

Jan Haft is without doubt a nature filmmaker with a gifted knack for the very special regions of the world. A few years ago, in Das grüne Wunder - Unser Wald, he dedicated himself to the place that all Germans long for, and in his new film he explores a similarly mythologically and historically charged topography, which is nevertheless much less present than the murmur of the forests. It is about the mainly northern European moorland landscapes and their rich and unique flora and fauna, whose magic he traces in an opulent visual arc of exquisite beauty.
2015-09-24
7.5
0.0The documentary features some of the least explored parts of Russia: Altai, Amur, Kamchatka, Yamal, and the Arctic. In each region, the crew uncovered how species have adapted to Russia's challenging terrain: from polar bears, hunting on melting ice caps, and musk oxen coping with punishing Arctic conditions, to the toad-headed agama lizards doing their best to survive in the scorched desert near the Caspian Sea. These precious habitats and the animals that call them home are under direct threat from climate change as a result of global warming occurring around the world. The film captures the incredible diversity of this immense wilderness, demonstrate the shooting process of the film, and lead you to think what might be done to mitigate such potential destruction.
A look at the life on the Galápagos Islands.
0.0A showcase for breathtaking shark behaviour, covering a wide variety of species across the coastal waters of the US.
9.0Jhalana’s refuge, India's urban leopard habitat, is controlled by the strong and experienced Bahadur. But his dominance is being challenged – by his son, Rana! Once a quiet youngster, Rana has grown into an ambitious young male. But in the animal kingdom, power is not inherited – it is fought for with strength and persistence. Rana is not content with just securing his place; he wants more. To fulfill his ambitions, he forms a bond with one of his father's females, and what begins as a simple interaction soon turns into a powerful partnership. The aging Bahadur has held his territory for six years and will not tolerate his son's claim. Rana faces a decision: retreat or fight. But Rana follows his instincts.
0.0On the African plains, where only the strong survive, one big cat rules supreme. This is life in the raw: savage, beautiful and unforgettable. During the eight years that Jurgen Jozefowicz filmed a pride of lions in South Africa's Kruger National Park, he won the trust of the dominant male and, astonishingly, was accepted into the pride. This is his story. How does it feel to live amidst a group of the most feared predators on the African continent as they fight to survive in a harsh, unforgiving world? Jurgen's film shows what it's like and is the result of his remarkable adventures. Jurgen is one of the world's premier wildlife photographers. His story of his life with these lions is one that spans a period of political struggles, disease and drought, showing the highs and the lows of life in the lion pride.
0.0Four top predators are compared, each champion in a type of environment, with key adaptations. On the ground, the cheetah outruns prey (approached in masterly stealth) and enemies. In the air, the peregrine falcon is a flight and diving machine. In sweet water, the Nile crocodile survives since the Dino age, without natural enemies, with several amazing metabolism stunts. Lurking under water, it snaps blindly at migrating wildebeest, then waits underground. In the oceans, the equally ancient shark, notably the great white, migrates seasonally to find abundant prey, such as young seals around South Africa.
7.1Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!
0.0Blue Whales: Return of the Giants 3D takes viewers on a journey of a lifetime to explore the world of the magnificent blue whale, a species rebounding from the brink of extinction. Following two scientific expeditions—one to find a missing population of blues off the exotic Seychelles Islands, the other to chronicle whale families in Mexico’s stunning Gulf of California—the film is an inspirational story that transforms our understanding of the largest animal ever to have lived.
9.0Sir David Attenborough unveils the two stunning underwater realms of Saudi Arabia - the flamboyant Red Sea and the contrasting hot muddy Gulf, capturing for the first time the rare event of Palolo worms spawning at night.
6.9Impressive family film offers a unique stories of the wonderful animals who inhabit the Aldabra atoll, were born here, create communities, give birth to young and struggle for their survival.
Eco-Traveler Safari of Sarawak is a one hour documentary that will take viewers on an odyssey that not only reveals the intense beauty of a people and the nature that surrounds them, but a little known and compelling reason to save the rainforest.
0.0Introduced by Sir David Attenborough, and presented by environmentalist Chris Baines, The Living Thames is an odyssey along the river as it meanders through London and flows out to sea, exploring its ever-changing ecology.
0.0The picture shows various kinds of birds in their natural environments, and in their natural colors, and at such close range that the very eyes of the little fledglings in the nest are easily discerned. Every feather seems distinct and the birds seem to be in such relief that it appears as though one could almost reach out and catch them.
8.2A unique celebration of one of Earth's most iconic birds, featuring all 18 species in footage from New Zealand, Cape Town, the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica.
Sir David Attenborough narrates a documentary about the Kea, the world's only alpine parrot. Playful and destructive, it attacks cars, starts landslides and terrorises New Zealand ski resorts but behind the bad behaviour there's a sharp mind at work. David tries to play chess with a kea and discovers how its cheeky character is the key to its survival.
0.0Short documentary, shot over fours years, showing the incredible daily migration of the western toad tadpoles, a designated indicator species on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
8.0They are the secret protagonists of world history: dogs that became famous alongside powerful masters and mistresses. A four-legged friend helps to cultivate an image and can, depending on the calculations, make its owner appear sympathetic or threatening. In England, however, prime ministers have to get used to a cat...
8.0Greenland is the largest island in the world and the landmass closest to the North Pole. 80% of the country is covered by a layer of ice up to 3000 meters thick. Through the eyes of locals we get to know the authentic Greenland.
6.5In this journey through the seasons, you’ll experience a year in the life of hundreds of plant-eating dinosaurs. From the moment they hatch, these prehistoric giants face natural disasters and ferocious predators while hunting, feeding, playing, and undertaking epic migrations. Based on scientific data, the digital dinosaurs come to life against the backdrop of modern Alaska.
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
7.4Animals Are Beautiful People (also called Beautiful People) is a 1974 South African nature documentary written, produced, directed, filmed and edited by Jamie Uys, about the wildlife in Southern Africa, presented with comedic elements. It was filmed in the Namib Desert, the Kalahari Desert and at the Okavango River and Okavango Delta. It was the recipient of the 1974 Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary Film. The film, a critical and commercial success, was independently made by Uys, also known for his later African comedy The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980).
7.4African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.
7.3An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
7.4One Life captures unprecedented and beautiful sequences of animal behaviour guaranteed to bring you closer to nature than ever before, as well as a second disc packed full of never before seen extras including an exclusive making of featurette narrated by Daniel Craig.
7.0Born to Be Wild observes various orphaned jungle animals and their day-to-day behavioural interactions with the individuals who rescue them and raise them to adulthood. The film unfurls in two separate geographic spheres. Half of it takes place in the rain forests of Borneo, where celebrated primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas assists baby orangutans; the other half takes place on the arid savannahs of Kenya, where zoologist Dame Daphne Sheldrick works with baby elephant calves.
7.6Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.
7.9After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
7.7Disneynature’s Elephant follows African elephant Shani and her spirited son Jomo as their herd make an epic journey hundreds of miles across the vast Kalahari Desert. Led by their great matriarch, Gaia, the family faces brutal heat, dwindling resources and persistent predators, as they follow in their ancestors’ footsteps on a quest to reach a lush, green paradise.
6.3As England reach the final of the Euros at last, 6,000 ticketless football fans storm Wembley stadium, leaving destruction in their wake.
7.2Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country.
6.2Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
7.1A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
7.2In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.
7.0A nature documentary centered on a family of chimps living in the Ivory Coast and Ugandan rain forests. Through Oscar, a little chimpanzee, we discover learning about life in the heart of the African tropical forest and follow his first steps in this world with humor, emotion and anguish. Following a tragedy, he finds himself separated from his mother and left alone to face the hostility of the jungle. Until he is picked up by an older chimpanzee, who will take him under her protection.
7.0In this wildlife drama, a worsening dry season in the Kalahari Desert leaves prides, packs and herds to rely on the power of family to survive.
7.7Some of the world's most majestic birds display delightfully captivating mating rituals, from flashy dancing to flaunting their colorful feathers.
8.2A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.