Review: Frozen Planet

 
Frozen Planet
Genre(s): Documentary
Rating: G/U
Description: Narrated by Sir David Attenborough and from the award-winning team behind Planet Earth & Blue Planet comes the ultimate portrait of the earth’s Polar regions.

 
One of this year’s televisual tour de forces is the stunningly beautiful Frozen Planet, featuring the dulcet tones and insightful thoughts of David Attenborough. The series was filmed in conjunction with the BBC, The Discovery Channel and The Open University, and displayed some of the clearest depictions of life in the coldest parts of our world.

The BBC website describes the series as being a chance to see life in the Arctic and Antarctic as we’ve never seen it before, and as also potentially the last chance we will ever have of witnessing these misunderstood and dangerous lands and the creatures that occupy them, and that is entirely what this series does.

The magnificent photography that has become synonymous with David Attenborough’s documentaries does not fail to impress here; images of some of Earth’s finest animals are displayed here: slow-motion penguins emerging from the water, polar bears feeding their young, seals desperate to survive against their enemies and many more. Coupled with sparse colours and vivid landscapes of pure white against vibrant blue skies and it is clear that these majestic areas of our world deserve respect and admiration in the highest form.

The series does not require the viewer to be a hardcore nature fanatic, nor does it require you to be particularly interested in documentaries either. It is gentle and fascinating and holds your attention with its simplistic yet beautiful approach. David Attenborough has founded his career on producing intelligent documentaries that do not baffle the viewer but rather, lure you in to the world of these animals with whom we share our planet but invariably fail to understand of respect. This is a series which can greatly help to improve your faith in our world: amidst the violence, the prejudice and the hate, is a world full of exquisite views and intriguing creatures. Frozen Planet is perfectly formed and stunningly presented: much like its frozen subjects are.

 
The Frozen Planet boxset is out now on DVD and Blu Ray in the UK and AU, with a forthcoming release date for the US.
 

About Hannah

The other Brit on the team, Hannah writes a fortnightly music column and the odd review. When she's not doing this, she teaches English in a local secondary school. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys taking photos, being sweary on Twitter and reading books. Her favourite things include Doctor Who, Assam tea, dystopian literature, quirky words, cats and living by the sea.

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