Product Description

Documentary on the migratory habits of birds across the seven continents.
Genre: Documentary
Rating: G
Release Date: 22-NOV-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3241 in DVD
• Brand: CLUZAUD,JACQUES
• Released on: 2005-11-22
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Portuguese, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.com
For earthbound humans, Winged Migration is as close as any of us will get to sharing the sky with our fine feathered friends. It's as if French director Jacques Perrin and his international crew of dedicated filmmakers had been given a full-access pass by Mother Nature herself, with the complete "cooperation" of countless species of migrating birds, all answering to eons of migratory instinct. The film is utterly simple in purpose, with minimal narration and on-screen titles to identify the wondrous varieties of flying wildlife, but its visceral effect is humbling, awesome and magnificently profound. Technically, Perrin surpasses the achievement of his earlier film Microcosmos (which did for insects what this film does for birds), and apart from a few digital skyscapes for poetic effect, this astonishing film uses no special effects whatsoever, with soaring, seemingly miraculous camera work that blesses the viewer with, quite literally, a bird's-eye view. A brief but important hunting scene may upset sensitive viewers and children, but doesn't stop Winged Migration from being essential all-ages viewing. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The French filmmaker Jacques Perrin shows us things we have never seen before: the alien world of insects in "Microcosmos" and, now, migrating birds in all their airborne glory. Perrin and his team of camera operators employ remote-control gliders and balloons to astonishing effect-the camera literally flies alongside the birds as they wing their way north and south in their search for food. They capture some amazing solo efforts, like the common murre who plunges off a ten-story seaside cliff, as well as the beauty of numbers, as in the scene of an entire flock of white-faced whistling ducks, all turning their heads at once. The images are mostly left alone, with minimal dialogue and endurable New Age music. Bird-lovers will be in heaven, and the less ornithologically inclined will be surprised to learn that some Canada geese don't hang around golf courses all winter. Among the more unforgettable birds on display is the Clark's grebe, which can pull off the cool trick of walking on water. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Beauty on the Wing
I wasn't sure what to expect of this film, recommended by a friend. It started slowly and at first I thought it was going to be slow and a low budget also ran. But it quickly got into its main theme, the migration of birds worldwide. Although the film hasn't got the power of some documentaries, the delight for me was the amazing filming. You are literally flying with the birds over the most stunning countryside, wing beat by wing beat. How this was done without the noise of helicopters or of planes flying alongside I don't know. But you can hear the whistle of wind and the sound of the wings beating the air.

So if being able to observe living creatures in this way awakes wonder in you, this is a film to watch.

Sometimes the simplest things can't be beat
Jacques Perrin's filmmaking team spent four years creating a masterpiece out of one of the most basic elements of our natural world - the seasonal migration of birds. The result is nothing short of a riveting film.

Cynics might ask how anyone can be spellbound by watching the simple act of birds flying from one place to another. The answer is that sometimes the simplest, most basic art is the most enjoyable. Just as a great artist or sculptor can make a masterpiece out of the basic human form, a film can become great just by focusing on what we see everyday and making us appreciate it in an entirely new way.

Suffice it to say that any viewer of this movie will never look at birds the same way again.

Tracking various species of migratory birds across each continent, "Winged Migration" uses revolutionary camera work and understated narration/exposition to achieve wondrous effects. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to fly in formation with migrating geese, go fishing like a pelican, or soar with bald eagles, "WM" will give you the answer. Using a self-invented flying contraption, the cameramen were able to get right into birds flying in formation in dizzying shots. This is tremendous work.

With "March of the Penguins" and "Planet Earth," we are in a golden age of nature-documentaries. "Winged Migration" belongs in the top-tier of this fascinating genre.

Full disclosure - a couple of scenes will be tough for kids (e.g., crabs hunting down a bird with a broken wing, a baby penguin getting munched by other birds, etc.). These scenes are handled tastefully, but might require some comforting of the youngsters.

great video but scratched DVD
I watched the movie through channel 13, and absolutely loved it. so I ordered one through Amazon to keep as collection. Unfortunately the DVD was not fixed in the case, and scratched when I got it through mail. A small part of the DVD was not playing smoothly, pixelized.