This documentary has some amazing footage and goes in depth about not only the natural flora and fauna, but also the lives of the people in the area. There is a great diversity of animal types that are shown and elaborated upon, as well as beautiful landscapes throughout different seasons. However, I thought that I was a Lord of the Rings fan before starting this film, but my love for the classic shies in comparison to the writers'. Almost every transition was in reference to the books, comparing the land to the homes of elves, orcs, hobbits, etc or to locations easily recognizable from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was distracting, but also interesting.

“The Wild Balkans” is an interesting and informative documentary about a place I shall never see in real life. The narrator’s voice is not great, but it’s not rasping, either. The camera work was very good, but the score was, at times, too loud. It did not cancel out the narrative, but it gave it a challenge. I did get a little irritated at the repetitive references to Tolkien’s Middle Earth. This beautiful land obviously has its own magic and mystery. It needs no “Middle Earth” to make it what it already is.

An interesting documentary on the wildlife in the remote Balkan mountain ranges and surrounding lakes. I was disappointed that the area covered excluded Greece, also very rich in its share of the Balkan mountains in flora and fauna. Too, I found the continual reference to the land in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings an unnecessary distraction, both forced and mostly irrelevant. Be that as it may, this documentary covered beautiful land seldom seen elsewhere. 3 1/2 stars

Fascinating look at the diversity and natural beauty of a part of the world I knew almost nothing about and probably will never get to visit in person. The frequent references to Tolkien's land of the Hobbits are quite appropriate. Beautifully done natural photography and special effects.

The worst written nature doc of all time. Lord of the Rings gets mentioned so often it is a mix of annoying and funny. Only saving grace is the shots of the animals and landscape--- ya know, Michael, the reason people want to watch these things.

This is a very beautiful documentary about a little known part of Europe. It covers a very large area and this is perhaps the one thing I would change. I would like to have more information about a smaller area that is I would like it to be more in depth.

This documentary shows a great expanse of southern Europe. Offers a glimpse into an area most people know little about.

This is beautifully done and well worth watching. Beautiful photography and the narrative was very informative.