'Our Planet' is another David Attenborough treasure that left me in shock and awe, not to mention tears. It may not be one of Attenborough's best or most ground-breaking, but was worried slightly as it was in collaboration with Netlfix and Netflix is spotty/variable when it comes to originals and 'Our Planet' blew them all out of the water and in a completely different league. One of my favourite television programmes so far this year without question and one of the most special.
Its first episode "One Planet" was an incredible start, with one of the most visually stunning opening sequences of the whole series being a big standout. Was riveted by the images, fascinated by the animals and what was being said and felt a wide gaumt of emotions, from biting nails, shedding tears, being shocked, being inspired, awwing at anything sweet and even being amused. The same goes for "Frozen Worlds", which boasted one of the, maybe the, 'Our Planet's' most controversial scenes. It certainly was the most emotionally devastating and it has not left my mind since.
"Jungles" is every bit as wonderful. The environment is one of the more familiar ones of the series and there are not really any scenes in the episode that have the emotional impact seen in the previous two instalments. There is a little bit more of a balance of the cute and sinister too, but it is still every bit as fascinating and visually beautiful and boasts a couple of the most memorable moments of the whole series.
Not easy to begin praising "Jungles" with such a lot to talk about and with so much that worked. Lets start with the visuals, which as always with Attenborough amazing. While not one of the best or most ground-breaking of Attenborough's work, 'Our Planet' is one of the most impressive visually of his, and "Jungles" is one of the strongest examples of this. The scenery is some of the breath taking of the series, and is enhanced by cinematic-worthy photography with a wider range of techniques rarely seen before, a feast for the eyes and also expansive and intimate. The jungle may not be as cruel or as unforgiving as the Arctic and grasslands for examples, but there is still much more to it than being a beautiful environment like it could be easily criticised as. The music has whimsy and jauntiness, especially in the preening bird sequence which was the single most amusing sequence of the whole series and it is amazing that any animal could behave like that up close. The music complemented well and actually made the scene funnier, plus have learned that it is a great way of making a good impression when looking for a mate.
Despite the familiar environment, with the jungles being visited frequently in Attenborough documentaries, to me there were moments that illuminated and were not so familiar and were amazing at how they were filmed in the first place. Not just the rarely seen preening bird, but the very intimately photographed sequence with the ants, behaving in a way that was uniquely different and not what one expects or sees much. The animals are hard to forget and have interesting individual stories, ones that humans can relate to without over-humanising.
The heavy emphasis on conservation/the environment for the series overall, and re-visited in all the episodes, has been criticised, didn't have a problem with it personally. Didn't feel lectured to, it made me think of the causes, consequences and how to stop it and it is something important to talk about and be addressed.
As one can expect, the narration is very thought-provoking and never rambling or speculative. There are some interesting individual feeling stories here throughout and so many of the species are easy to relate to. A lot of information is covered but felt properly explored and not rushed or disjointed, and the facts educate and illuminate while not being compromised for the emotionally complex storytelling. Once again, Attenborough's distinctive and unequalled narrative delivery, with his unmistakable voice, is sincere, enthusiastic as well as understated. One can listen to him for a long time and not tire of him, no other nature/wildlife documentary narrator/presenter has made me feel this way.
Summarising, another wonderful episode though not quite as much as the previous two episodes. To be honest though, they would have been difficult to follow on from with the standard being as amazing as it was in both episodes. 10/10
Its first episode "One Planet" was an incredible start, with one of the most visually stunning opening sequences of the whole series being a big standout. Was riveted by the images, fascinated by the animals and what was being said and felt a wide gaumt of emotions, from biting nails, shedding tears, being shocked, being inspired, awwing at anything sweet and even being amused. The same goes for "Frozen Worlds", which boasted one of the, maybe the, 'Our Planet's' most controversial scenes. It certainly was the most emotionally devastating and it has not left my mind since.
"Jungles" is every bit as wonderful. The environment is one of the more familiar ones of the series and there are not really any scenes in the episode that have the emotional impact seen in the previous two instalments. There is a little bit more of a balance of the cute and sinister too, but it is still every bit as fascinating and visually beautiful and boasts a couple of the most memorable moments of the whole series.
Not easy to begin praising "Jungles" with such a lot to talk about and with so much that worked. Lets start with the visuals, which as always with Attenborough amazing. While not one of the best or most ground-breaking of Attenborough's work, 'Our Planet' is one of the most impressive visually of his, and "Jungles" is one of the strongest examples of this. The scenery is some of the breath taking of the series, and is enhanced by cinematic-worthy photography with a wider range of techniques rarely seen before, a feast for the eyes and also expansive and intimate. The jungle may not be as cruel or as unforgiving as the Arctic and grasslands for examples, but there is still much more to it than being a beautiful environment like it could be easily criticised as. The music has whimsy and jauntiness, especially in the preening bird sequence which was the single most amusing sequence of the whole series and it is amazing that any animal could behave like that up close. The music complemented well and actually made the scene funnier, plus have learned that it is a great way of making a good impression when looking for a mate.
Despite the familiar environment, with the jungles being visited frequently in Attenborough documentaries, to me there were moments that illuminated and were not so familiar and were amazing at how they were filmed in the first place. Not just the rarely seen preening bird, but the very intimately photographed sequence with the ants, behaving in a way that was uniquely different and not what one expects or sees much. The animals are hard to forget and have interesting individual stories, ones that humans can relate to without over-humanising.
The heavy emphasis on conservation/the environment for the series overall, and re-visited in all the episodes, has been criticised, didn't have a problem with it personally. Didn't feel lectured to, it made me think of the causes, consequences and how to stop it and it is something important to talk about and be addressed.
As one can expect, the narration is very thought-provoking and never rambling or speculative. There are some interesting individual feeling stories here throughout and so many of the species are easy to relate to. A lot of information is covered but felt properly explored and not rushed or disjointed, and the facts educate and illuminate while not being compromised for the emotionally complex storytelling. Once again, Attenborough's distinctive and unequalled narrative delivery, with his unmistakable voice, is sincere, enthusiastic as well as understated. One can listen to him for a long time and not tire of him, no other nature/wildlife documentary narrator/presenter has made me feel this way.
Summarising, another wonderful episode though not quite as much as the previous two episodes. To be honest though, they would have been difficult to follow on from with the standard being as amazing as it was in both episodes. 10/10