David Attenborough - Life in Cold Blood - Region 2 DVD

The focus of Life In Cold Blood is on reptiles and amphibians, bringing into focus a series of creatures very much of all shapes and sizes. Across the episodes that make up the series - all of which are contained in this DVD set - the programme makers delve into the lives and mannerisms of its subjects. They do so with some quite stunning camera work, bringing to our screens things that have quite simply never been seen before.

As much as perhaps we shouldn’t take for granted the heights that Attenborough’s work easily scales, Life In Cold Blood happily matches the standards of his earlier series. Often genuinely jaw-dropping, and never less than completely absorbing, the DVD set is rounded off with some equally intriguing extra features that delve into the complex production of the programme itself.

If Life In Cold Blood really does bring the Life series to an end, then it’s even more reason to cherish it. Even without such emotive reasons, this is nonetheless an extraordinary series, that’ll make you look at snakes, frogs, crocodiles and turtles in very different ways. Unmissable. --Simon Brew