Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day, a global annual event coordinated by the Earth Day Network to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It’s been run since 1970 in the States, going international in 1990, and is now celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.
So, in celebration of the event, here’s a roundup of some of the best nature documentaries to grace our screens.
Planet Earth
We begin our list, of course, with the stand-out Planet Earth. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, and taking over five years in the making, it was the first nature documentary series to be filmed in high definition – and also the most expensive ever commissioned by the BBC. Narrated by David Attenborough (who else?) the series comprises eleven episodes, each featuring a different biome or habitat on our planet.
Life Story
We could, of course, populate this entire list purely with the work of the BBC Natural History Unit; we’ll restrict ourselves to just a few favourites, however. Life Story, first broadcast just last year, is a six part series following different animals from birth to adulthood. Again, David Attenborough narrates. The series was the first to be filmed with 4K ultra-high definition cameras, and uses surround sound extensively.
South Pacific
Still with the BBC Natural History Unit for the moment, this six part series (again filmed in high definition) was filmed over 18 months in a variety of locations throughout the South Pacific, including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and many remote islands and atolls. The dulcet tones of Benedict Cumberbatch provide the narration – even though he does struggle with the word “penguins”.
Winged Migration (The Travelling Birds)
Of course, the BBC Natural History Unit are not the only nature documentary filmmakers in the world (although their output might make you think so). Directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin, this French documentary film garnered an Academy Award nomination on its release in 2001, thanks in part to its groundbreaking filming of birds in flight.
March of the Penguins
Although it’s been criticised for the way Morgan Freeman’s narration frames events into a narrative arc, rather than let the footage speak for itself, March of the Penguins was a huge success, making over $77 million at the box office and placing itself as the second most successful documentary of all time – behind only Fahrenheit 9/11.
Meerkat Manor
Made by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet, Meerkat Manor combined traditional documentary style footage with dramatic narration, telling the story of one family of meerkats, nicknamed the Whiskers, in the Kalahari Desert. The show ran for four series, showing the highs and lows of the meerkats’ lives with innovative camera techniques and technologies.
Blackfish
Taking animals out of their natural habitat is a controversial subject; the documentary film Blackfish is similarly controversial. Examining the captivity of Tilikum, a killer whale at Seaworld who was involved in the death of three individuals including trainer Dawn Brancheau, it’s been called an “aggressive, impassioned” film; SeaWorld Entertainment, who refused to take part in the production and called in “inaccurate and misleading” saw decreased attendance and lower revenues following its release.
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