"The world is more than we know."

That wonderful, moving line from William Wyler's "Ben-Hur" gets an eye-popping twist in "Life," the spectacular 11-part nature DVD series narrated by Oprah Winfrey.

Picking up where 2006's "Planet Earth" left off, this Discovery Channel-BBC collaboration zooms in on nature's most remote habitats.

Komodo dragons hunt for buffalo. Flamingos dance in African lakes. Male humpback whales battle for a female mate. Birds display their murderous nature in the pursuit of love.

One hundred and thirty captivating stories like these are told from around the globe. The producers say that advances in techniques have allowed them to capture animal behaviours never seen before on film including:

• Dolphins filmed from the air creating circles of mud to entrap fish
• Time-lapse photography of a giant starfish devouring a dead giant Pacific octopus
• Komodo dragons bringing down an animal 10 times their size, a task that takes two weeks

Thanks to new high-speed digital cameras, under-water time lapse photography in HD and low-light cameras that venture anew into nocturnal worlds, "Life's" storytelling scope is a revelatory feat.

Where "Planet Earth" stood back to survey the planet's epic splendour, "Life" digs in with gusto into the daily survival struggles of animals and plants.

"These creatures aren't that different from us," "Life's" executive producer Mike Gunton told CTV.ca.

"We parachute into one key moment. It may be an animal's birth, death, a feeding expedition or play time. Sometimes you root for the animals. Sometimes you root for their predators. But the drama is everywhere," says Gunton.

A groundbreaking film experience

"That's what we wanted people to feel," he says. "The more closely we connect with these creatures the more human their struggles become."

Shooting "Life" was a logistical nightmare.

"It was like running a war," Gunton laughs.

"In February of 2008, for example, we had 13 film crews shooting around the world. Keeping everyone in the right place was a huge challenge," says Gunton.

The payoffs, however, were extraordinary.

"If you have the patience and ingenuity, animals will do the stuff that makes you go ‘Wow!'" Thankfully we capture many moments that people have never seen before," says Gunton.

One of Gunton's favourites involves Brazil's wily capuchin monkeys.

The animals concoct a detailed plan to crack palm nuts, their favourite food.

First they strip the tough, outer husks and let the nuts dry in the sun. Then the monkeys hunt for smooth and rough rock slabs they can use as tables and hammers.

Shot in high speed, "You really get the sense of the monkeys' power here," says Gunton. "You watch and you think here is human evolution staring back at you."

Oprah gives 'Life' the thumbs up

"Life's" early rushes so impressed Winfrey, the talk-show titan signed on to be the narrator.

"We didn't want a cold, analytical observation of the natural world here," says Gunton. "We wanted ‘Life' to appeal to families. Oprah's tone and manner of story telling was just the warm touch we wanted for North American audiences."

Exclusive DVD bonus features include deleted scenes, a "music only" viewing option and a collection of 10 video dairies the document the lengths crews went to in order to capture "Life's" footage.

"After 20 years at this job, ‘Life' raises the bar very high," says Gunton.

"We always wanted to create something that would raise people's awareness and encourage them to help the natural world stay as healthy as possible," he says.

"Every living thing in ‘Life' faces the same challenges that we humans face. Once you make that connection that's when you really start to care."

The discs went on sale this week in Canada: DVD SRP: $74.98, Blu-ray SRP: $87.48