The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4
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DVD details
Brand: DigNarrator: David Attenborough
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 500 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-01-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Reviews of The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4
DVD Review: A wonderful tool for understanding mammals
Summary: 5 Stars
The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4 is another Attenborough masterpiece in the "Life of" Series (other installments include The Life of Birds and Life in Cold Blood).This series covers all the major types of mammals, large and small, ending with homo sapiens (humans).
There is some amazing and unique footage on these discs, such as the Chimpanzees hunting monkeys in Kibale Forest, Uganda. I'll never forget the image of the Chimps chasing the poor monkey, or the sound of their hunting cry. I was amazing at the size of blue whales and humpback whales (as well as the size of the male genitals of the former!). I also found the last disc on humans interesting, since it demonstrates how ancient humans hunted antelope on foot.
The DVD series is well organized, beginning with marsupials and with each disc covering a different class of animal. In fact, it almost seems like a natural progression as each disc points out new adaptations that allowed that particular mammal species to survive. Unlike Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series (which in my view is simply a collection of pretty clips), The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4 has a clear focus and and is actually a great educational tool for learning about mammals and evolution. I'd recommend this for all individuals interested in wildlife, as well as biology students.
DVD Review: live encyclopedia
Summary: 5 Stars
This series is one for the archives. Sir David Attenborough makes it so interesting and entertaining with his British wit and vocal style.
The photography and content is top notch without the feeling of a lecture.
Great for everyone...armchair travelers and real scientists alike.
DVD Review: A bit too much of David Attenborough
Summary: 4 Stars
Planet earth and the blue planet by far are the best I had seen from the BBC series. There are a bit too much of David Attenborough in the DVD in this series. It is good to see how much trouble David ATtenborough went through in the attempt of making these DVD, but after a while, you sort of feel tire of seeing the same person over and over again. The information provided in the DVD is vast and incredible! There are mammals that I did not dream of their existence at all. In the very beginning of the first DVD about the white fox in the Artic, it already made one the famous Chinese romance writer's story rediculous due to the geogrphy location of white fox is only in the very cold environment. It is definitly an eyes opening experience to watch the DVD. However, don't know whether it is Mr. Attenborough's voice or what, the DVDs were not able to hold me in front of the TV to watch more of it. I like watching discovery channels on the animals very mcuh. Teachers, if you are going to show this in class, please put in the consideration that your poor students might fall into sleep. This is probably best to be shown in smaller sections which related to the class than the whole things. My suggestion will be taking smaller intervals to watch these DVD. These are pobably more value as the outside assignment for college class.DVD Review: In the same Class as humans
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the 7th entry in the David Attenborough Life series following The Life of Birds. The groundbreaking first series Life on Earth was based on evolution and started with bacteria making its way up to modern humans over the course of 13 episodes. The Living Planet was 12 episodes long and dealt mainly with adaptation over a wide range of environments that also incorporated more Earth science along with the life science in terms of geology and environments. The Trials of Life was 12 episodes long and all about animal behaviour. Life in the freezer was 6 episodes long and specialized on the Antarctic. The Private life of Plants was another 6 episode series and focused entirely on botany. The Life of Birds was 10 episodes long and is one of the best documentaries about birds ever made.
With Life in the Freezer and The Private Life of Plants Attenborough made a new move to specialize instead of following the 12-13 episode discipline that started with Clark's Civilisations and Bronowski's The Ascent of Man and birthed other great series like Sagan's Cosmos. Attenborough, after deciding to detach from the shorter episode format of Freezer and Plants (an such as was in previous non-life series such as The Tribal Eye, The First Eden and Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives) and after going for a higher number of 10 episodes instead of 6 for a specialized theme on birds, goes for mammals for what will be the last of his longer running shows in the Life series as he would afterwards cut back considerably for the remaining ones.
Apart from the extremes of Life in the Freezer, Mammals maybe his most dangerous production. Skunks spray. Grizzly bears are hungry. Big cats are filmed in close-up hunting, not to mention that Attenborough does all this at 76 years of age. The series requires that they fly to and visit multiple places around the world. Because mammals are warm-blooded the producers make full use of the latest night vision and heat sensitive technology. Attenborough looks at why mammals have evolved and why the mammalian design works. He covers insect hunting mammals and plant predators, herbivores, before turning to rodents and how they chisel their food. Then we get carnivores meat eating and the opportunistic feeders that take advantage to also eat plants, the omnivores. Mammals have also evolved to return back to the water so a large part of the series is marine based. Then we turn to the trees for the final few episodes concentrating on primates and their social structures before finally veering to man with special emphases on the extinction of other civilisations and why we must conserve the diversity of life.
Overall this is some of the best of Attenborough's incredible life series. Some of the most memorable scenes are whale mating and the indigenous bushmen of the Kalahari Desert going on a long endurance hunt, not to mention the sheer scope of the social behaviour of primates that is investigated. This is an utterly fantastic and unbeatable view of mammals. Attenborough does it yet again.
DVD Review: As good as Planet Earth and Blue Planet
Summary: 5 Stars
As somebody who loved Planet Earth and The Blue Planet, I would definitely place this 10 part series close to the level of quality that those two achieved. Of course, this isn't going to be in HD, but it still looked pretty impressive on my 60 inch DLP TV. Unless you sit two feet from the screen, you are not going to notice any problems with picture quality.
What sets this series apart from Blue Planet and Planet Earth is creator David Attenborough's direct involvement with the source material. Almost every episode opens and closes with Sir David standing face to face with an animal to featured in the episode. You get a true appreciation of Grizzly Bear salmon hunts when the host is literally standing 10 feet away and narrating as it is occurring. Some casual fans of Planet Earth may not like this, as it grounds the documentary and prevents it from reaching the near art-based quality of some of the BBC's more recent productions. Personally, I love seeing how excited Sir David gets when he finally sees a Blue Whale, or as he explains how monkeys react to leopard decoys he places in the African rain forest. Although I would highly recommend all of his "Life of" DVDs, the massive variety of animals featured in this set will likely be appreciated by all.
Description of The Life of Mammals, Vol. 1-4
In ten parts, the award-winning David Attenborough (2002 Emmy winner for The Blue Planet: Seas of Life; The Life of Birds) introduces us to the most diverse group of animals ever to live on Earth, from the smallest - the two-inch pygmy shrew, to the largest - the blue whale; from the slowest - the sloth, to the swiftest - the cheetah; from the least attractive - the naked mole rat, to the most irresistible - a human baby. The Life of Mammals is the story of 4,000 species that have outlived the dinosaurs and conquered the farthest places on earth. With bodies kept warm by thick coats of fur and their developing young protected and nourished within their bodies, they have managed to colonize every part of the globe, dry or wet, hot or cold. Their adaptations for finding food have also had a profound effect on the way they move, socialize, mate and breed.General DVDs
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