Kingdom of Plants (Blu-ray) (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Featurette-Making Of-(49.16)
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	150:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Martin Williams
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Elik Alvarez Joel Douek Freddy Sheinfeld

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     With his dodgy knees and advancing age it is unlikely that we will ever see that doyen of the jungle/plain/arctic David Attenborough donning the travel gear and trudging through a muddy creek bed in order to get a close up look at some endangered species. A pity, as he has been our constant nature companion for over 50 years. Two options remain - just doing voice over work and perhaps staying close to home.

     With this latest series Kingdom of Plants David does the latter, only making it as far as London's Kew Gardens. Fortunately this feature on plants is a perfect match for the largest botanical park on earth and David is quite at home taking us through the story of plant life on this planet from the dawn of time and the marvellous ways in which plants adapt to survive.

     Kingdom of Plants is a three part BBC series, all of which is set at Kew Gardens. The episodes are approximately 50 minutes in length which is just long enough to get to the heart of the subject without the episodes out staying their welcome. The episodes are:

• Life in the Wet Zone
• Solving the Secrets
• Survival

     The first is something of a giant history lesson on the emergence of plants, the second looks at plant reproductive techniques and the third about the lengths plants have gone to to adapt and survive. Each is an entertaining episode. The fact that the series is shot in one location has enabled the crew to concentrate on achieving and it achieves the aim of presenting some truly stunning imagery. There are a couple of caveats. Those who like their nature documentaries to come with at least one segment of an animal hunting down and munching on another may find the focus on plants a little tame. It is not his first time though, as Attenborough previously did the extended series Life of Plants. Secondly the series was made and promoted on the basis of its stunning 3D photography but this Blu-ray is 2D only. No doubt the film would have gained something from 3D but it is still eminently watchable without the extra dimension.

Video

     As said Kingdom of Plants originally bore the addenda 3D and was the first Attenborough 3D series. According to the publicity materials some of the 3D techniques were pioneered for this series.

     Without the added dimension what we have is another brilliantly shot, stunningly presented series from the BBC.

     The Blu-ray is in full 1080P and is presented in the original widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

     Every film technique under the sun is used here, from high-speed photography, time lapse, micro and macro. It all looks incredibly sharp and detailed. Not surprisingly, given the fact it was all filmed in a botanical garden, there are none of the "awesome majesty of nature" shots from other Attenborough series.

     The scenes of David walking and talking are also crisp and clean. The colours are bright and stable, particularly the all-important greens!

    There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
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Audio

     Kingdom of Plants has an English DTS- HD Master Audio 2.0 track.

     The film doesn't really require a surround sound track, largely consisting of voice-over, music and the occasional sound effects brought in to give emphasis to the plant behaviour.

     Everything sounds good, from the usual bubbly narration from Attenborough to the "sounds" of the plants.

     The score is by Joel Douek and Freddy Sheinfeld, who injects a blend of orchestral sounds into the mix.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     There is only one extra, but it is a lengthy one.

The Making of Kingdom of Plants

     This feature is as long as an individual episode. It covers all the technical challenges presented by the series. The problems were numerous. From filming bats in an environment where it would be serious business if the "actor bat" was allowed to enter the park, getting the narration done in between planes on their Heathrow flight path, lugging heavy 3D cameras up high walkways, and working with time lapse photography. The amount of time devoted to 3D made me wish I was watching it in that format! A fascinating feature.

  The Region B UK Blu-ray is in 3D. For non-3D people like me the 2D is the only real option but for those with fancy 3D set-ups a purchase from the UK is in order!

     Kew Gardens may not be the African savannah and rare orchids may lack the grunt factor of grizzly bears but there is no denying David Attenborough’s ability to make the natural world intriguing and fresh.

     A great looking series (wonder how it would look in 3D) is presented impeccably on Blu-ray with an interesting making of feature.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall