Linbeymusol
Wonderful character development!
HottWwjdIam
There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.
Keira Brennan
The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
ackstasis
Have you ever wished to glide above the clouds, to soar among the birds? If you've ever thought that it'd be nice to simply take off into the open air and migrate thousands of miles to a better climate, then this is the film you've been waiting for. 'Le Peuple migrateur (2001)' {released in the US as 'Winged Migration' and in UK and Australia as 'The Travelling Birds'} is basically one of the most awe-inspiring documentaries you will ever see, a beautiful and poetic meditation on the magnificence of avian flight. If you're interested in learning everything that there is to know about birds, then David Attenborough's classic series, "The Life of Birds (1998)" might be a more satisfying option, because this film certainly doesn't bother itself with science or educational tidbits. The narration in the film is minimal {in fact, its complete removal wouldn't have been detrimental in the least}, and so the audience is left in peace, to sit back and absorb themselves in the images presented on screen. Those with a phobia of flying need not apply.Many people tend to feel somewhat cheated when they finish the film, only to be informed that those magnificent shots of soaring birds were largely filmed with tame animals. I suppose that there's a certain trade-off that must be made, since it would have been absolutely impossible for this footage to have been taken in the company of wild birds. Rather, it pays to consider the unimaginable months of patience and planning that were required for the filming of the documentary: over a period of four years, the filmmakers raised several species – including storks, geese and pelicans – from birth, and trained them to feel comfortable flying alongside the crew members, who filmed from ultralights, paragliders and hot-air balloons. In any case, the 'The Travelling Birds' never pretends to be a fully-authentic documentary, weaving together a very loose narrative and various openly-contrived scenarios {including a bird becoming trapped in an oil slick and a caged Amazonian parrot cunningly escaping into freedom}, designed to highlight the film's subtext of environmental conservation.The film's most powerful moment is also its most shocking and devastating, as the directors juxtapose images of peace and tranquility with the horror of the duck-hunting season. What makes the scene particularly overwhelming is that we have followed these birds for thousands of miles north, and then back again, and to think that their entire journey has been rendered void in a matter of seconds is a miserable thought. Nevertheless, aside from the occasional moment of avian adversity {I was relieved to hear that the filmmakers rescued the straggling tern from the hungry crabs}, the aerial footage of the migrating birds is among some of the most awe-inspiring pieces of documentary film-making that you'll ever see, and, without exaggerating, my jaw must have dropped at least twenty times throughout the course of the film. You'll cross seven continents, travel thousands of miles and observe countless beautiful and fascinating species of bird, their every move captured in extraordinary detail.
Rodan Thompson
Just saw this on Animal Planet.... Not many films I'll sit through start to finish on commercial television. This one was so worth the aggravation of a commercial break or two.Simply amazing. Had to research the director to find out how he managed such magnificent camera work. Methods were surprising. But it all served to great ends. The film is so moving and inspiring. I found myself wanting to join Green Peace or the Audubon Society afterward.Any film that brings man closer to nature to appreciate the world around us all is a magnificent feat indeed. If more people demanded this kind of entertainment the world would be a better place.This film is now one of my top 10 favorites of all time.RECOMMENDED HIGHLY
ecobird
In 2001 Jacques Perrin "Winged Migration" became an award-winning documentary. It came as no surprise. For me it was a 'wide-eyed' 99 minutes of unique cinematography of migrating bird species from around the world. With minimal narrative and absolutely no special effects, the film focuses in on birds and nature in all its power and glory. Filmed over three years,the exquisite cinematography of migrating birds coupled with spectacular winged formations filmed from the Artic Circle,the flight over vast oceans, to the industrial areas of Eastern Europe. Here we see different environmental factors concerning industrial pollution. We also see the dangers faced by hunters whose gunfire brings sudden death as well as a bird with a broken wing who is attacked and devoured by crabs. These few unpleasant parts set to remind us of the human condition along with unseen dangers faced by birds on their quest to survive.Highly recommended.
James Owen
'Winged Migration' is beautiful, immense and ultimately... disappointing.As a British viewer I may have been previously spoilt by the work of the BBC's Natural History Unit which uses similarly mesmirising visuals to far better affect because we learn something about the subjects. The minimal narration of this film teaches us nothing of the birds, so after the first half hour of soaring geese and gannets diving to the harmonic tones celtic/Gothic choirs, it began to get rather boring, and I say this a bird enthusiast. The stunning visuals might take your breath away and make you marvel at the truly amazing journeys the birds annually undertake, but how much more impressive the birds might have seemed if there was a narration informing of the distances involved, or that birds perhaps born only eight weeks earlier manage to complete them. If on the other hand you want to switch your brain off, and relax to pretty pictures for an hour and a half, this is your movie. It's like muzak. It's an alternative to taking a herbal bath. So far as parents are concerned, unless you're personally capable of providing your children with information about the birds, they'll get just as bored as I did. Finally the staged scenes, primarily the frequent use of imprinted birds, which might not be obvious to most viewers, raises questions about how far wildlife documentary filmmakers should go in their portrayal of the truth. If you initially understand that the flight sequences are being filmed from a microlight the birds have been specially bred and trained to follow, it gets rather annoying after the first couple of scenes to see yet another wild species coerced that way by the filmmakers. The truth in this film, much like the birds, is manipulated to produce a superficial and oblivious illustration of what are remarkable creatures.Try David Attenborough's, The Life of Birds, instead. All the beauty and explanations too.
