Product Description

Rolling Stone raved that Winged Migration, the critically acclaimed, awe-inspiring documentary, is"A movie miracle! It soars! You feel privileged!" Witness as five film crews follow a rich variety of bird migrations through 40 countries and each of the seven continents. With teams totalling more than 450 people, 17 pilots and 14 cinematographers used planes, gliders, helicopters and balloons to fly alongside, above, below and in front of their subjects. The result is a film of staggering beauty that Entertainment Weekly hailed as "Mesmerizing!" and the Los Angeles Times applauded as "Breathtaking! As lofty as it is exhilarating!" Open your eyes to the wonders of the natural world as you fly along with the world's most gorgeous birds through areas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2624 in DVD
• 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

This is for the birds
This is by far the best docum. on birds I have ever seen. I watch a lot of docs on everything, some of which cover birds. These are by far the best shots of flying birds I have ever seen.

I do not believe this film is a [...]. It is hard to fake hunters shooting geese out of the sky. Let alone letting them shoot your trained pets.

This film documents birds that are rarely documented for any real length of time. It also covers them in some strange places. Watching the birds fly over the autumn trees was beautiful. Seeing birds fly into downtown while the city is lit up is awe inspiring. I loved seeing the bald eagle footage. I saw some birds I never saw before.

You will walk away from this film with a new perspective of the birds you see flying overhead.

Best content, but don't buy DVD if you have HDTV
Watched it on TV in Hi-def. Really striking content. Amazing camera mastery.

So I buy the DVD from Amazon.
But DVD playback on my 50' HDTV is disappointing, at best. Picture quality is unacceptable.

Advise: buy HD disc, don't waste your money in DVD.

Winged Migration
This was a Christmas gift for my father who, for years, has taken to watching and feeding birds. He loves the video, and was amazed by the camera shots of the birds in flight, which the film was able to capture.