever been. It's not just the animals, the ice and glaciers are like characters of their own too.
Nothing episodic or repetitive here. Instead, it feels like its own individual story with real, complex emotions and conflicts and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.
Overall, fabulous first episode. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Attenborough has done so many treasures over his long and remarkably consistent career (even his lesser work is still good) that picking a favourite is not easy. 'Frozen Planet' is one of those treasures, perhaps not as ground-breaking as something like 'Life on Earth' but it left me in the same amount of awe as when watching that series, both 'Planet Earth' series and 'Blue Planet' (am loving the second series too). It is a shame that despite being one of IMDb's highest rated shows, the ratings here for each episode individually has such a wide divide between them and that for the show overall.
"To the Ends of the Earth" is a fabulous start. Said in my review for 'Frozen Planet' that it transfixed, fascinated, moved and educated me more than any other documentary seen in a long time and is an example of how documentaries should be done. Still stand by that. Likewise with saying that one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art.
Visually, like all the 'Frozen Planet' episodes and all of Attenborough's work, "To the Ends of the Earth" looks wonderful. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The polar region scenery is some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life. Standout images here are a polar bear tracking his mate, the ice cliff rupture and killer whales toying with a seal as if it were a rag doll. The behind the scenes stuff gives a touch of honesty and humanity, such as the filming of the killer whales.
George Fenton's music score soars majestically, rousing the spirits while touching the soul. It not only complements the visuals but enhances them to a greater level. Some of my favourite work from him in fact, coming from someone who's liked a lot of what he's done.
Can't fault the narrative aspects in "To the Ends of the Earth" either. There are things already known to me, still delivered with a lot of freshness, but there was a lot that was quite an education and after watching the full series it honestly felt like the series taught me a lot (and no it's not just the Latin names for the animals), much more so than anything in my secondary school Geography class. The episode is actually one of the better ones in the series to do this. Attenborough's narration helps quite significantly too, he clearly knows his stuff and knows what to say and how to say it. He delivers it with his usual richness, soft-spoken enthusiasm and sincerity, never talking down to the viewer and keeping them riveted and wanting to know more. Who can't help love phrases like "seem to be borrowed from fairy tales".
The animals themselves are a wonderful mix of the adorable and the dangerous. The wolf and bison attack is a truly powerful sequence and one that stayed with me long after the episode ended and still has stayed with me. It was unlike any other nature documentary captured attack there's ever been. It's not just the animals, the ice and glaciers are like characters of their own too.
Nothing episodic or repetitive here. Instead, it feels like its own individual story with real, complex emotions and conflicts and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.
Overall, fabulous first episode. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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