The Life of Mammals
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David AttenboroughDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 500 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
Movie Reviews of The Life of Mammals
Movie Review: Masterpiece - Beautifully Filmed and Cleverly Written
Summary: 5 Stars
David Attenborough's "The Life of Mammals" contains 500 minutes of top-notch footage on 4 discs. This series is beautifully filmed and as entertaining as any documentary in the past, although Attenborough's 1979 series "Life on Earth" was a phenomenon at the time.
"The Life of Mammals" ten episodes cover the full range of the mammal class; beginning with montremes and marsupials in the first episode and then moving on to the placentals from episode 2. Each 48 minute episode depicts (roughly) ten different species.
Episode 1: A Winning Design - monotremes and marsupials
Episode 2: Insect Hunters - moles, bats, anteaters
Episode 3: Plant Predators - various herbivores, especially antelopes
Episode 4: Chisellers - rodents and squirrels
Episode 5: Meat Eaters - big cats and dogs, pack and solitary hunters
Episode 6: Opportunists - omnivores like bears and racoons
Episode 7: Return to Water - whales, seals and dolphins
Episode 8: Life in the Trees - monkeys
Episode 9: Social Climbers - monkeys and babboons
Episode 10: Food for Thought - apes and humans
What impresses me is the style of film-making. In each episode, Attenborough doesn't just pick a number of mammals and tell you about them; he has a certain sequence based on a theme which builds from mammal to mammal. That is, he will raise a question based on one situation and then answer it with the next mammal, thus tying a thread together for that episode. An example from Episode 3 (Plant Predators) is the focus on the food sources on the plains of Africa. Here, Attenborough discusses the adaptations of the grasses which enable them to survive, but then talks about the dangers for these plants; which are not animals, but the acacia tree. He now makes us think the thorn-ridden acacia tree will take over the world - Attenborough has the viewer in the palm of his hand. He goes on to describe the adaptations a small antelope has in order to eat the bottom leaves, then the adaptations of a bigger antelope that eats the middles branches, then the girafe that eats the top branches, then the elephant who knocks the whole tree down. It's this clever ordering or sequencing that has the viewer spell-bound. He could've just shown the animal's source of food; but instead there is a level of intrigue not found in other documentaries.
I'm a high school science teacher and a Christian. Nature documentaries generally over-use the theory of evolution and I'm glad to note that this is not a focus in "The Life of Mammals" as much of Attenborough's discussion is refreshingly 'design' based. He is not proposing a Creationist viewpoint, and conversely, is not overwhelming the viewer with evolutionary ideas. Instead, Attenborough's focus is on the adaptations mammals have in order to survive in their environments.
Despite nothing original in the carnivores episode (its all been done before by others), this is a masterpiece. It is beautifully filmed and cleverly written by the Shakespeare of the genre. It holds both the young and old captive but also those not overly excited with nature documentaries. And despite what another reviewer wrote there are observations that have never been seen before let alone captured on film.
Summary of The Life of Mammals
David Attenborough and the BBC have a well-earned reputation for producing some of the greatest nature programs, but The Life of Mammals could well be Attenborough's magnum opus. Much of the footage shot for this series had never been seen before, and is presented with the respect and reverence for the natural world that Attenborough has made his trademark. It never ceases to surprise: the sight of a lion taking down a wildebeest on the African savannah has almost become a cliché of nature programs, yet in The Life of Mammals the cameras keep rolling and the viewer witnesses the fallen animal's herd coming to its rescue and driving off the lion. It's a moving sight and just one of many remarkable scenes.A thorough and entertaining overview of one of evolution's greatest success stories, the series is loosely structured to follow the development of mammals, beginning with the basics in "A Winning Design," which clarifies what makes a mammal different from reptiles and birds--no, it isn't egg-laying: both the platypus and the echidna are egg-laying mammals; it's their ability to adapt. And it's this adaptability that becomes the crux of the remainder of the series. "Insect Hunters" focuses on mammals who have specifically adapted to eating insects, from the giant anteater and the armored armadillo to bats, which have evolved into complex and effective hunters. "Plant Predators" demonstrates the particular (and often peculiar) adaptations of herbivores, while "Chisellers" is about those mammals who feed primarily on roots and seeds, ranging from tree-dwelling squirrels to opportunistic mice and rats. "Meat Eaters" talks about the evolutionary arms race that exists between predators and prey, and the unique adaptations of both individual and pack hunters. Omnivores are explored in "Opportunists"--mammals like bears and raccoons, whose varied diet allows them to occupy nearly any environment. "Return to the Water" discusses those mammals such as whales, seals, and dolphins that have left behind life on dry land and adapted completely to life in the sea, existing at the top of the food chain. The last three episodes--"Life in the Trees," "Social Climbers," and "Food for Thought"--take the viewer through the development of primates, eventually culminating in that most successful mammal: man. --Robert Burrow
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