BBC Earth: Great Barrier Reef (2012)

Directed by: James Brickell, Richard Fitzpatrick | 177 minutes | documentary

In magnificence, there are few places on Earth where Mother Nature displays such exuberance and such a splendor of color and species as around the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world. This sparkling natural gem in the northeast of Australia has acquired the status of a wonder of the world for a reason. The immense structure made of living organisms (coral polyps) can even be seen from space. The Great Barrier Reef is made up of more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islets, natural structures that stretch for more than 2,000 kilometers and together form a complex and immensely rich patchwork of diverse ecosystems. The variety of animal life forms is also astonishing: 1600 species of fish, 300 species of hard corals, 400 species of soft corals, 30 species of whales and dolphins, 14 sea snakes, 6 different sea turtles, 3000 mollusc species and 1300 crustacean species are structurally or seasonally in the immediate vicinity of the reef for. No wonder, then, that the Great Barrier Reef is the wet dream of virtually every diver on Earth.

Given the enormous diversity of species in the area, it is therefore not surprising that the Great Barrier Reef has been the subject of countless well-known and lesser-known nature documentaries over the years. Still, few of these films will compete with the BBC’s ‘Great Barrier Reef’ documentary. Because this three-part series is definitely visually almost as colorful a masterpiece as the reef itself. In nearly three hours, many of the remarkable creatures that inhabit the reef and its immediate surroundings come into sharp focus and in their natural habitat. For example, we see the very skilled and engaging presenter Monty Halls (also a marine biologist) come face to face with curious minke whales, egg-laying green sea turtles, giant groupers and white tip reef sharks that hunt in the dark. Completely unique is the scene in which no fewer than sixteen tiger sharks jointly feast on the carcass of a fallen green sea turtle. Up close, the viewer gets to see the razor-sharp teeth of the sharks do their somewhat morbid work and eventually even cleave the hard shell of the dead reptile. It is known to be the largest tiger shark eating orgy captured on film to date.

The nice thing about ‘Great Barrier Reef’ is that it’s not just the large and charismatic animals that get all the attention. Smaller and more unknown, often even quite bizarre-looking creatures also get their minutes in the spotlight. Thanks to the excellent information provision, the first part in particular regularly takes on the character of an exciting voyage of discovery that enriches you with a lot of interesting facts. For example, the white reef bass appears to maintain its own ‘algae garden’ as an accomplished farmer, certain parrot fish build slime bubbles before they go to sleep to ensure that predators do not smell them and the not very fast-looking cone snail is secretly one of the most potent venom. the reef’s most dangerous predators. ‘Great Barrier Reef’ does not only take place below the surface of the water, because in the second part Halls also explores the richly varied life on land in the region and on the islands that are close to the largest reef in the world. This trip to the mainland yields beautiful images of white-bellied sea eagles, yellow-spotted monitor lizards and cassowaries.

You know a documentary is good if you as a viewer would like to book a one-way ticket to Australia as soon as possible to see the wonders you have just seen with your own eyes. ‘Great Barrier Reef’ is therefore nothing less than a monumental masterpiece that should actually be on the shelf of every lover of nature films.