Wild China
Wild China
| 11 May 2008 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 1
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  • Reviews
    TheLittleSongbird

    Am a big fan of nature documentaries, especially the work of David Attenborough. Having been recommended 'Wild China' through Amazon and here, it was instantly put down on my list as a must see. Also heard nothing but praise for it, which has nearly always been a good sign, so that further sparked interest. 'Wild China' is as good as others have said and there is not much to add, actually feeling much more than just a documentary. Throughout it's an awe-inspiring, utterly transfixing experience where one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art. This may sound like extreme hyperbole, but to me 'Wild China' is completely deserving of its praise and even deserving of more.It is hard knowing when to start with the praise. 'Wild China' for starters looks amazing, reasons enough to make book a trip to see the more naturalistic parts of China. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The scenery and habitats are some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life. The rich colours just leap out and the scenery from this part of the world has rarely looked more beautiful. The music here is a remarkably good fit, throughout it not only complements the visuals but enhances them and there is an authentic flavour to it.What of the narrative and information aspects? Can't fault 'Wild China' in this aspect either. The narration has a great well-balanced mix of facts that will be familiar to the viewer and others that will induce the right amount of surprise. In short, it's just fascinating, informative and thoughtful.From start to finish, 'Wild China' managed to intrigue and illuminate, and there is a freshness to the material, not feeling derivative of anything. The narration is delivered articulately by Bernard Hill, there's an enthusiasm and precision about the delivery and it never feels preachy and always lets the scenery and such speak for itself.The wildlife themselves are a wonderful mix of the adorable and the dangerous, and one actually finds they're rooting for them in exactly the same way they would a human character. Not just that we also see how humans interact and adapt which was just as great and interesting to watch. There is a good deal of suspense and emotional impact. There are some scenes where one is amazed that they managed to be filmed in the first place, like with the snakes.In all the six episodes, 'Wild China' feels much more than a series and it doesn't feel episodic or repetitive. The episodes instead feel like their own story, without being too reliant on that approach, with real, complex emotions and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.Overall, wondrous in every regard. Not to be missed. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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    adam

    I've seen this documentary series several times on Netflix, and it has become one of my favorites to watch when I feel worried about the state of the world! Most of the current events part of this series are no longer current at all but that doesn't diminish its quality.I don't know as much as I would like about China, and Wild China does a wonderful job of showing its many beauties, both natural and built by humans. From long-settled fishing villages on China's increasingly prosperous eastern coast to the icy reaches of Manchuria to the sunbaked deserts of Xinjiang, this series shows off a beautiful and wild China.(I have watched this series several times, mostly recently on August 25 2017)

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    neilmcdowell

    I watched Wild Indonesia a few years ago. It was only three episodes long, but every minute was filled with information and wild animals, there was never a dull moment. Why then do we need six episodes the tell us about the meager wildlife in China? The answer is we don't, which is why the scenes drag on forever and the pace of everything is so slow.As for narration, I like Bernard Hill in some movies, but in this his voice is, to me anyway, incredibly dull and gray.I can only assume that people rating this highly do so because it's a nice introduction to China and they don't know to much. I lived there for two years, and travelled through Indonesia, so perhaps that's some explanation.To sum up, this would have made one or two hours good TV, but production companies are probably paid by the minutes of TV shown.

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    epincion

    Very Good Series. As a great fan of the BBC Natural History Unit series like Planet Earth I only came across this recently and it surprised me greatly in that I never realized China is so varied and full of amazing natural wonders. As with most Westerners my idea of China was just what we see on news channels with the background pictures of Beijing and the Great Wall. What was particularly good was the way the filmmakers include something of the life of local people in each episode. So many interesting local cultures exist in pockets each with a rich cultural tradition going back centuries. It is great that something is being done to record this before they disappear under the pressure of modern ways. The filmmakers also (quite carefully given the sensitivity of the Chinese government to perceived criticism) point out the huge problems for wildlife from human pressure for land taking the habitat for animals and birds and also the fact that in some parts of China they eat everything leading to rare animals being hunted for profit. For the first time ever I felt I would visit China to see its natural history and peoples.

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