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When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight. against evil

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Planet Earth

Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series [HD DVD]:

Five years. A $25 million budget. A total runtime of 530 minutes. 'Planet Earth' is an undertaking so epic in scope and idealistic in intent, that it legitimately earns comparisons to to the grandest Hollywood blockbusters. It's the 'Titanic' of television nature documentaries -- a work of great majesty, high ambition and huge financial risk (after all, this isn't a genre known for generating huge profits). That the BBC agreed to back such an enterprise at all is a kind of small miracle.

'Planet Earth' really is huge on every level. The production employed over a dozen of the world's most reknowned nature photographers, sent them out to traverse the globe for over 60 months, capturing the planet's most amazing landscapes and creatures in stunning high-definition. As an example of "pure cinema," 'Planet Earth' succeeds. It simply captivates our eyes with every frame. How some of these sights were even able to be photographed by humans often boggles the mind. The filmmakers often spent hours -- even days -- attempting to document a single, indelible moment, and the pay-off is often extraordinary. In one of many fantastic moments, a group of baby birds dive off a cliff and take flight for the first time -- such visual images have the energy and excitement of true discovery. It is like witnessing a baby take its first steps, or remembering the first time you tasted ice cream -- 'Planet Earth' is a nature documentary that allows us to revel in the child-like wonder of discovering our world.

Visual brilliance aside, 'Planet Earth' is hardly groundbreaking in its use of the documentary form. The narrative approach to the material is standard-issue for a nature series; in fact, there really isn't much of a narrative at all. British naturalist and filmmaker David Attenborough (not to be confused with his actor brother, Richard) provides the narration for all eleven episodes of 'Planet Earth,' but this is not a documentary that tells an overall story. Instead, 'Planet Earth' is a series of vignettes -- loosely paced and assembled -- that certainly form an eventual thematic arc, but nothing more than that. That may be the doc's one weak point, at least in terms of mainstream appeal. Though the subject matter of 'Planet Earth' is of course more far-reaching and ambitious than say a "March of the Penguins" it's ultimately not nearly as emotionally satisfying.

Still, 'Planet Earth' is certain to be held up as the high watermark of its genre. Just the sheer scope of the project gives it a majesty rare for a genre usually known for its low budgets and cheesy production values. Finally, be warned -- 'Planet Earth' is highly addictive. No matter which episode you choose, it's always accessible, like nature documentary comfort food. I found myself lulled into a near trance-like state of serenity throughout its eleven episode, 530-minute runtime. Even though you've just sat through it all, you already want to watch it again.

Having seen portions of 'Planet Earth' during its television premiere in the U.S. on the DiscoveryHD Channel, It boasted some fantastic shot-on-HD video, but like most broadcast HD material, the DiscoveryHD presentation was constrained by heavy compression, which results in tons of artifacts, reduced resolution, and macroblocking.

This HD DVD release of 'Planet Earth' shares an identical 1080p/VC-1 encode with the Blu-ray, and, simply put, this disc delivers the kind of breathless demo material that early adopters have been craving. Far superior to the broadcast version, both next-gen editions boast wonderfully stable video, no obvious compression noise, and certainly no pixel break-up.

Colors are vivid and pure, from brilliant blue skies to lush green foliage to the variety of animal tones and shadings. Hues remain rock solid and stable, with no noise. Detail can be tremendous -- all eleven episodes boast at least one demo-worthy sequence, with faves being an exploration of the fantastic Lechugilla Caves (filled with breathtaking visuals of crystal formations), to a startling use of time-lapse photography that shows Sequoia trees changing colors through the seasons. But there are many more such moments -- depth and clarity are truly top-tier.

Easily surpassing Warner's previous HD DVD release of '

Relentless Enemies (which was visually stunning in its own right), 'Planet Earth' is the 'Citizen Kane' of shot-on-HD nature documentaries.

If you're looking for the best shot-on-HD HD DVD release available today, 'Planet Earth' should be your five-star first choice. Click link

Grab this one without hesitation.

'Planet Earth' is a staggering documentary, one ambitious in scope and filled with lovely, often breathtaking imagery. Likewise, this HD DVD release is sure to be instant demo material, as the video is just about perfection. If you can afford the $99.98 list, grab this one without hesitation.