Life with the lions touches a roar nerve

8:42am Thursday 14th February 2008

Lions 3D: Roar of the Kalahari,The IMAX, National Media Museum

Forget Stephen Tomkinson and his Sunday evening feelgood jungle adventures - for a real insight into wild animals in their natural habitat, look no further than Bradford's IMAX screen.

National Geographic's stunning adventure opens with a mighty roar filling the Kalahari night sky. We are being taken deep into Botswana's Kalahari Desert, face-to-face with nature's fiercest predators.

Through stunning cinematography, startling 3D effects and remarkable shots of the hunting, mating and fighting habits of a pride of lions, we're drawn right into the desert with them.

The compelling film is set around a water hole teeming with wildlife. We come up close to trumpeting elephants enjoying a mud bath, a herd of zebras galloping across the giant screen, and two lionesses circling springboks as they drink from the water.

The beasts appear to co-exist in harmony until one of the lions starts stalking the springboks, sending them off in a cloud of dust.

The springboks' balletic speed - they look graceful even in mid-panic - means they often avoid the lions' clutches and, seeing it all close-up, you feel for the hungry beasts.

Then again, when the lions do manage to catch one it ain't pretty. Think of The Lion King's Scar with Bambi in his jaws. It's a tense moment when one of the springboks gets stuck in mud!

The film gives the impression that the action has taken place over a couple of days, when in fact film-maker and naturalist Tim Liversedge must have waited months with his 70mm camera to get his remarkable footage.

There's a particularly spectacular shot of a springbok leaping several feet into the air, only to be caught mid-leap by a lioness.

Most moving of all is the fight between an old lion and a fierce young contender; as fascinating as it is brutal.

• For tickets ring 0870 7010200 or visit nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Editor's choice