Autopsy: Life & Death (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	192:00 (Case: 200)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	David Coleman
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Gunther von Hagens John Lee
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$32.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

The processes in life that tie us to our ultimate fate in death.

    The show's undertitle, above, might seem a bit on the morbid side, but despite the subject matter this series manages to remain informative and entertaining throughout. Hosted by anatomist Dr Gunther von Hagens and pathologist Professor John Lee, Autopsy: Life & Death is a series of discussions and practical examples illustrating diseases and bodily processes that we depend on.

    Each episode covers a specific area, complete with discussions between the two men, as well as live dissections of cadavers. When necessary, practical demonstrations are used to illustrate how a process works, such as filling a doll house with expanding foam to illustrate the destructive power of malignant cancer. The show has been produced with the layman in mind, and is always easy to follow. It's certainly not for the faint of heart - even I found myself squirming in my chair during a few scenes - but I believe the value of the information on offer far outweighs the "gross-out factor", as my other half put it. If the thought of a frozen human cadaver being sawed in half lengthways live on TV makes you a bit faint, you may want to take a few valiums first.

    There are four episodes in total, each running for about 48 minutes. The episodes have been presented here as they were screened on free-to-air television, with commercial breaks interrupting the flow of the episode. These breaks often include "coming up next" banter, as well as a recap of what we have already seen. The effect is the same as recording these episodes off digital TV and editing the ads out - I expect much more from a DVD release than this.

1. Circulation - There is some discussion of potential diseases of the circulatory system, including hardening of the arteries and heart disease.
2. Cancer - von Hagens and Lee explain why cancers can be difficult to diagnose, and how they can spread. A woman who died of cancer is dissected, showing where the tumour originated and how it affected other organs.
3. Poisoning - Looks at how the kidney functions, and how its failure can affect other organs. A patient who died of peritonitis is dissected.
4. Ageing - Two living models are examined and compared; an 84 year old woman and a 24 year old woman. Then, two cadavers are examined internally to show how aging affects the body.

    One thing I appreciated about this show is the way in which they offer ways viewers can change their lifestyle to avoid these diseases. We're shown how to examine breasts or testicles for abnormalities, and lifestyle factors that lead to a longer life. von Hagens is a fantastic character, so passionate about his field, and very entertaining to watch. When he finds something interesting, he often calls for his colleague excitedly "Hey, Johnny, you have to come and look at this!". Lee is obviously a supremely educated chap, but is always careful in his descriptions and never uses complicated medical terms. In fact, he often chimes in to explain something von Hagens has said. The pair are fascinating to watch and complement each other very well on screen.

     Lee and von Hagens also appeared together in their previous series, Anatomy for Beginners, a nice two-disc set which was reviewed by my colleague SteveC here.

    If you've seen the series on television or have an interest in anatomy and disease, this series will certainly prove valuable viewing. As an aside note, Dr Gunther von Hagens' exhibitions of plastinated human bodies are renowned the world over, and can be seen in his DVD Body Worlds, as well as the recent Bond film, Casino Royale.

Video

    This video transfer is on a par with the show's broadcast on digital free-to-air television. The image is presented in the standard 1.78:1 aspect, complete with 16x9 enhancement, and is nice and tight to the frame.

    The show was shot and edited digitally. The level of detail is excellent, with no ugly jagged edges or inconsistencies to be concerned about. Shadow detail is excellent, as are the realistic, deep black levels. Colours are rich and lifelike, with no bleeding to be seen.

    A little MPEG grain is visible on objects when projected on a big screen, but for normal CRT viewing the image is great.

    There are no English subtitles included at all. These could have been handy.

    The disc is dual layered (DVD9 format). There doesn't appear to be any layer transition during the episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The series' original stereo audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s).

    The dialogue has been captured by both boom microphones in the studio, as well as lapel mikes on the main presenters. The spoken word is perfectly clear and never out of sync. There were a few occasions in which I found it difficult to decipher von Hagens' accent, but these were few and certainly not the fault of the transfer. There are no fancy effects or anything, the soundtrack is entirely vocal.

    The subwoofer and surround channels are not utilised.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    None.

    The transfer is the same as the digital broadcast, ad breaks included.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall