Discovery Atlas

Cable and satellite techs setting up new high definition TVs in homes love to tune in the Discovery Channel's HD Theater to show off HD's brilliant colors and sharp images. So it should come as no surprise that Discovery Atlas, a four-disc boxed set featuring a quartet of episodes from the titular HD-filmed Discovery Channel-aired series, is exceptionally fine eye candy. Featuring Australia: Revealed (narrated by Russell Crowe), Brazil: Revealed (narrated by Sela Ward), China: Revealed (narrated by James Spader), and Italy: Revealed (narrated by Isabella Rossellini), all of the titles follow the same basic format, focusing on a handful of individuals—rural and city dwellers from each country—while also sharing facts and figures related to population, geography, industries, etc. Although each program suffers somewhat from repetition (the bane of TV programming that caters to channel surfers), all are entertaining, informative, and wondrous to look at, with China and Australia emerging as the two standout entries in the set. With 1.3 billion people living on 3.5 million acres, China is—to continue the numbers—the 800 lb. gorilla sitting in the world's (rounded) corner, at once the oldest continuous civilization and one of the fastest-growing industrial nations. China: Revealed takes viewers into the lives of a family of rice planters, a window washer, a female police officer, a pre-teen gymnast, a billionaire developer, the last imperial bow maker, a young non-religious student studying martial arts with Shaolin monks, and a woman undergoing eyelid surgery for a more Western look (in order to be able to compete better in the job market). Although the programs don't delve too deeply into the sociopolitical issues facing each country, none are entirely puff pieces either (China: Revealed, for instance, serves up some salient observations on both the changing economy and potential environmental threats that a fully industrialized China will pose). The overriding theme in each of these films is about how people adapt in societies undergoing major transformations—particularly involving the migration to burgeoning cities (in Brazil: Revealed, for instance, viewers meet a young woman who flies businesspeople in a helicopter to meetings within São Paulo—a city of 18 million people—where rush hour gridlock is a serious problem). But the real calling card here is the visuals, whether it's the gorgeous Australian Outback, Rio de Janeiro's colorful Carnival, the gondola-filled waterways of Venice, or the beautifully symmetrical rice terraces of rural China. All of the titles are also available separately for $19.99 each on standard DVD and $24.99 each in either the HD DVD or Blu-ray high definition formats. Highly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)