David Attenborough's comprehensive and richly detailed study of birds, examining the variety of different species and their ways of life.David Attenborough's comprehensive and richly detailed study of birds, examining the variety of different species and their ways of life.David Attenborough's comprehensive and richly detailed study of birds, examining the variety of different species and their ways of life.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 4 wins & 1 nomination total
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- Quotes
David Attenborough: Birds were flying from continent to continent long before we were. They reached the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica, long before we did. They can survive in the hottest of deserts. Some can remain on the wing for years at a time. They can girdle the globe. Now, we have taken over the earth and the sea and the sky, but with skill and care and knowledge, we can ensure that there is still a place on Earth for birds - in all their beauty and variety... if we want to... and surely, we should.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Zomergasten: Episode #12.3 (1999)
It is really hard picking favourites, let alone a definite favourite, among what Attenborough has done because he has done so many gems, it is the equivalent of trying to choose your favourite ice cream flavour or your favourite operatic role (for examples) and finding you can't pick. 'The Life of Birds' is another one of his masterpieces, in terms of documentaries about birds it's ground-breaking and it's a wonderful documentary in its own right. It has everything that makes so much of his work so wonderful, hence some of the reiteration of my recent reviews for some of his work (being on a nature documentary binge in my spare time), and deserves everything great that has been said about it.
First and foremost, 'The Life of Birds' looks amazing. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the birds), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic with some of the shots being unique for a documentary series, making one forget that it is a series. The editing is always succinct and smooth and the scenery of all the continents is pure magic.
The music score fits very well, never overly grandiose while never being inappropriate.
Again, like so many Attenborough nature/wildlife documentaries, 'The Life of Birds' fascinates, teaches, moves, entertains and transfixes. In terms of the facts there was a very good mix of the known ones and the unknown, some facts being familiar to us while also dealing with very complex and very much relevant issues with tact. Likewise with the different birds themselves Narration by Attenborough helps significantly. He clearly knows his stuff and knows what to say and how to say it. He delivers it with his usual richness, soft-spoken enthusiasm and sincerity, never talking down to the viewer and keeping them riveted and wanting to know more.
The birds themselves are great to watch and have a wide range of personalities that makes one root for them in the same way they would a human. 'The Life of Birds', like Attenborough's other works, also displays a wide range of emotions and found myself really caring for everything that was shown to us on screen.
Like much of Attenborough/BBC's other work, each episode doesn't feel like an episodic stringing of scenes, but instead like the best nature documentaries each feels like their own story and journey, with real, complex emotions and conflicts.
In conclusion, another wonderful Attenborough gem. 10/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Oct 31, 2017
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