David Attenborough for a long time has been one of my all-time favourites and would see anything with his involvement without fail. Watching his work has always been a pleasure, reviewing it has also been just as much of a pleasure, and Attenborough is one of those rarities of a celebrity/actor/presenter with a filmography with not one dud in it (even his lesser work is worth watching). An example to all.
'Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild' is somewhat of an atypical series for Attenborough. It's much more personal and autobiographical than one usually sees from him, with all three episodes/films structured in a way resembling a series of clips. Anybody wanting a documentary where one encounters wildlife portrayed as individual compellingly real characters without being over-humanised, footage of them living, adapting to beautiful yet sometimes harsh environments and their difficulties with adversity, all of this unfolded like remarkably relatable individual stories, has footage that one is amazed what happens is caught on film may be slightly disappointed, and this is in comparison to his other work, but that is not to say that 'Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild' is devoid of that. All three episodes/films are fascinating and it was nice to have a different approach. Usually feel that clip-show-like formats can be done lazily, not here where it was affectionate, always interesting and nostalgic.
"Life on Camera" is the first of the three episodes/films and is a very good one. Of the three, it struck me as the most personal and saying that it is perhaps my least favourite of them and still be of a good standard is testament to how good the other two are.
The 'Zoo Quest' footage is truly fascinating and takes one back. It was really quite invaluable seeing how the crew dealt with for examples the limitations of the time and how travel was nowhere near as easy back then than it is now, all handled very insightfully. In terms of production values though, the footage has not held up quite as well as the later footage, with a grainy somewhat primitive look, one can see how much technology has advanced over-time.
Really loved seeing the glorious footage of the ground-breaking 'Life on Earth', still for me one of Attenborough's finest achievements, and the quintessential documentary on plants 'The Private Life on Plants'. The behind the scenes of 'Life on Earth' was among "Life on Camera's" most interesting moments. The wildlife is varied and a mix of adorable, dangerous and fun. Found what is said about them incredibly informative, with no signs of over-speculation and there is an admirable ability to both entertain and educate, done in a balanced and expertly way. Some fine sequences here, especially the late-night lion encounter and one of the tricks in the trade of catching a komodo dragon. Learnt a lot about continuity.
It was wonderful to see Attenborough looking back on his career with clear great affection and intriguing to see how much his career and technology progressed over the years/decades, he has always been consistent in terms of the high quality of his work and how he delivers it and these qualities grew from strength to strength the more experienced he became. What makes 'Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild' particularly worth watching is Attenborough himself, he has always been an amazing presenter/narrator and his enthusiasm is so infectious, as is his never cold sincerity, inspirational candour and one of the most instantly recognisable voices ever to exist. Could not get enough of his anecdotes and his concluding statements really provoke thought.
Summarising, very good. 8/10
