Human Planet: The Complete Series

The Planet Earth series set a new standard for the documentary art, communicating the excitement of scientific discovery while showing us the wonders of the natural world with spectacular state-of-the-art cinematography. But the BBC's film crews, writers, producers and vocal performers have continued to raise the standard ever since, and now the 8-hour Human Planet series does it again. Only this time the focus is on the most amazing species of them all.

As in Planet Earth, the organizing principle here is type of habitat (oceans, deserts, arctic, jungles, mountains, grasslands, rivers, cities), with each episode made up of several segments, each focussing on specific people doing amazing things for a living, mostly in exotic locations. The gripping and suspenseful qualities of each story are enhanced by John Hurt's excellent voice-over narrative, interwoven with superb location sound and effectively integrated music. Sometimes the drama is almost painfully intense, especially when the work we are seeing is highly dangerous -- for instance, the divers who have to spend hours maneuvering their nets deep underwater, sustained only by a barely-adequate boat with a diesel compressor pumping air to them through plastic tubes like garden hoses. The script does not neglect to tell you why these people are forced (or sometimes choose) to undergo these dangers, or how the film crew got these amazing shots: the 10-minute "Behind the Lens" segments at the end of each episode are essential to the whole experience because they illuminate the relationships between the filmmakers and their subjects. The contrast between traditional low-tech but high-performance skills and the sophisticated technology being used to document them becomes a vital part of the story. So does the circumstance that many of these traditional skills -- like those of three African tribesmen who face down a whole pride of lions to steal part of their kill -- are on the verge of disappearing.

Despite the tremendous range and variety of locations covered in this series, it doesn't come across as miscellaneous (or even as "humanity's greatest hits"), but rather as an exploration of the human relationship with the natural world. As we all know, that complex relationship is extremely and increasingly troubled these days, and this series makes that very clear, and does it without preaching or scolding -- it shows you in the most intimate way what's happening to people, and leaves it to your conscience to consider the implications. This pattern culminates in the final episode, which (like the series as a whole) celebrates the breadth and depth of human ingenuity and determination without neglecting the challenges we face on a global scale. It shows graphically that the stresses inflicted on the biosphere by our consumptive habits have their impact on ordinary people all over the planet -- but also that some of us are finding ways to shift our habits toward restoring and sustaining the health of our deep connection with nature. It's fitting therefore that after all the far-flung exploits featured in this series, the last word goes to the renaissance of beekeeping in New York City.

BBC Earth hasn't disappointed me yet, but this Blu-ray pushes the envelope even further. Even the packaging is perfect. Thanks also to Amazon's Earth Day sale -- long may that tradition continue as well!

I have recently purchased the BR version of the Human Planet from one of the independent sellers listed in Amazon.ca. The version they have sent me turns out to be an "UK" version with format 1080i/50. The way to distinguish the version is by the cover, the UK version has a yellow "PG triangle" in the left bottom corner, while the US version doesn't. The problem with this UK Blu-ray is that due to its format, it's not playable to any North America machines (PS3, LG BR ROM, Samsung Blu-ray etc). In order to play, you actually need an all region player which I don't have. I ended up sending back to the seller and got my full refund. So if you're planning to buy the Blu-ray from any independent sellers from Amazon.ca, make sure you check with them whether they have the correct version and check the cover when you rec'd the package, b/c it turns out that my seller and its supplier weren't even aware of the region issue. See below links for more details. Hope you have a smooth purchase without going through the trouble like I did!

Issue with UK version:
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Cover between the UK version vs US version:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_13/276-0570144-2471667?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=human+planet+blu+ray&sprefix=human+planet+%2Caps%2C303

Update - After rec'd refund from the independent seller, I finally got the correct North American Version. All I have to say is Wow, this has to be one of the best BBC Nature Series, right there at the top with Planet Earth. The picture quality from this series is superb, it content is amazing, plus the behind the scenes extra, this is must have for any BBC or Blu-ray collector. The series deals with human and our co-existence with Nature. A great educational documantary. Enough praise, go check it out yourself!

I have recently purchased The Human Planet and several BBC Earth series (Planet Earth, Life, The Frozen Planet) and never once did BBC let me down. The scenes are spectacular and the narration captivating. If you watched Planet Earth, you would not want to miss this series.