I knew I would love this series, but as I watch each episode it gets harder to choose which one(s) I like more than the others. Every episode slowly draws you in so you end up caring what happens to members of the family. I thought it would be the lion episode because I have a soft spot for them, but fantastic as it was I would put it in last place so far. This episode about the two painted dogs/wolves packs was simply superb and on a par with the chimp episode as far as tension goes. Following the two packs was like watching a brutal soap opera and the expertise of the crew was clear to see. For me the chimp episode was the most violent, but this episode was the most gruesome and hard to watch (I turned away two or three times) and I expect there will be complaints about it being before the watershed (in the UK). As far as I'm concerned the more realistic this kind of programme is, the more seriously people will become about the plight of all wildlife, not just endangered species like the painted dogs/wolves. Absolutely a 10/10 episode.
6 Reviews
Simply magnificent!
laurenbrown-804993 December 2018
My favorite of this amazing series
Urban_Hymns11 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The Dynasties series has been another milestone from BBC's Planet Earth, and the Painted Wolf episode shows it's brilliance perfectly. To be honest, I was like the other reviewers on here and thought this would be the least intriguing episode, but boy was I wrong! The production in this episode is amazing; from the frenetic pacing to stress the need for survival to the different cinematography techniques they used throughout to paint this story, this episode is so well done. All these elements help tell this story of two rival packs fighting for territory; but with one led by mother, the other by daughter(!), it adds another element of suspense and drama unlike the other episodes in this series. Additionally, the bonus footage after the episode showing how this one was shot was equally compelling; it was both inspiring and moving to hear the camera crew relied on two researchers who followed these families for 20 years! While the painted wolf is not as popular as any of the other animals in this season/series of dynasties, this is the one to see if you only watch one episode.
Magnificent!
xboxusers3 December 2018
When i was looking the episode titles, i thought painted wolves would be the least interesting episode. Now, i am very appreciated because these wolves made me eat crow (Actually, they are not wolves, just wild dogs) . It is hard to choose which epsiode is the best but if i had to, i would choose this. Production, exertion is on the highest level and story looks like taken from game of thrones
Brutal family rivalry
TheLittleSongbird11 February 2019
Every new project from the national treasure that is David Attenborough is always eagerly anticipated. Attenborough's popularity and acclaim is more than richly deserved, and when it comes to presenting and narrating any kind of documentary in my mind nobody is better than, even equals or in the same league. Have always learnt a lot from and been transfixed by his work, which is also so well made and quite a lot of it is ground-breaking.
'Dynasties' may not be quite among his best, but only because there are so many jewels in his filmography and to me there are also not a dud (something that is incredibly rare in celebrity filmographies). Picking a favourite has always been impossible. It is still an incredible series with all five episodes being equal in quality, with an interesting new approach with a tighter focus to exploring familiar animals and it is a long way from being any of the things that people feared it would be like before it even aired. In all five episodes, full attention is needed and it is attention that is fully warranted.
"Painted Wolf" is the episode containing the least familiar species/animals to many viewers, that was certainly the case with me, so some may think before watching that it will be the least interesting episode of 'Dynasties' and dismiss the painted wolves (or African wild dogs) as not being as interesting as the chimpanzees, penguins, lions and tigers, far more familiar and explored species in documentaries. Not so. While there is not a personal favourite 'Dynasties' episode because quality-wise the five are equal, "Painted Wolf" was one of the more interesting ones for me and actually because it was not familiar territory and one of the more tightly focused and intimate ones. The animals are every bit as rootable and some of the more upsetting and brutal scenes of the entire series is here.
As with the previous episodes, "Painted Wolf" looks amazing. The filming is not just glorious to look at and complements the beautiful yet appropriately unforgiving scenery adeptly, it is often remarkably cinematic and its intimacy enhances the more dramatic scenes. The music never came over as intrusive or inappropriate, that has been the case with some documentaries seen (and this is including a few of Attenborough's work here) but not here.
The way the information is presented is very thought-provoking and never felt like it rambled or over-speculated, as to be expected. once again feels like its own individual story rather than just an episode of a series, Attenborough documentaries always excelled at this aspect and did so in a way that did not compromise the facts. As with David in "Chimpanzee", Charm and Red in "Lion" and the penguins (and the behind the scenes crew) in "Emperor", it is very difficult to not root for Tait and the adversity needed to overcome, done in a way that's poignant and inspiring. The puppies are adorable but it's the brutality and emotion that sticks with one long after. There were distressing scenes in the previous episodes too, like with Red and the hyenas in "Lion", but this was the episode that had me looking away trying and failing to hold back shock and tears.
Not because of an individual scene but because of a truly vivid overall portrayal of this family rivalry. It really does not hold any punches and it is amazing that any of it was captured on film and so vividly and terrifyingly. This is also not a cutesy depiction of the painted wolves, just as much as the scenery being much more than just beautiful (with it also being as cruel an environment as the Antarctic in "Emperor"), like with the ambitious daughter quite a lot of it is actually uncompromising. A lot of information is covered but felt properly explored and not rushed or disjointed, and the facts educate and illuminate while not being compromised for the emotionally complex storytelling.
Once again, Attenborough delivers sincerely, enthusiastically as well as in an understated fashion, his voice as ever distinctive. One can listen to him for hours and not tire of him, no other nature/wildlife documentary narrator/presenter has made me feel this way.
Summarising, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox
'Dynasties' may not be quite among his best, but only because there are so many jewels in his filmography and to me there are also not a dud (something that is incredibly rare in celebrity filmographies). Picking a favourite has always been impossible. It is still an incredible series with all five episodes being equal in quality, with an interesting new approach with a tighter focus to exploring familiar animals and it is a long way from being any of the things that people feared it would be like before it even aired. In all five episodes, full attention is needed and it is attention that is fully warranted.
"Painted Wolf" is the episode containing the least familiar species/animals to many viewers, that was certainly the case with me, so some may think before watching that it will be the least interesting episode of 'Dynasties' and dismiss the painted wolves (or African wild dogs) as not being as interesting as the chimpanzees, penguins, lions and tigers, far more familiar and explored species in documentaries. Not so. While there is not a personal favourite 'Dynasties' episode because quality-wise the five are equal, "Painted Wolf" was one of the more interesting ones for me and actually because it was not familiar territory and one of the more tightly focused and intimate ones. The animals are every bit as rootable and some of the more upsetting and brutal scenes of the entire series is here.
As with the previous episodes, "Painted Wolf" looks amazing. The filming is not just glorious to look at and complements the beautiful yet appropriately unforgiving scenery adeptly, it is often remarkably cinematic and its intimacy enhances the more dramatic scenes. The music never came over as intrusive or inappropriate, that has been the case with some documentaries seen (and this is including a few of Attenborough's work here) but not here.
The way the information is presented is very thought-provoking and never felt like it rambled or over-speculated, as to be expected. once again feels like its own individual story rather than just an episode of a series, Attenborough documentaries always excelled at this aspect and did so in a way that did not compromise the facts. As with David in "Chimpanzee", Charm and Red in "Lion" and the penguins (and the behind the scenes crew) in "Emperor", it is very difficult to not root for Tait and the adversity needed to overcome, done in a way that's poignant and inspiring. The puppies are adorable but it's the brutality and emotion that sticks with one long after. There were distressing scenes in the previous episodes too, like with Red and the hyenas in "Lion", but this was the episode that had me looking away trying and failing to hold back shock and tears.
Not because of an individual scene but because of a truly vivid overall portrayal of this family rivalry. It really does not hold any punches and it is amazing that any of it was captured on film and so vividly and terrifyingly. This is also not a cutesy depiction of the painted wolves, just as much as the scenery being much more than just beautiful (with it also being as cruel an environment as the Antarctic in "Emperor"), like with the ambitious daughter quite a lot of it is actually uncompromising. A lot of information is covered but felt properly explored and not rushed or disjointed, and the facts educate and illuminate while not being compromised for the emotionally complex storytelling.
Once again, Attenborough delivers sincerely, enthusiastically as well as in an understated fashion, his voice as ever distinctive. One can listen to him for hours and not tire of him, no other nature/wildlife documentary narrator/presenter has made me feel this way.
Summarising, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Writing this review to a dog - a painted wolf.
smartinezmd16 February 2024
If it was some crime show and the person being interviewed was an a-hole and annoying, perhaps, I would give this episode one star as some type of retribution for infuriating me. But, what can I do when it is a dog - okay, a painted wolf - that has pissed me off? I love painted wolves. Undoubtedly my favorite African animal and up until this episode, I adored their social structure: one for all and all for one. But, this matriarch has besmirched the name of painted wolves throughout Africa for centuries to come: Blacktip, you call yourself a leader? Of what? I took pause when you chased your Mom, Tait, from her homelands. But even after her exile - because you had her scent - you chased her even further out. Lands that you knew nothing about only to have two of your dogs killed? Both were lost in a horrific and senseless manner. Be warned: this is a very hard episode to watch and there is not much that I have not seen on safari-type documentaries. I screamed and cried for naught. I love you, Tait. You are a beautiful matriarch, for always.
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