Amazing

This series is so amazing, it really shows you what our boys and girls have to go through when they go to these war zones! Ross Kemp really puts his life on line in this programme, and becomes part of the Anglian Regiment, his strength,compassion and empathy was amazing to watch! He bonded so well with the soldiers, and they really took to him, treating him like one of there own. To see the emotions that he went through as an observer were heartbreaking at points, and uplifting at others! If you have not seen this series then you need to buy it, whether you agree with who we are there or not, our Soldiers need all our support, and this series will give a better understanding to what its like for them!

a walk on the moon

A ninety five minute long documentary that brings together nearly all the surviving astronauts from the apollo missions [neil armstrong doesnt give interviews]that either flew around the moon or landed there, and lets them tell their stories. In addition, they are supported by archive and news footage from the time. of the actual missions, and some real curios such as neil armstrong's parents on a game show, a newsflash about apollo one and film from apollo 13 just as the explosion occurred.

Articulate, modest, unassuming, and with great stories to tell, these men are a pleasure to listen to. And the ninety five minutes totally flys by as a result. Accompanied by a superb score this makes for an emotionally uplifting movie and one that will make you feel very uplifted once you've watched it.

And they rubbish all the conspiracy theories about the landings being faked in a fun final section. Remember when the whole world looked up? as the trailer says. this is a great reminder of those days, and it will make you wish they'd come back.

The dvd contains an interesting ten minute long feature about the writing of the music for the film.

the original cinema trailer for it.

english language subtitles.

and fifty seven minutes of deleted footage. divided into subsections that you can watch one at a time or all at once or whoever you prefer, there's even more of what you saw in the film here.

Superb movie. Good dvd for it.

Positive Results.... for Positive Thinkers

Having watched The Secret, my partner has gone from being a back sufferer who indulged in self-pity, to someone who actually believes that every little step forward is due to the law of attraction and him wanting to make it happen. The DVD with its Australian production was very clear to follow, and if it's responsible for making someone so forward looking, positive and in a position where they're not lamenting in their own sorrow.... then full marks!!!

Spectacular images, bad music, and wrong message overall

It is a collection of the best images of Nature I have ever seen and this is the only reason for the 4 stars. Every single DVD offers incredible and often unusual views of Nature which are really breathtaking. However, the generally useless music theme covers what it would have been great to hear (Nature!) and all along the DVDs the narration tends to give a completely wrong message. Life it is NOT hard in some harsh places in the world or during some season simply because life there IS adapted to that environment and those conditions. Life would not be easier for a penguin without the long polar winter. Life of a penguin IS the polar winter! Excellent whatsoever: just watch it with your kids and explain few things...!

Reptiles come alive on another excellent BBC DVD

Life in Cold Blood is another sterling wildlife series from the BBC, presented with warmth and authority by veteran naturalist David Attenborough. This DVD set contains all the core episodes plus a variety of additional, behind-the-scenes material, to run to over five hours. The photography is beautiful and the reptilian subject matter is intricately examined and explained for al to understand. It's an excellent teaching tool while at the same time providing colourful entertainment for anyone with a vague interest in natural history.

Using new filming techniques help to keep what can be a bit of a staid subject more interesting. Tricky animation shows how cold-blooded reptiles move heat around their bodies to stay warm, or demonstrates what goes on inside a giant python when it's just eaten an entire deer. (In fact, the footage of the snake swallowing the deer is some of the most extraordinary natural history filming I've ever seen).
LICB also uses ground-breaking filming to illustrate what's going on underneath the skin - and the heat cameras brilliantly demonstrate how a sea iguana changes temperature throughout its daily routine. The occasional animation of the odd dinosaur is a welcome bit of fluff, too (after all, T-Rex is much more camera-friendly than a snake which spends three days out of four being dormant!)

The Cold-Blooded Truth explains how reptiles function differently to warm-blooded mammals; how they use the warmth of the sun to function and how bigger reptiles can store heat and so be active even at night. The Amphibians episode looks at the creatures which first made the transition from the oceans to dry land, and how their descendents (mainly frogs) need now to balance their needs to stay moist with their need to be warm. The Lizards programme looks in depth at reptiles which live in dry, desert conditions while the Snakes episode uses CCTV to show how clever rattlesnakes are when hunting, and Attenborough `enjoys' the experience of being spattered with venom from a spitting cobra. The final programme mixes the most interesting of the reptiles - the ferocious saltwater crocodiles - and some of the most mundane (turtles and tortoises just don't do it for me!)

Of course, LICB does has its flaws although they are fairly minor compared to the accomplishment of the overall series. Some times it's a little bit too pleased with how clever it all is, and like many of these series it does tend to repeat stand-out shots and general information from one episode to the next. So if you watch them all in close succession you will notice some repetition.
It also suffers from the usual natural history problem: while there is a fair bit of startling new footage here, there's also new film of the same-old same-old. I watch quite a few documentaries and probably never need to see the leatherback turtles laying their eggs again. Really. There are some aspects of a subject which get repeated every time the programme-makers go near the subject - and surely David A must be fed up with the turtles, too?

Apart from my (personal) over-exposure to some of the themes, this is an excellent series and a good value DVD set. It tackles what can be a very `worthy but dull' subject and manages to translate more than 90% of it into colourful and interesting TV. It falls somewhere between four and five stars: 9/10

An incredible release.

Only April and already we have THE finest DVD release of the year (although Fremantle's"Absolutely Everything" box comes close!). Would/could any company other than the BFI lavish this kind of care and attention on such a wide range of rarely seen films? Painfully nostalgic and of immense social importance the films in this set are a history lesson in a box and the superb content is matched only by the packaging and book that is included with the release. A sturdy box houses a fold out digipack (please use thin-paks next time BFI) and it's accompanying book. Don't be fooled by descriptions of this as a"booklet", it is a substantial piece in it's own right - something anyone interested in the subject would be happy to pay £5+ for on it's own and for what you get the set as a whole is bargain-priced even at full RRP. Even the mighty Criterion would struggle to match the quality and assurance of this staggering release. Highly recommended (as is their"Free Cinema" release).

Should have been better

This is a very disappointing release & it should have been much better. The biggest let down is that the UK version runs at 1080i NOT 1080p as some reviews state. A"flagship" release like this should be 1080p. Also - due to technical restrictions during filming, many scenes show no discernable difference in quality to the conventional DVD release. The making-of segments are also missing & when you consider that at the time of writing this is twice the cost of the DVD, I would advise any potential buyers to buy that instead.

Grand Designs is finally back on DVD

I had emailed Channel 4 a few weeks ago about Grand Designs being released on DVD and they said they had no plans to do so. Well, here we are and Fremantle Media has announced that Series 4 will be released in May. This is excellent news. This is the best property show ever made and is very, very engaging. If you have never seen the show before then I recommend you pick up series 1 on DVD and see if it is for you. Kevin McCloud presents the show with good humour and interesting ideas. Has to be one to own! Here is to the rest of the seasons being released on DVD soon!

The Best Visual History Of The Period That You Can Possilbly Own

In excess of 30 years on this sprawling documentary series still thoroughly deserves watching. Put simply there is no better visual history of this period. Not only does this tell the story but does so through first hand accounts of people who were involved at all levels. The testaments are revealing and give this series a real visceral power.

The story itself is told with some sense of chronology but also gives background too. So the story of the American intervention is told by giving you the view from before the war despite appearing in the narrative only at the point when Pearl Harbour has been bombed. It's a clever device which helps to focus each seperate part clearly on its subject.

There are some who will site the presentation as rather old fashioned but this documentary avoids summarising itself every 10 minutes, assuming instead that we have a decent attention span. Laurence Olivier's narration may also detract as he uses his naturally stagey voice throughout although this somehow provides just the right level of gravitas to my ears.

Finally there's the images. Many were taken from the enormous archive held by The Imperial War Museum and never before screened, or seen, since they were captured. At times shocking and unsettling they help tell the story with a powerful clarity.

A moving, informative, and lasting testament this has lost none of its impact and probably never will. It is deserving of a place amoungst the finest documentaries ever produced. There are few which deserve the epithet"definitive" but this is one.

Many more memorable moments.

Most Haunted may have become Most Flaunted but in series 9 we get to see some truly extraordinary phenomena. Yvette Fielding is the face of Most Haunted while David Wells communicates with the spirit world. Resident Parasychologist Dr. Ciaran O'Keefe endeavors to make sense of any phenomena but for some reason Historian Richard Felix does not appear in this series.

At the Boys Hall the team are able to record some remarkable auditory phenomena. The team have pine cones thrown at them and Yvette is able to communicate with a spirit by tapping her feet but this episode will be remembered for the mysterious appearance of an old coin. When the team visit Alton Towers David experiences a first in his mediumship - an angry male spirit calls him a four letter word. During a late-night vigil Karl Beattie is either attacked by something unknown or accidently bangs his head. Either way, he is rendered unconsious until he is revived by a franticly searching team. In Dartford Library the team encounter the spirit of a female Librarian who is just as helpful in death as she was in life. A team member calls out the subject of a book and a book on that subject falls from a shelf. In a Library containing thousands of titles this is truly extraordinary phenomena.

Carol Thatcher joins the team in their investigation of Tatton Old Hall. They encounter the spirit of a man who was a drunk and wife-beater in life. Unsurprisingly, objects are thrown at the team. At Sutton House the team are joined by Lee Ryan and during a seance a table is lifted off the ground. Lee manages to get a mischevious spirit to throw his scarf at Yvette. At the Matlock Bath Pavilion the team hear some disembodied wheezes and groans. At the teams' request a light bulb is thrown at them.

Finally, the team travel to Transylvania and spend two nights exploring the Citadel at Rasnov. Yvette and David hold a vigil in the Skeleton Room which, uncannily, contains a human skeleton. Footsteps and scraping sounds are heard as are groans and even a growl. Yvette and Karl venture 210 feet down a well to try to communicate with any lost souls. Human bones litter the bottom and tapping sounds are heard.

One of the great things about MH is that viewers get to see some beautiful and extraordinary locations in the U.K. and abroad so even if the paranormal activity does not entertain, the locations will. All 15 episodes from series 9 are here and each is accompanied by a Most Haunted Extra episode which has behind-the-scenes footage. There is over 16 hours of paranormal action in this 5-disc set and for fans of Most Haunted it is essential.

Straightforward wholesome cookery. Tasty!

Jamie Oliver is always a watchable TV chef, and this series is one of his best. It abandons trendy fashion cookery and concentrates on easy to make, wholesome food. Some of it is the best of traditional British but Jamie often uses homegrown ingredients in international recipes, or spices up old fashioned recipes with an unusual flavour from overseas.

It's a little strange at time, seeing the urban scooter dude leave behind the big city and instead take to the country life in a big way. Although I'm informed (thanks!) that Jamie grew up as a country lad, it's still a bit weird to see him on a shooting party, wearing a Barbour jacket and blazing away at game birds...
Some people may well feel unsettled at a couple of programmes which feature country sports and show animals being killed and then cooked and eaten -- but that's part of the point of the series, to show people where food actually comes from. Jamie tries very hard to make unusual foodstuffs appealing, and it works to an extent. You might consider eating more than just chicken after watching this!

The recipes are very easy to follow and there's no difficult cooking techniques. The series concentrates on finding good food and then preparing it simply. I was confident I could prepare any of the meals shown (although I wouldn't use an outdoor oven, which is just a tiny bit pretentious!). And Jamie doesn't go too overboard on the salt / butter / alchohol content of each dish, unlike many TV chefs. It's easy to make meals that tase good if you drown them in fat and salt... most of Jamie's recipes taste good by using clever combinations of herbs and flavours.
Of course, not all of us have the time to grow so many of the veg that Jamie uses (he has a proper gardener: I barely have time to mow the lawn!), but I appreciate being shown what is possible, even if I don't have time to do it myself. The same is true of many of the cookery techniques -- I'm probably not going to make a pizza base from scratch but am inspired after seeing how easy it is to make the dough.

Even if you don't want to cook any of the dishes, this is an entertaining series. Half-hour programmes are easily watched and digested. Plus, there is an air of realism, no matter how well prepped everything is for the TV crew. You get the feeling that disasters can happen in Jamie's kitchen, which is reassuring!
I'd be happy to receive this DVD as a gift, and it would suit any cook who wants some inspiration for easily-prepared wholesome food.

fantastic viewing

I was not interested at all in this DVD when my husband ordered it. He sat down and watched it all by himself! Eventually, after lots of nagging by him, my 14 year old daughter and I sat down to watch and we are so glad we did. Al Gore is brilliant. The way he delivers the material is 2nd to none and he gives lots of facts and figures in such an interesting way. It makes you realise just how important we are to the planet and I like the way the he speaks against all the USA politians and urges them all to sit up and take notice. He is pasionate about Global Warming and the planet and if everyone was like Al Gore the world would most definitely be a better place to live.
Thank you Al Gore.

A wonderful documentary

I have just received it this morning and saw only parts of this DVD BBC Collection.

Pictures are as wonderful as the ones of Planet Earth : I regret not having yet bought an LCD Full HD TV set, it's worthwhile for such a good documentary.

An important point for foreigners like me (French): it's subtitled in English for the Hard of hearing. The subtitles make easier for us to understand all the Sir Attenborough's commentaries. Even the extras are subtitled.

Obviously it would be better if the BBC had released this DVD, as Planet Eaerth, with other languages subtitles.

But nevertheless I recommend the buying of this item strongly to Amazon's customers.

JAMIE'S GETTING BETTER AND BETTER

I have to admit that a few years ago I did not really like Jamie - found him a bit annoying, but boy have I changed my mind - he had made what is without a doubt the best series of cookery programmes there is around at this time. Using fresh everyday ingredients from his garden, everyday equipment which is in most homes he produces delicious, nutritious wholesome healthy food - yes there is the odd rich desert but nothing wrong with a bit of cream every now and then. Loving cooking and not being a bad one I own many cookery dvd & books, 99% pale in comparison. Buy Jamie, use it and enjoy good food.

Get over it and stop complaining !!!

While it's true that LWD is not as special or adventurous as LWR, it's still a good ride and unique in its own right. Yes, the trip/editing seems too rushed; yes, Mr. and Mrs. McGregor should've done a bike trip on their own time; and yes, the support crew plays a more substantial role this time, which ultimately decreases the sense of isolation and true camaraderie felt by our two noble voyagers. Nevertheless, LWD is still fun and in the same spirit as the original. LWR can never be replicated - it's just too unique. LWD is simply different, so please get over it and stop complaining !!! Would you wish it had never been made?

The only complaint I will voice, which is mostly about the marketing aspect, is this: Despite the fact that the trip was rushed, the editing could've compensated for this a little were the series stretched out over at least 8 or 10 episodes. The producers probably felt they had a shoe-in DVD product to cash in on, and they were right. Just about everybody who bought LWR bought, or will buy, LWD. So in all likelihood, the producers believed they could repeat their marketing scheme from LWR by releasing an OAV version of the series, followed by an"extended" edition, forcing fans to double-dip to get the whole experience. This practice sucks but it is not for me to judge the gods or laws of the market. However, it's bittersweet when greedy marketeers mess up, and in the case of LWD I think they have, ensuring that we all lose out in the end; because due to overwhelmingly negative reviews of LWD by angry fans of LWR, should an extended edition of LWD be made, I don't think fans will buy it.

Mind you, they haven't released an R1 or R0 NTSC version yet, so maybe they'll corner the market that way. Anyway, I'd re-buy an extended edition at a reasonable price because I love the series and would rather have it than not have it. I don't want to reward greedy blundering, but having what I want on my DVD shelf is all that really matters to me.

The best episodes are finally released!

Top Gear, frankly, is one of those things that has made me feel excited about television again. For a long time, I only really used my TV to watch a DVD/play a game. There was little to nothing for me to watch in terms of original broadcasting. Then my cousin recommended watching Top Gear...and everything changed for me.

The whole premise of the show is just genius. Three big kids, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, loving cars and getting into all kinds of adventures and mishaps is just brilliant. In their own special way, they're all intelligent, entertaining, quick-witted and produce some hilarious, hair-raising and truly unforgettable viewing together. For me, Top Gear is the best thing on television today, hands-down.

Having developed a love for Top Gear (and subsequent DVD releases) in virtually no time at all, The Great Adventures is doubtless something to be really pleased to own. The reason why this box set is such a mandatory purchase is because it features the two most memorable specials ever in the programme's history.

Scratch that. BEST EPISODES EVER in the programme's history.

Starting with the Polar Special, you have Jeremy Clarkson and James May driving an extensively modified Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, competing against Richard Hammond and a dog team...in a 450 mile race to the North Pole. Those who watched this when it was first broadcast will remember it being not only an epic race, but also a tremendous test of survival, very real danger, incredible discovery and a true sense of accomplishment.

For the TV version of that amazing challenge to finally be released on DVD is special in itself, but the thing here is that this version of the Polar Special is actually the Director's Cut. And this is not a cheap plug with only a few measly seconds of insignificant footage included. This is the real deal. The Director's Cut is ten minutes longer than the hour-long version that was originally broadcast. The extra footage is absolutely amazing and enlightens the viewer more on what the lads went through in preparation for the adventure, the stress and dangers they endured, and what other astonishing discoveries they made.

The other special included is the U.S. one. This was the first ever episode of Top Gear I watched, so naturally it has such a special place in my heart. Here Jezza, Hamster and Captain Slow have purchased $1000 wrecks to embark on the ultimate American road trip over 700 miles to their destination of New Orleans, encountering all kinds of memorable challenges along the way. These consist of lap races, breaking before alligator-infested waters, preparing a road-kill feast and baiting the people of Alabama and surviving.

The U.S. special is just as excellent as I remember it. The lads' quest for purchasing American cars on such a low budget, the hilarity of the lads' road-kill feast, the frightening realism of their dangerous antagonising trek through Alabama are the highlights. And the charitable acts of the presenters to the people of New Orleans merits such respect and admiration, making it the perfect ending to a fantastic adventure.

However, I was very surprised that the lads' frightening drive through a fierce storm on the highway was cut from this home release of U.S. special. It didn't deter me from it anyway, but it is a tad on the disappointing side. What's really disappointing, though, is the music edits that had to be made due to contractual reasons. This is very noticeable during the Polar Special Director's Cut. A lot of the soundtrack music used here instead of that on the original broadcast really doesn't have the same quality impact on the presentation. In fact, the substitute soundtrack feels somewhat out of place and like it doesn`t really belong here.

There's no extras either, which is a shame. Some outtakes and deleted scenes would've been really nice. Along with audio commentaries from Clarkson, Hammond and May regarding their own personal reflections of their amazing adventures.

But at such a bargain price, and with such a beautiful DVD transfer, I shouldn't complain, really. Top Gear: The Great Adventures is a box set that every fan has been waiting for. These two expeditions are events that best showcase why these three guys have every right to be proud of what they do, what an amazing life they lead and why Top Gear is the best thing on television right now. The best DVD release of the show so far? I'd definitely say so.

Amazing........

'Amazing' picture quality and dolby sound, played this through my cinema surround sound and HDTV (lights off)and the experience was unbelivable. Will watch this time and time again, and show off the quality to my friends..... worth every penny if you have a big HDTV..... I have a few Blu Ray discs and this is by far the best.