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6 Degrees Entertainment

'Dynasties: 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray'
(David Attenborough / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray / NR / 2019 / BBC Home Entertainment)

Overview: Enter a world of dynastic power struggles and family treachery. This intimate landmark series narrated by David Attenborough immerses us in the lives of five of the most celebrated and endangered animal families.

Witness their incredible determination to protect their family line in the face of challenges to their leadership or from the often harsh environment around them.

4K Ultra HD Verdict: BBC Home Entertainment continues to expand their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this February with the release of this incredible nature gem, 'Dynasties' in the new 4K home video format on February 26th, 2019.

For my money, this 'Dynasties: 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray' combo pack's sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is 'Dynasties' presented to us as a four-disc combo pack housed in a glorious and shiny slip cover. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), and HDR: HDR10.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHD's, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this BBC Nature series gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisper with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what's more is that it's enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color; like when the herd of painted wolves are running, almost in unison, their cast shadows making look like they are ten feet tall in the dawning sun.

Indeed, the picture enjoys the fruits of the added resolution in terms of bringing out the aforementioned extremely fine facial and some of the yellow graded material (such as when the sun is rising and equally so when it is setting on the plains) now have a kind of honeyed amber appearance. Which is interesting, and at least a little different from the 1080p Blu-ray accounting.

As for the audio, well we have: English: Dolby Atmos, and English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

Phew! OK, so, as for the series itself, as alluded to already, 'Dynasties' follows the true stories of five of the world's most celebrated, yet endangered animals; penguins, chimpanzees, lions, painted wolves and tigers.

Each in a heroic struggle against rivals and against the forces of nature, these families fight for their own survival and for the future of their dynasties.

I mean, wow! Just wow! The scenery takes the breath away, especially in "Tiger", but it is more than just beautiful scenery. For example in "Emperor" one is reminded of how cruel the Antarctic can be.

The scenery is complemented by photography of quite cinematic quality, not just a feast for the eyes, but it is also expansive and intimate in equal measure; enhancing the impact of the emotional and tense scenes of which in Dynasties there are many.

A fine example being the wild action in "Lion". The music has both grandeur and atmosphere, not intrusive at all and adds a lot more than once.

As one can expect, the narration is very thought-provoking and never rambling or speculative. Although the animals themselves (here chimpanzees, emperor penguins, lions, painted wolves and tigers) and the habitats are familiar, the approach that they are explored in feels fresh and sees the animals in a new light, or so that's how it felt.

Ergo, 'Dynasties' did not feel like five episodes to me. Moreover, it felt like five individual stories with animals portrayed as relatable characters (without being too humanized, even when given names like David the Chimpanzee) and a wide range of emotions.

To my mind, this series is a true, unadulterated masterpiece of television. The soundtrack, cinematography, and editing are all phenomenal!

Honestly, I would rate this above Planet Earth 2 for the stories of each species, of each dynasty enthralled me from the start. The most amazing thing is that the stories are true and the BBC have expertly captured the true brutality and fragility of nature within seemingly perfectly.

Anyway, that's that, for the most part, so now let's concentrate on the two Bonus Features included. The first is the highly engrossing The Making of Dynasties Featurette that runs the gauntlet over how long it took them to garner the footage (spoiler, it was 4 years!) and how close they found themselves getting to the subjects, etc.

The other one is A Behind The Scenes Look at The Making Of Each Episode of Dynasties, which pretty much showcases exactly what it says on the box! So you can either plum for the specific episode of your choice, your favorite so to speak, or sit back, hit play and let them all reveal themselves to you (I suggest the latter option!)

This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.39:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs via 1080p and comes with the Bonus Features of:

The Making of 'Dynasties'
A Behind The Scenes Look at The Making Of Each Episode of 'Dynasties'

'Dynasties' First Look Trailer

Amazon Purchase Link

www.BBC.com





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