David Attenborough guides the viewer through a miniature universe teeming with life, never normally seen, yet all around us. New technology reveals surreal vistas and their extraordinary inhabitants — swarming antler moths, desert locusts and a mountain of cockroaches — up close and personal. The bizarre and the beautiful are represented and their habits, lifestyles and characteristics explained in David Attenborough’s inimitable style. Though small, these creatures are as ferocious as any seen before.By getting up close and personal with Life in the Undergrowth, this extraordinary BBC series sets a new standard of excellence in wildlife cinematography. Hosted by veteran nature expert David Attenborough and utilizing the latest advances in macrophotography, the five-part series is dedicated to bugs of all shapes and sizes, from microscopic gnats to cave-dwelling millipedes so large they can capture bats in mid-flight and feast for hours thereafter! The patience involved in filming such previously unseen marvels must have been grueling (as confirmed by producer Mike Salisbury in a splendid bonus interview), but the results are nothing less than astonishing, with a parade of sequences so impressive that even insect-haters will pause in amazement. With an emphasis on reproduction and mating behaviors, each program focuses on a different, generalized group of creatures, many of them never filmed before, so that lay-persons and entomologists will be equally enlightened by discoveries made in the process of filming.
As always, Attenborough serves as an expert witness, cordial, fearless, and quintessentially British as he explains what we’re seeing, from the nocturnal fluorescence of scorpions (glowing at night in ultraviolet light, they perform a mating dance playfully described as “a nuptial pas de deux”) to the mysterious, 17-year life cycle of the cicada. Throughout, we see everything, both frightening and beautiful, from an intimate, bug’s-eye view, in detail so vividly colorful that you’ll never view the insect world in quite the same way again. (Likewise for the diverse variety of critters on view in episode 3: “The Silk Spinners,” which according to Salisbury is capable of curing arachnophobes from their irrational fear of spiders.) Just when you think Life in the Undergrowth couldn’t get any more fascinating, it does: episode 4, “Intimate Relations,” shows how many insects symbiotically depend on other species for food, shelter, or completion of their reproductive cycles, and episode 5, “Supersocieties,” focuses on the social complexities of insect colonists like ants and termites. Enough to give you the creeps for days, you say? Think again, for after seeing Life in the Undergrowth (a perfect companion piece to the Nova episode “The Unknown World”), you may find yourself in the garden, on your knees, eager for a better look at the countless millions of tiny creatures that surround us every day. –Jeff Shannon
Rating: 
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June 24, 2010
#1
Review by dooby
Rating:
This is a beautiful documentary series. Sir David Attenborough’s latest release is a 5-part documentary on terrestrial invertebrates (as opposed to marine invertebrates which are not covered here) with a major emphasis on insects and to a lesser extent, spiders, with a passing glance at snails, slugs and worms which actually only feature in the first episode. While many of the species he showcases can be found in and around your neighbourhood gardens, he still criss-crosses the globe to highlight the diversity of forms and habitats that related species occupy across our planet. He is helped by advances in photography, especially ultra-high-speed photography, microphotography and high-resolution infra-red photography and the new high-definition video which can present it in such spectacular detail on DVD. These highly detailed images are truly gorgeous to look at and make you wish this series was at least twice as long.
The 5 episodes (50 mins each) are:
Ep 1: Invasion of the land – A very brief description of how the invertebrates moved from water to land and the adaptations they underwent during the transition.
Ep 2: Taking to the air – Focusing on insects and their conquest of flight
Ep 3: The Silk Spinners – On invertebrates that make use of silk, including insects but focusing mostly on spiders
Ep 4: Intimate Relations – On symbiotic, parasitic and commensal relationships between various invertebrate species and between invertebrates and plants.
Ep 5: Supersocieties – On insects that form colonies and supercolonies – bees, wasps, ants, termites.
Highlights include the giant centipedes that hunt for bats by catching them in mid-air, 6-foot long giant earthworms in Australia that make so much noise burrowing underground that the earth gurgles beneath your feet, parasitic wasps that inject their eggs into the bodies of caterpillars which proceed to hatch and eat their hosts alive, one species even allowing the caterpillar to pupate only to kill it in the chrysalis and emerge as a fully-formed wasp at the end as if by some act of devilish magic. There’s a beautiful sequence taken in Waitomo, New Zealand where the ceiling of a dark cave twinkles with a constellation of blue fairy lights, like stars in the Milky Way. Only on closer inspection do you see that they are the larvae of fungus gnats. There’s also a segment on spiders which work in concert (in thousands) to construct 60 foot high webs that form a veritable silken wall across the jungle canopy, trapping insects, birds and well-nigh anything else that fly into them.
The series was shot in 1.78:1 high definition widescreen and is presented as such on DVD (enhanced for widescreen TV). Picture quality is breathtaking. Sound is in 2.0 Stereo with surprisingly good bass extension, notably in the accompanying music. The DVD includes a half-hour long interview with producer Mike Salisbury on the making of the series but unfortunately none with Sir David. It also comes with a separate recording of the complete score by Ben Salisbury and David Poore in 2.0 Stereo, playable separately with 25 individual cueing tracks.
Breathtaking as all this is, it is also a little sad to realise that with this series, David Attenborough has apparently precluded any separate “Life of Insects” series to add to his other “Life Of…” documentaries. Alas, so much to do in so little time. Perhaps we should just count our blessings and be thankful that Sir David has shared so much of his life with us. He has brought home to millions around the world the joy and passion he holds towards all living things on our singularly beautiful living planet. I personally know of many people whose love for the life sciences were sparked by exposure to his inspiring documentaries and books. You could probably go to any corner of the world and be able to find life scientists who hold him in the highest regard and the deepest affection. To think that he is now into his eighties and still hard at work (he reached 80 earlier this month – May 8). A truly remarkable man. He has just premiered his new 2-part documentary on climate change and its effects on wildlife (BBC UK). And he is currently working on the forthcoming “Life of Reptiles”. For those interested in learning more about the various creatures featured here, this series comes with Attenborough’s beautifully illustrated hardcover book, published by the BBC in the UK and by Princeton in the US.
June 24, 2010
#2
Review by Donat Agosti
Rating:
This is certainly the best and most exciting movie on invertebrates (and indeed life on Earth) with stunning shots, details on the biology of many species and macrophotography which even I as a specialist haven’t seen, and I could not see with my usual equipment. Indeed, almost any sequence has its unprecedented merit from an esthetical point of view, as well as from a scientific.
Rarely in my live, I would be watching movies during my precious business hours. It makes you addicted to invertebrates and their private lives.
June 24, 2010
#3
Review by Daniel Skorik
Rating:
I’m a biology major at Wesleyan University, and I have never, EVER seen a more fair, true and beautifully detailed representation of insect life. This documentary should be seen by everyone, as it would foster much more of an appreciation and respect for the insect life on this planet that outnumbers us by a factor of billions. A must see for anyone and everyone.
June 24, 2010
#4
Review by John A Lee III
Rating:
David Attenborough is probably the best around when it comes to natural history programs. His other series have always been outstanding whether they deal with birds, mammals, sea creatures, penguins or anything else. Particularly great was his LIFE ON EARTH series. This series is in the same vein of greatness.
Although it is mostly about insects, it is cot completely about insects. The theme is invertebrate life on the land. Due to sheer numbers, that reduces to mostly being about insects but there are some nice asides.
The series is divided into five programs, each with its own theme.
The first deals with the colonization of the land. This program has the most variety in terms of differing types of creatures.
The second deals with the development of flight and looks at the ways insects fly.
The third deals with the making of silk. While this is primarily the domain of spiders, other insects make this remarkable material as well.
The fourth looks at strange relationships between the “bugs” and other bugs or other life. Parasites and symbionts are the order of the day here.
The final show examines the great hive cultures of wasps, bees, ants and termites.
The quality of the ideography is outstanding throughout. Recent advances in lenses and electronics make possible this new view of the small scale world. As with all of Attenborough’s work, this is a masterpiece.
June 24, 2010
#5
Review by Homerus Prime
Rating:
Excellent documentary, using technology to provide macro views of what our naked eye will not be able to catch. These, and some fascinating never-before-seen footages are definitely worth the price IMHO. Video fills widescreen TV fully, i.e aspect of about 1.78:1 not 1.33:1 as listed.
video – ****
audio – ****
contents – *****
rewatch – *****