Narrator David Attenborough once again teams up with the superb BBC nature crew for this seven-episode miniseries focusing on predators and their techniques for seizing prey in the wild. The Hunt does not wallow in severe animal gore and suffering; cute antelopes and even a cornered Cape buffalo generally escape the slavering leopards and lions who besiege them (which is the norm, according to the script). In one dazzling sequence, bioluminescent carnivorous beetle-larva in Africa lure light-sensitive insects into their jaws at night, making mounds of earth glitter like weird mini-cities. Aerial-drone shots capture suspenseful pursuits of Arctic hares by wolves and foxes. Other predators, both familiar and weird, include polar bears, chameleons, the honey badger (now an Internet-meme critter), the lone octopus that has evolved to move on land, an African wolf resembling a red fox, and the blue whale (which feasts on mass quantities of tiny shrimp). The finale brings mankind into the big picture, explaining how human beings are now—belatedly—attempting to accommodate and protect such formidable, fearsome, and endangered animals as the Bengal tiger and the harpy eagle. Extras include “making-of” segments detailing how the cinematographers obtained their amazing material. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (C. Cassady)
The Hunt
(2015) 2 discs. 350 min. DVD: $39.99; Blu-ray: $49.99. BBC Worldwide Ltd. (avail. from most distributors). Volume 32, Issue 1
The Hunt
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