The Polar Bears - Aug in Aug mit den Eisbären - DVD

Content: Not only since the now sadly deceased polar bear Knut has taken the hearts of people by storm, his fellow species in animal documentaries enjoy great popularity. And so there is hardly a nature documentary that does not have a contribution about polar bears to offer. If you want to stand out, you have to come up with something. That's what the makers of the two-part BBC Earth documentary The Polar Bears thought. They had special spy cameras made in order to be able to offer a very special insight into the lives of these fascinating predators eye to eye with the polar bears.

Disguised as remote-controlled mini icebergs, snowballs or ice spheres, the cameras were intended to show the polar bears from a completely new perspective and to penetrate much closer into their direct habitat. Admittedly, some of the images captured by these cameras are indeed well worth seeing. But overall, the spy cameras are more of a gimmick that also wears out quickly. Because the bottom line is that there are mostly shots filmed in the traditional style, showing how the polar bears react to the uninvited guests. How they play with the ice balls, try to get inside or just sniff curiously at the strange devices. The fact that the one or other camera is also broken or wildly thrown through the area, of course, prevents the spy cameras can deliver razor-sharp images.

These has the documentary but still to offer. And there are some wonderful moments, such as when a male polar bear tries to win the favor of a female, but gives up after the first rejection, whereupon she in turn tries to attract his attention again. The tricks she uses to do this, the way she rolls lasciviously in the snow or bends herself, without him being particularly impressed, is simply wonderful to watch. A polar bear mother who does everything to get food for her cubs or how little polar bears make their first swimming attempts offers a lot of material for enchanting pictures, humorous but also very moving moments.

The Polar Bears is educational and entertaining at the same time, conveying its message around the consequences of climate change for polar bears clearly but not too doctrinally, so that the show and entertainment value is always paramount. Those with a soft spot for wildlife and nature documentaries will only get limited new information, but the beautiful images alone are enough to give this one the rating of absolutely worth watching.

Picture + Sound: The picture is clean, with most shots shining with high detail. Only the images taken with the spy cameras have some weak points to spot. The sound is dominated by the off-camera commentary, otherwise the stereo mix seems restrained, but the snorts or roars of the bears still come through decently. Good.

Extras: Bonus features include the English-language version of the two-parter as a nearly 11-minute-longer Director's Cut, featuring Doctor Who actor David Tennant as narrator.

Conclusion: The Polar Bears is a fine wildlife documentary that has some spectacular footage, touching but also very amusing moments to offer. Admittedly, the effect achieved by the spy camera footage wears off quickly and one is inclined to prefer the images created by conventional methods after all. Nevertheless, this BBC production is a very special look at the lives of polar bears that animal film lovers should definitely not miss. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp