Monday, August 03, 2009

Wild China


Denis and I have been indulging ourselves with nature lately. Nature on DVD, that is. I've become a David Attenborough groupie, but that's a post for another day.

I think the BBC has the absolute best nature programming going, so when Denis told me that he had added Wild China to his Netflix queue, I knew it would be good...but I had reservations.

Hopefully I'm not the only person around here who has a tendency to think of China as wall-to-wall people. Just how "wild" could China be?

The BBC showed me in spades. Each segment covers a different section of the country, and not only spotlights the natural world but also features a few of the traditions of the people who live there. An added bonus is the narrator, Bernard Hill (King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings films).

This two-disc set showed me just how breathtakingly beautiful parts of China are, and in addition I came away with an appreciation of how the "country folk" have worked with nature for hundreds of years. If you haven't seen this already and you enjoy nature programs, I highly recommend it. To conclude this post, I'll see if I can whet your whistle with a small clip:


8 comments:

  1. Cathy, we had watched one episode of this on BBC and now have bought the 2 CD series. It was only £8.99 on Amazon UK which I thought was great value.

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  2. I loved this one too Cathy.

    And I have long been a fan of David Attenborough. One of my brother's complaints when he moved to the US was that many of the shows narrated by him were re-issued for the US market with a different (American) narrator. He moved there 20 years ago and says it has gotten better now but he still gets angry to think of the shows he's missed.

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  3. Re-issuing David Attenborough? Well, at least there is a crime Danish television would not commit!

    We do not get enough BBC, but fortunately Danish tv have never got into the habit of dubbing. We get the original voices (English, German, Swedish, French...) with Danish subtitles.

    So this one may also come our way - I would love to see it all!

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  4. Wonderful piece of video. It went on our NetFlix list just now. Those rice fields are amazing. I want to see more.

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  5. I watched this when it was on TV. It is beautifully shot. I loved it!

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  6. I'm so jealous! :p I've seen some clips on youtube, but I really want the DVD. I have nature dvds as well and I understand about being an Attenborough groupie. It's not to when you watch his documentaries.

    ~ Popin

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  7. We lived in China for six months, teaching English. One of the highlights of that time was to cycle alongside the Li River, and travel along it by barge. The limestone hills and the quality of the air really do make you feel as if you you are part of a traditional Chinese watercolour.

    But like you say, Cathy, China is also wall-to-wall people. We lived among six million which is nothing - I think Chongquing is up to 30 million. And it was very good for me to discover that many of those people were just like me - slinging off at their government, worrying about their diet, loving their kids.

    It's a great place to visit, or if possible, live for a while. That's my favourite way to get to know a place.

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  8. Uriah--That is great value!

    Bernadette--Denis and I first watched the real Planet Earth, and when we looked into buying it we rapidly discovered that we had to exercise caution. There's an American version with Sigourney Weaver as the narrator, and although I do like Weaver, I don't think she has any business taking over Attenborough's role! I still wonder why on earth they do that. It's not as if Attenborough has a thick accent that people wouldn't be able to understand!!

    Dorte--I am in total agreement...that IS a crime!

    Margot--There are some amazing and breathtaking things to see on this video. I hope you enjoy watching it.

    Jackie--No one does nature better than the BBC!

    Pop--Denis and I watched Wild China courtesy of NetFlix. I'm thinking of writing a post about Attenborough. He's my kind of guy!

    Susan--That's the absolute best way to get to know a place.

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