"I hope this film, earth, inspires future generations to preserve the beautiful planet we still have." Alastair Fothergill, Director.

No film has ever immersed the viewer so vividly among wildlife as they live out their perilous lives in some of the planet’s most beautiful, inhospitable and inaccessible places. Migrating whales swim across the widescreen, a polar bear is followed up close and personal as she nurtures her newborn cubs and things get so intimate with herds of parched elephants that you all but feel the African heat, the prickle of dust up your nostrils.

But earth isn’t just a celebration, or indeed a drama of survival as animals hunt for food or find themselves trying to outrun nature’s predators. It’s about their wider struggle, the loss of habitat at – and there’s no getting away from this – man’s hands.

earth, occupied 40 specialist crews in 200 locations. Produced by BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media, it’s a five-year masterwork from the BBC Natural History Unit, world-renowned for its Emmy-award-winning movie ‘Deep Blue’, and TV series ‘Life on Earth’ and ‘Planet Earth’.

Watch earth behind the scenes

One of the most memorable sequences in earth - a Great White Shark breaching clear of Cape Town’s icy waters, a seal freshly caught in its massive - jaws was filmed using technology originally developed for car makers. The Photron APX can record up to 2000 frames per second, allowing images to be slowed by up to 40 times. Automotive engineers used the technology to assess the results of occupant safety impact tests.

It is the hope of the director, producers and everyone involved in making earth that every person who sees earth will leave the cinema with a forever deeper understanding and love of the natural world. It is hoped earth will be regarded as a cultural pivot; all will be inspired to take steps to share the planet with our fellow species, not just because we should, but because now we want to.

The film earth goes on general release from 16th November 2007. Join us in celebrating a brighter tomorrow.

‘earth is a powerful and timely reminder of the magnificence of the world in which we live,’ says Stephen Odell, Ford of Europe’s Vice President for Marketing, Sales and Service. ‘Ford is delighted to be able to support the marketing and promotion of this film. We are as a society all aware of the potential dangers of rising global temperatures. Climate change affects every one of us and we must all work together to do something about it. We can’t change everything overnight, but can and must do everything possible to change our attitudes and processes to reduce and eventually reverse our collective adverse impact upon the environment.’ Odell added.