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| View Larger Image | Miracle Planet (DVD Box Set) | DVDStarring: Christopher Plummer
Directed By: Hideki Tasuke
| List Price: | $129.99 | | Price: | $116.99 | | You Save: | $13.00 (10%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | DVD | | Rating: |  | | Run Time: | 250 minutes | | Format: | NTSC | | Studio: | Ambrose Video | | Number of Discs: | 5 | | Aspect Ratio: | 1.78:1 | | Release Date: | February 01, 2006 | | Sales Rank: | 72,067nd |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Miracle Planet is a five-part series that recounts the profound and gripping story of Earth's mysterious evolution. Narrated by Christopher Plummer , it reveals the surprising role that sheer chance has played in the development of life. Over its more than 4-billion-year history, Earth has been home to repeated violent climactic changes, which have caused mass extinctions. And yet, life has survived. In fact, these same catastrophes that devastated life on Earth also helped bring about its evolution from the simplest microbes to the complexity and diversity that is found on the planet todayFilmed in High Definition this series features location footage, interviews with the world's foremost scientists and cutting-edge computer technology. Programs in this series: The Violent Past Earth is a planet born in fire and baptized in ice. Earth grew from the collision of many smaller planets, drawn together by Earth' s gravitational force and melted together from the force and heat of the impact. Some scientists posit the idea that first life emerged on Earth 4.4 billion years ago, and the likely source was simple organisms originating from Mars, as rocks from that planet hurtled through space to land on ours. Snowball Earth Over the ages, continents have shifted their positions, wind and rain shaping and reshaping the surface. Scientists believe that at least two total ice ages have occurred, each lasting for millions of years. But life in the simplest form might have been able to survive in the depths of the oceans, living from the heat and energy that comes from the Earth itself. New Frontiers From microbes to the first complex creatures, life was always searching for new frontiers. By 450 million years ago, Earth had become a less violent planet - no longer bombarded by giant meteors from space and the great ice ages had passed. Nothing yet lived on the land, but in the warm and shallow seas that fringed the continents, there was a rich diversity of life. Around this time, fossils capture long extinct creatures on the evolutionary path, aquatic organisms defined by jaws and early limbs. Extinction and Rebirth The dinosaurs would roam the Earth and ruled for millions of years, until a disaster from space wiped them out and cleared the way for the mammals to rise and dominate the planet. With the early mammals, many steps including the development of opposable thumbs, the ability to walk on two legs and sharper eyesight - would lay the groundwork for primates and the birth of humanity. Survival of the Fittest The human race is here today because of its ability to adapt. Our ancestors, the earliest mammals, survived low oxygen levels. Later primates developed sharp eyesight and hands that could clasp for nocturnal life in trees. And about 6 million years ago, fossil evidence in Africa tells us, some primates may have begun to walk upright, perhaps because they were forced out of the trees and into the grasslands. Living on Earth truly was the Survival of the Fittest. Features: English Subtitles Educator s Guide |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 4 reviews)
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For all climate-change skeptics by Pamela Rice (New York City)  5 Stars
February 13, 2009
I watched the entire series when it was on Cable. It brilliantly gives perspective on the history of planet Earth. It hammers home how the climate can change on a dime, making our paradise of a planet uninhabitable. Serious stuff. Should be recommended viewing for all climate-change skeptics. I particularly loved the voice of Christopher Plummer as narrator.
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High Def? by D. Means (Yorktown, VA USA)  4 Stars
July 06, 2007
I would be extremely interested in purchasing this if it were truly High Def as some reviewers have said in their reviews. I don't believe they know the real meaning of high def however! I have watched 2 of the episodes on my HDTV with Dish Network High Def programming and it is spectacular. It would not be as great with a standard DVD unfortunately!
If it is ever released in the Blu-Ray format - I guarantee that I will be one of the first in line to purchase it! That is what High Def is all about.
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The big blue marble looks red, white and green to me! by Daisy Brambletoes (the Shire) 4 Stars
May 09, 2007
This is a beautifully done science series, based on today's theories of Earth history, mass extinction, evolution, and the usual. While I didn't agree with everything as presented (the Snowball Earth is a little hard to swallow), and not all of the animation was quite state-of-the-art if you look too close, it is nevertheless stunning, enjoyable, and thought-provoking.
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Almost ashamed to watch it this many times by bit medler 5 Stars
July 26, 2006
This is a spectacular series to see in hd, and the subject matter is often mind blowing. I would highly recommend this to anyone remotely interested in how we as a species came to be and/or in the really incredible history of this planet.
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