Synopsis:

A year ago, scientists and explorers excavated the remains of a 20,000-year-old Mammoth from its frigid tomb in Siberia. Land of The Mammoth is the documentary chronicling that find and the ongoing search and discovery of new clues as to what science is learning from this very rare block of remains. The adventure begins as a team of international scientists starts the defrosting process of the Jarkov Mammoth in the Arctic chill of an underground ice cave. (So named after the explorer who found the remains) In the largest expedition ever assembled to collect Ice Age Remains, explorers spread out across the Taimyr Peninsula in search for more specimens of mammoths and other arctic species that may have shared its domain. The most recent findings from these and other initial studies, and the discovery of hundreds more prehistoric specimens, have begun to create a more vivid picture of what the Woolly Mammoth's world was really like some 20,000 years ago. Land of The Mammoth has taken the finding one step further with life like computer animation to put the viewer inside the mammoth's world as only the discover channel can. -Back of the box spin

Audio/Video:

The audio for the presentation comes in both a Dolby 2.0 and Dolby 5.1 platform. Where the 2.0 was adequate in its presentation, the 5.1 obviously expanded the listening area a great deal. An example of the differences can be heard in the opening of the film's title sequence. In 2.0 it's nice but in the 5.1 it's amazing. Having been unaccustomed to watching a TV program in surround, the experience was quite thrilling to say the least. The surround usage is more of a directional nature than SFX effect. Things like the whirring of chopper blades and the crunching of tundra underfoot all added to the surround effect and made for a very good aural presentation. A Director's Commentary is included to boot! While in some areas, the information discussed was on a more scientific plane than I could grasp, on the whole, it echoed the information presented onscreen as well as the problems the crews encountered preparing the documentary as well as getting some of these shots on film. The commentary much like the documentary suffered from an overstating of facts that resulted in tremendous boredom that seemed to settle in quite frequently. I am definitely interested in all things pale ontological but this presentation could have benefited from an infusion of far more interesting on camera and commentary contributors. The dialogue was easily understood and always clear. The directional effects were limited to the info as listed above. On the whole, the audio was very well done and presented a richer-than-normal audio presentation for a television-based series. The video was presented in both widescreen and full frame formats. For the review, the widescreen version was watched. The transfer elements were all shot on video so the clarity of the images wee stark and clean throughout. The colors were true and the usual transfer errors found were nowhere to be seen. This is an amazingly beautiful transfer that is free from any errors as far as I could see.

Extras:

In addition to the commentary track, there is a trailer for the feature as well as five behind the scenes segments lasting roughly 8-10 minutes apiece. The first segment however clocks in at 18 minutes and is largely without dialogue. Solely the film's score overplaying and showing the creation of the documentary from the cameraman's angle. The segment I enjoyed the most was one in which the composer discussed his choice of orchestra and the intent of his musical contribution. Watching and listening to the Prague symphony Orchestra was thrilling to say the least. The balance of the behind the scenes segments do suffer from poor audio when the score isn't playing over them. In particular, when the wind is blowing and the boom mic is trying to pick up the dialogue, it's almost impossible to hear what the cameraman is saying. Other than that, the segments were interesting and in some ways more intriguing than the documentary itself.

Overall:

The Discovery Channel is one of my favorites and this is an incredibly full documentary on the Mammoth and it's habitat and possible living conditions. This is easily an exhaustive look at the world of an animal that we really still know very little about. I'd have to say that if you are interested in looking at what it takes to increase our scientific knowledge in the field of paleontology, this is one video you shouldn't miss. Jurassic Park, this is not. This is real work in the field to unearth the secrets of Earth's biggest inhabitants. Very interesting and this disc is stuffed to the gills with all the information you'll need on the subject. While I did find some of the material a little slow at times, overall, it's very informative and easily a collector's edition given the wealth of materials this disc boasts. Collector's Edition