Winged Migration DVD
by French director Jacques Perrin
Rated G; 98 minutes; released Nov. 18, 2003
This awe-inspiring, critically acclaimed documentary
of migrating birds through 40 countries and every continent
was captured using planes, gliders, helicopters and
balloons, allowing the filmmakers a spectacularly intimate
look at their subjects. From Academy Award-nominated
Director Jacques Perrin (Z, Black and White in Color).
2002 Academy Award® Nominee for Best Documentary.
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
Winged Migration companion book
The companion to the Oscar®-nominated film, Winged
Migration is the definitive visual account of its
subject: the extraordinary flights of migrating birds
around the world. Migration is an enigma. Who knows
why the cuckoo, born in Europe, flies alone to the far
forests of Africa, home of its ancestors? Or how the
Arctic tern can fly over ten thousand miles on its astonishing
journey from pole to pole? Winged Migration follows
single birds and whole squadrons on their restless flights
seeking answers to such riddles. The result is a tour
de force that is testament to the patience of a globe-trotting
team of filmmakers and ornithologists. With its informative
text, Winged Migration offers both the general
reader and the dedicated bird watcher a bird's-eye view
of five continents and a grand, yet intimate, portrait
of the secret life of birds.
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