Ganges on Blu-ray Disc Review by Brandon A. DuHamel on BigPictureBigSound

Blu-ray Disc and DVD : Blu-ray Disc Reviews

Published: 2008-07-22 - 11:46:45

Ganges on Blu-ray Disc Review

By Brandon A. DuHamel

The Film

The Ganga River, or Ganges, the most revered river on the Indian subcontinent, originates after the confluence of six tributaries -- the Alaknanda, the Dhauliganga, the Nandakini, the Pindar, Mandankini, and what is considered the source stream from the pristine waters of the Gangotri Glacier at an elevation of 7,756m (25,446 ft.) -- in the high peaks of the Himalayas where, from its very beginning, it brings forth an abundance of sustenance for humans and animals. Langurs (leaf monkeys), musk deer (prized by the pharmaceutical and perfume industries) and snow leopards mingle near the waters of the Ganges as it plunges through the foothills of the Himalayas and then across the Gangetic plains.

The river flows eastward across northern India, passing through some of the most populous cities on the subcontinent, such as Bengal and Calcutta. During its journey across the vast expanse of grasslands on its way towards the delta, particularly during the long monsoon season, the Ganges is responsible for bringing the riches of a fertile soil in the form of huge quantities of sediment it lays across the land. Farmers, whose main crops are a rotation of rice, wheat and millet, enjoy the abundance of mineral rich mud brought down by the powerful body of water, as do mudskippers, wild boar, Indian elephants, makak monkeys and many other animals along the way.

Finally Ganges reaches its final destination, at the largest river delta in the world. Shared by India and Bangladesh, it is the most densely populated region in the world. The Sundarbans wetlands are home to the vast mangrove forests that shelter the Royal Bengal Tiger, notorious as a man-eater -- a trait that some have attributed to the lack of abundance of fresh water. Populating the rim of the mangrove forests in the warm, dry seasons are temporary fishing villages, where some men brave the forests and the tigers that patrol them to gather honey from the most aggressive honey bees in the world.

Over the course of three episodes, "Daughter of the Mountains," "River of Life," and "The Tiger's Realm," this BBC series follows the Ganges on its journey across Northern India, and explains its ties to both the land, the animals, and the spiritual connection it has for the Hindu people. Through Sudha Buchar's warm narration, we also learn of the history of India, and the changes invading forces have had on the land. The most influential, naturally, was the British, whose driven need for industrialism and disdain for the animal kingdom caused the nearly complete deforestation of the woodlands, a complete extinction of the Indian cheetah, and a total annihilation of the Gangetic lions.

There are now only 350 Asiatic lions surviving in India today. Of course, no series of this nature would be complete without pointing out the obvious implications that the rapidly growing population and global warming has on the Ganges. It is becoming increasingly depressing to watch any nature series these days and have it constantly pointed out the devastation we have caused to the natural wonders over our planet. This is a must watch title - I recommend it to anyone.

The Picture

Shot in high definition and brought to Blu-ray Disc in a 1080i/60 VC-1 transfer, Ganges looks brilliant. With a pristine image free from most glaring compression artifacts, colors are bold and vivid, contrast is well balanced and images in shadows are well delineated. From the fur of the snow leopards to the to the skin of the elephants that traverse the grasslands, the amount of minute detail captured is superb. There is only a slight bit of softness apparent that may be a result of the image being in 1080i as opposed to 1080p, and I noticed some color banding in images of the clear blue sky. Other than these things, the transfer was completely perfect and thankfully free of any macroblocking, which would have been a nightmare given the documentary's focus on water.

The Sound

The audio options included on Ganges are English DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, and Hindi & Bengali Dolby 2.0. The lossy DTS 5.1 mix fell in line with most documentary series' audio mixes. Sudha Buchar's narration is firmly placed in the centre channel and the LFE channel is minimally used during more riling moments, such as when the banks of the Ganges are falling away into the river. For the most part, though the surround channels are occasionally occupied by cackling birds and buzzing insects or the sound of rainstorms filling the room, the mix is fairly subdued. Even when the mix is allowed to breathe and the ambient sounds of nature fill the channels with the growl of a tiger or the rush of the river, it is quickly brought into check again and often drowned out by the documentary's incessant score and, as is necessary, lowered in favor of the narration. This mix is only good, but not great.

The Extras

The extras offered on this release are sparse and all in standard definition. Not much is offered to add information beneficial to the focus of the documentary itself, outside of maybe the deleted scenes, which are interesting at best, but some are still a bit redundant.

The extras available on this release are:

Behind the Scenes (1.78:1/standard definition) -- This behind-the-scenes documentary of sorts shows the producers and cameraman shooting time-lapse footage in the Himalayas, capturing footage of the Asiatic black bears and following the Sundarbans tiger team as they track a tiger that had been causing problems for people in the temporary villages outside of the mangrove forests.
Deleted Scenes (1.78:1/standard definition) -- These are six deleted scenes that wouldn't necessarily have added much to the series. It is good to have them on this disc, but they would have been much more appreciated if they were offered in high definition. Amongst other things, they document a group of shepherds, mango cultivation, which has taken place in India for over four thousand years, and cow dung as an alternative source of fuel.

Final Thoughts

Ganges is a wonderful look at one of the world's most revered and powerful rivers and the ecosystem that it helped to develop and still supports today. As with all documentaries of this sort, it is quite telling how closely attached and dependent we humans are to the planet and its resources. Ganges, through its narrative, shows just how much people have encroached upon the natural world over time, and pushed it to the brink of its capacity to survive. This Blu-ray Disc release comes with a marvelous video transfer that is sure to please, and will surely be worth the price.

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