Earth: The Movie
by Bonnie Alter, London 
on 11.16.07
Earth is a spectacular new documentary made by the BBC that follows the lives of three wild animals over a year. Filmed over a 5 year period, it tracks polar bears in the Arctic, elephants in the Kalahari and a humpback whale, through the trials and tribulations of 4 seasons in their lives. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, with his sexy smoky voice, the high-definition photography is revelatory and a delight. The baby polar bears stick their little noses out of their cave into the light and tumble down hills of snow. Forests bloom from snow drops to blue bells to daffodils in an instant. Shot in 200 locations worldwide, the details of wildlife in their habitat are fascinating. Magnificently plumed birds of Paradise do a mating dance in the rain forest of New Guinea and three million caribou flee for their lives with killer wolves in hot pursuit.
The message is veiled. The narration talks about changes happening and the world changing and makes reference to the rain forests drying up as weather patterns change. But the big issue--climate change--is never strongly articulated. This could be because the BBC has recently been accused of liberal bias in its coverage of political issues or it could be that the producers wanted to reach as wide an audience as possible. Or maybe it's just so obvious that one doesn't need to say it. Even with these quibbles, the film conveys the fragility of our world and how we are all at the mercy of the environment. Opening today, November 16 at a cinema near you. :: Earth
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Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
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- Focus Earth: June 27, 2009: The Roots of Eco-Terrorism and Saving the Whales
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- Focus on Focus Earth: The Beginning of Eco-Terrorism (Video)
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Or maybe because THIS movie is sponsored by a car manufacturer (see the logo on the bottom right corner of their website?)...
It isn't completely obvious from the write-up, or even from the website, but this seems to be a movie version of the "Planet Earth" mini-series, although I presume it isn't 11 hours long.
This movie appears to be based on BBC's Planet Earth TV series. Out of five discs, one was entirely dedicated to the human impact on the environment and the future. Truly incredible and worth watching.
I can't find any evidence that this movie is in theatres in the US. Does anyone have info on that? I know it came out in various European countries in October and I suppose the UK on Nov 16th...
There's a reason that this hasn't appeared in US Theatres or for that matter on home video: Disney is trying to pass it off as their baby as part of their brand new "Disneynature" label for Earth Day 2009. This has been reported on entertainment media websites like Comingsoon.net and Darkhorizons.com.
What's worse is that they're not only making ANY mention of Patrick Stewart, they're swapping him out for James Earl Jones. Now I like James Earl Jones, but to marginalize one well respected actor for another, and to pass this off as Disney's baby is patently deceitful. This is yet another example of Disney playing fast and loose with reality (They are responsible for perpetuating the myth that lemmings are suicidal) as well as their cultural imperialism and thievery.
At the very least, they're recycling for Earth Day.
We saw this movie last night... the BBC mini-series had a MUCH better commentary -- by the great David Attenborough. Although I love Patrick Stewart the text he had to read was no where near as great as it could have been and not even about bears.... see my blog at PlushWeb