Natural History

• Planet Earth | Blu Ray | (12/11/2007) from £17.00  |  Saving you £32.14 (64.30%)  |  RRP £49.99

  As befits the BBC's reputation for producing some of the world's best nature documentaries, Planet Earth is an epic travelogue, focussing on different ecologies and the unique animals that inhabit them. Once again, Sir David Attenborough provides the narration, as the cameras fly across the surface of the earth, zooming in to give us a bug's eye view one minute, zooming out to give us an eagle's perspective the next. The BBC's cameramen filmed more than 200 locations, resulting in some truly spectacular footage, much of which has never before been seen--such as the rare sight of an endangered snow leopard hunting in the Himalayas, or great white sharks leaping from the water as they hunt. The creators of Planet Earth endured some of the world's most hostile environments, from the deepest ocean depths to an Antarctic blizzard to a fetid, cockroach- and bat-infested cave, just to grab a few moments of film; it's worth watching the "Making of" shorts that accompany each episode, in order to see just what lengths they had to go to. The three extra episodes here--Planet Earth: The Future--provide a sobering finale, as Sir David practically pleads with viewers to cherish the animals that we share this planet with, before it's too late. --Ted Kord

• Blue Planet | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £7.99  |  Saving you £22.00 (73.40%)  |  RRP £29.99

  The Blue Planet narrated by Sir David Attenborough is an epic new guide to the strange and spectacular denizens of our world's vast oceans. We know less about the oceans than we do about the surface of the moon yet the sea covers two-thirds of our planet. From the familiar to the unknown

• Wonders Of The Solar System | Blu Ray | (12/04/2010) from £11.85  |  Saving you £13.14 (52.60%)  |  RRP £24.99

  Prepare to immerse yourself in an alien world as if you were standing there yourself. Professor Brian Cox takes another giant leap for humankind as images of distant alien worlds are brought into breathtaking focus. Giant ice fountains rising over 100km high; an ocean hidden beneath a frozen crust of ice; storms three times the size of Earth coloured blood red by a vortex of dust and gases; immense volcanoes that would put Mount Everest in the shade - this amazing DVD reveals the true and awesome beauty of our solar system. It's an epic journey of discovery where bizarre worlds become real places we can see feel and visit. Travelling from the Sun to the far-out reaches of Neptune Wonders of the Solar System has at its heart the latest scientific knowledge beamed back from the fleet of probes rovers and telescopes currently in space. Using the very latest images sent direct from space and spectacular CGI the series presents a spellbinding voyage around the natural wonders of the solar system capturing explosive phenomena in minute detail. Alongside these startlingly authentic images some of the most spectacular extreme locations on Earth help to reveal wonders never thought possible. Wonders of The World explores how these previously unseen phenomena have dramatically expanded our horizons revealing more about the planets their moons and how they came to be the way they are. The series also looks at the big picture - how the forces of nature carved out beauty and order from the chaos of space; how our home planet doesn't sit in magnificent isolation but is intimately connected with the rest of the Solar System; and how these connections have created the haven we call Earth.

• Wonders Of The Solar System | DVD | (12/04/2010) from £9.47  |  Saving you £10.52 (52.60%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Prepare to immerse yourself in an alien world as if you were standing there yourself. Giant ice fountains rising over 100km high; an ocean hidden beneath a frozen crust of ice; storms twice the size of Earth coloured blood red by a vortex of dust and gases; immense volcanoes that could rip a planet apart - this series reveals the true and awesome beauty of our solar system. Using the very latest breathtaking images sent directly from space groundbreaking CGI transforms the static into the dramatic. Travelling from the Sun to the far-out reaches of Neptune the series has at its heart the latest scientific knowledge beamed back from the fleet of probes rovers and telescopes currently in space and offers a vivid and unprecedented tour of the world beyond our planet.

• Yellowstone - Tales From The Wild | Blu Ray | (15/06/2009) from £9.93  |  Saving you £15.06 (60.30%)  |  RRP £24.99

  Larger than some American states Yellowstone National Park is one of the world's last and most spectacular wildernesses - a global icon of natural beauty. It is also home to some of the richest wildlife beyong the plains of Africa. Against its vast and majestic landscapes full of lush meadows deep forests and violent hot springs this landmark series follows the intertwining stories of Yellostone's iconic inhabitants: the grey wolf the grizzly bear and the herds of antelope and buffalo. In a land of beauty and peril the dramatic lives and fortunes of these animals are inexorably bound together. Intimate and emotional epic and engaging Yellowstone - Tales from the Wild reveals the grandeur of this unique place and its animals struggle to survive over the course of three vividly changing seasons.

• Walking With Dinosaurs | DVD | (15/05/2000) from £4.78  |  Saving you £20.14 (80.60%)  |  RRP £24.99

  Walking with Dinosaurs, which must have surprised even its makers by reaching the viewing figures usually reserved for royal weddings, was the undoubted television event of 1999. (The companion book and soundtrack album became bestsellers, too.) Extending the computer animation techniques developed for Jurassic Park (1993) these six 30-minute programmes, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, became the first blockbuster special-effects documentary. Here was natural history with a difference, recreating "the lost world" of the Cretaceous and Mesozoic with modern technology, the remarkable visuals enabling the programme-makers to show what life may have been like during the estimated 160 million years "when dinosaurs ruled the Earth". As well as the dinosaurs, the series investigates the plants, insects, climate and geography of the distant past, and considers the mystery of why the creatures became extinct so suddenly. There has been some argument over how much is scientific fact, and how much is entertaining speculation--after all, Life on Earth (1978) and The Living Planet (1984) had the advantage of living subjects to film--but for the moment this series must stand as the definitive visual chronicle of the life and times of the fascinating "terrible lizards". A year later the BBC followed this with the surprisingly sympathetic The Ballad of Big Al (about a youthful Allosaurus), before the equally ambitious, and equally enthralling Walking with Beasts (2001). On the DVD: Those interested in special effects techniques will appreciate the inclusion of a 50-minute "making of" documentary (which is also on the VHS). There's also an informative director's commentary, plus some behind-the-scenes picture sequences and additional graphics. The sound is vivid Dolby stereo and the picture is anamorphic 16:9 widescreen.--Gary S Dalkin

• Yellowstone - Tales From The Wild | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £7.85  |  Saving you £12.14 (60.70%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Larger than some American states Yellowstone National Park is one of the world's last and most spectacular wildernesses - a global icon of natural beauty. It is also home to some of the richest wildlife beyong the plains of Africa. Against its vast and majestic landscapes full of lush meadows deep forests and violent hot springs this landmark series follows the intertwining stories of Yellostone's iconic inhabitants: the grey wolf the grizzly bear and the herds of antelope and buffalo. In a land of beauty and peril the dramatic lives and fortunes of these animals are inexorably bound together. Intimate and emotional epic and engaging Yellowstone - Tales from the Wild reveals the grandeur of this unique place and its animals struggle to survive over the course of three vividly changing seasons.

• Attenborough - The Life Collection | DVD | (05/12/2005) from £62.99  |  Saving you £107.00 (62.90%)  |  RRP £169.99

  Sir David Attenborough's epic series 'Life' spread out over 24 discs on this amazing box set. Includes: 1. Life On Earth 2. Trials Of Life 3. Life In The Freezer 4. Private Life Of Plants 5. Life Of Birds 6. Life Of Mammals 7. Life In The Undergrowth 8. The Living Planet For information regarding individual titles please refer to the individual products.

• Nature's Great Events | Blu Ray | (15/06/2009) from £11.85  |  Saving you £18.14 (60.50%)  |  RRP £29.99

  Witness the planet's most breathtaking natural events and follow the dramatic wildlife stories behind them. Combining the epic cinematography of Planet Earth with all the emotion intimacy and storytelling of a wildlife diary this series charts the effects of global climatic phenomena which transform entire landscapes drawing in thousands of animals and determining their fate. Whereas Planet Earth gave us a global view Nature's Great Events delves into the more personal emotionally engaging approach. Nature's Great Events brings us the same high definition quality and wow factor images we've come to associate with Planet Earth.

• Islands Of Britain | DVD | (18/05/2009) from £4.78  |  Saving you £15.00 (75.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Martin Clunes embarks on an epic journey around a remarkably varied range of islands that just happens to be in our own backyard. He will travel from Britain''s far northern coastline to the southerly shores to visit some of the hundreds of islands that pepper our shores.

• Nature's Great Events | DVD | (16/03/2009) from £8.49  |  Saving you £16.50 (66.00%)  |  RRP £24.99

  Nature's Great Event (2 Disc)

• The Ascent Of Man | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £16.99  |  Saving you £35.00 (67.30%)  |  RRP £51.99

  Dr Jacob Bronowski traces the history of mankind's cultural development from primitive times to the present day.

• David Attenborough's Life Of Birds | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £6.70  |  Saving you £20.14 (67.20%)  |  RRP £29.99

  Like the albatross glimpsed in the beginning of this 10-part series The Life of Birds quickly takes flight. Sir David Attenborough hosts this unprecedented and extraordinary global look at the magnificent and often curious winged species with which we share our planet. Like the best wildlife shows, The Life of Birds offers a fresh and accessible view of creatures we may take for granted (didn't Alfred Hitchcock warn us about that?). The focus of this series is not on the different bird species, but on bird behaviour. Remarkable and awe-inspiring footage preserves the wide range of tools and techniques with which birds fly, hunt for food, attract a mate, hatch their chicks and defend themselves against predators. Attenborough pops up in the most remote, most exotic locales, with occasional comic effect: at one point, night-vision cameras capture the rare sight of the nocturnal kiwi as it forages for food on a New Zealand beach; the camera pans to reveal scant paces away our guide shining a flashlight on the nonplussed bird. --Donald Liebenson

• The Private Life of Plants | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £4.99  |  Saving you £15.00 (75.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  David Attenborough's thrilling series taking us on a guided tour through the secret world of plants is captured on this amazing video. The account of plant life's struggle for survival is seen as never before in a story full of drama beauty and staggering achievement. Attenborough takes us through each aspect of plants' lives travelling growing flowering their struggle with other plants and animals and the ingenious way they adapt to even the harshest of conditions. From the

• How the Earth Was Made: Complete Season Two | DVD | (23/08/2010) from £11.85  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  Go back in history - from 4.5 billion years ago to today. Spectacular on-location shooting evidence from geologists in the field and clear dramatic graphics combine in Season Two of this stunning series from History to show how immensely powerful and at times violent forces of geology have formed our planet. This season How The Earth Was Made goes back in history - from 4.5 billion year ago to today - peeling back layers of rock filling up river canyons parting the oceans and levelling mountains and volcanoes to investigate the origins of some of the most well-known locations and geographical phenomena in the world. With rocks as their clues and volcanoes ice sheets and colliding continents as their suspects scientists launch a forensic investigation that will help viewers visualise how the Earth has evolved and formed over millions of years.

• Coast - Series 4 - Complete | DVD | (24/08/2009) from £8.95  |  Saving you £21.04 (70.20%)  |  RRP £29.99

  Coast: Series 4 (BBC)

• How the Earth was made | DVD | (19/10/2009) from £14.49  |  Saving you £11.50 (44.20%)  |  RRP £25.99

  Spectacular on-location footage evidence from geologists in the field and clear dramatic graphics combine in this stunning 13-part series from HISTORY to show how immensely powerful and at times violent forces of geology have formed our planet. From the Great Lakes to Iceland the San Andreas Fault to Krakatoa HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE travels the globe to reveal the physical processes that have shaped some of the most well-known locations and geological phenomena in the world. With rocks as their clues and volcanoes ice sheets and colliding continents as their suspects scientists launch a forensic investigation that will help viewers visualise how the earth has evolved and formed over millions of years. Experience all 13 episodes of this landmark series for the first time on DVD.

• Earth: The Power of the Planet | DVD | (14/01/2008) from £5.58  |  Saving you £13.08 (65.40%)  |  RRP £19.99

  This landmark series uses specialist imaging and compelling narrative to tell the life story of our planet how it works and what makes it so special. Examining the great forces that shape the Earth - volcanoes the ocean the atmosphere and ice - the programme explores their central roles in our planet's story. How do these forces affect the Earth's landscape its climate and its history? CGI gives the audience a ringside seat at these great events while the final episode brings together all the themes of the series and argues that Earth is an exceptionally rare kind of planet - giving us a special responsibility to look after our unique world. This is a series that shows the Earth in new and surprising ways. Extensive use of satellite imagery reveals new views of our planet while timelapse filmed over many months brings the planet to life. Offering a balance between dramatic visuals and illuminating facts this ground-breaking series makes global science truly compelling.

• Walking With Monsters | DVD | (21/11/2005) from £3.87  |  Saving you £11.02 (68.90%)  |  RRP £15.99

  Part of the BBC series which began with Walking With Dinosaurs Walking With Monsters draws on the specialist knowledge of more than 600 scientists to tell the story of the weird wonderful and frequently terrifying creatures that came before during and after the age of the Dinosaurs. With state of the art technology and animation these creatures - 50 of which have never been seen before - are brought to life with amazing realism. There was a time when a

• Life In Cold Blood | DVD | (25/02/2008) from £7.98  |  Saving you £17.54 (62.70%)  |  RRP £27.99

  In Life In Cold Blood David Attenborough explores the lives of Reptiles and Amphibians.