Winged Migration

Has the 2nd dvd showing how film was made, as entertaining as the film!

How does it feel to be a ‘wing man’, flying with fellow birds in a flock through 40 countries and on all 7 continents? Watch this BluRay to find out. As a viewer, I felt like I was a fellow bird amongst the flock(s) when the birds were airborne. These scenes were effortlessly filmed and edited without disturbing the flow in the flock. The filming and editing experts used their technical know-how to give us this incredible experience. And it was filmed 17 years ago!Winged Migration is a gorgeous 2009 BluRay transfer of the original 2001 DVD. This film is in 1080P, and the audio is 5.1 SurroundSound. A few artifacts remain, but they are inconsequential. The colors are strong and spellbinding, especially when the birds’ feathers are shown in contrast to each other and to some of the landscapes. The sound has great clarity and depth because of adroit sound mixing, especially in certain channels.In fact, this film was so good that it won awards for “The Best Music”, “The Best Editing”, and the “Best Debut” at the 27th Cesar. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature” in 2003.A major part of the film showed how the birds ‘learned’ to take off, land, stay in formation, etc. for the film crews to capture what birds do naturally. Some baby birds were actually learning ‘when’ – and ‘how’ - to do these activities by following a trainer because these birds were going to be filmed. In many ways, this film looked like a Psych. 100 chapter activity. The film showcased this ‘learning’ segment, and this was one of the most interesting and endearing parts of the film. One of the saddest was when the crew stopped filming the birds, and they left their trainer behind. However, creatures learn from other creatures (usually a ‘parent’) and then leave when they are mature enough to make it on their own but are usually within the same flock. This is part of nature, but as a viewer, it was very emotional to watch.This is the best bird migration film that I have ever seen. Many friends of mine agree. The film captures the birds flying or coping with all types of weather, all the while continuing to go forward to make the migration and continue their cycle of life.What this film so brilliantly does is capture nature – birds in their natural setting – showing viewers ever dangerous situations that they encounter. With such an intimate relationship to the rest of the birds (via the camera lens) WITHIN the flocks, viewers vicariously want to avoid danger when they see it coming, and they want to help protect the other members of ‘their’ flock. Of course, we can’t do this, but the cinematographer, editor, and director did such a nice job in producing this film that they made me think that we could! This is good story-telling.What do buyers get when they purchase this BluRay? They get 1 film plus 5 extras:1. The film: 89 minutes2. Director’s Commentary: 15 minutes3. The Making of Winged Migration: (52 minutes)4. Creating the Music (17 minutes)5. Filmmaker Interviews (24 minutes)6. Photo Gallery (13 minutes)TOTAL MINUTES: 210 (which is 3 1.2 hours)This instructive BluRay should be in every bird/ nature-lover’s home film library. It should also be a part of every school district’s science curricula and in every public library.I would like to see more great films from members of this same team.

Absolutely awe-inspiring videography. The whole thing is incredible. And the "How We Did It" section is just as fascinating as the movie. This is one of the best films I've ever seen.

I'm not normally all that into nature documentaries unless they're about the big cats. I'm not especially fascinated by birds. Really, I was just looking for something on tv to watch for a few minutes while I ate a quick lunch, something that wouldn't pull me into wanting to watch the rest of it. I only intended to spend about 10 minutes sitting down. A half hour later, lunch long over, I was still glued to the show. Then my husband came walking through the room. He sat down only to see what had my rapt attention. Then he was hooked, too. We were hanging on every word, astounded by the photography, unable to tear ourselves away. Then we bought a copy and took it down for a movie night with our elderly neighbor who loves birds and must have seen every documentary about birds in existence except for this one. I think it made her year! Now, several years later, after pretty much wearing out the first copy, here we are buying it again, this time for a Christmas present. Basically, I can't recommend this highly enough. It will capture your attention and keep you glued to every scene!

I play this for my foster kittens. They really love it. They sit in their tower and watch it from start to finish. Too cute. 4 out of 5 stars because when you watch it as a human there's a few very sad bits that I just don't think were necessary. 😪

By now there should be no question about the visual beauty of this much-acclaimed film that captures, not only birds in flight, but breeding, feeding and in countless surroundings, not only natural but man-made as well. Filmmaker Jacques Perrin spent years of production, thousands of miles in traveling and countless man-hours in training, not only the birds, but the intrepid team of naturalists and film crewmembers that were in large part responsible for the well-being of their subjects. No matter how you slice it, it's a towering achievement of documentary cinema.Or is it? The fascinating extra feature details how the flocks of geese et al that are seen in the film were trained from hatching to "imprint" on humans, so that they would stick close to people and filming them in flight would be possible. There are vivid accounts of the numerous difficulties the production crew encountered in shipping their charges to remote locations, releasing them, following them in dangerously fragile-looking flying machines (especially invented for the film), and hoping the birds would do their bidding.Ultimately, the troubling question that was raised in my mind was: to what extent can this be called a "documentary" when so many scenes were in effect staged for the camera? Certainly watching the feature alone, with its laconic titles giving facts about various species, their flight paths and distances traveled gives no clue of the immense preparation involved. Also, what happened to the birds once filming was finished? One doubts they were simply released into the wild to live normal lives.All this is not to take away from the astonishing visuals that resulted, but to suggest that the viewer needs to know more about the exact nature of this film than is evident from simply seeing the finished product. To this end this is a DVD whose extra features are truly of value.

This film, taking 4 years to make, was issued in 2000 to considerable acclaim, being an Academy Award Nominee for 2002. The actual film runs for 89 minutes but there are substantial extra features which effectively double the playing time with further high quality product.The ‘Making of’ documentary runs for a further 52 minutes and is a gripping account of how the imaging was achieved. This was such a vast undertaking that it almost beggars belief. A few facts; the film took four years to film in locations around the world. Between 400 and 500 people were involved which included all the usual personnel plus 12 pilots flying numerous specially designed craft. The teams also included a considerable array of bird specialists, not least of which were those involved with imprinting themselves upon flocks of birds so they could be filmed in natural flight but with a close bond established with their surrogate parents. Imprinting took place from before hatching and continued intensively thereafter.There were 300 trips to all the continents and 240 hours were filmed to deliver this 89 minute edited result. It was calculated that for each minute of final film time two months were spent ‘in the field.’ The imprinting was so successful that 7 caretakers were retained for years after 2002 in a special reserve in Normandy for returning birds and for controlled educational visits. There is much more but viewers will need to watch to find out!During the film the larger birds, mostly geese, were filmed in flight and very revealingly. The geese shown are Greylag, Barnacle, Bar-Headed, Canada Red-Breasted and Snow geese. Other large birds include various cranes – Eurasian, Red-crowned and Sandhill as well as Whooper Swans, African White pelicans, Northern Gannets, Giant Petrels, Bald Eagle, various penguins and Albatross. Viewers will also spot migratory guillemots, Puffins and Arctic Terns.The beauty of the subjects is never in doubt, nor are the attractions of the locations many of which make for stunning photography. However the film does not dodge the issue of industrial pollution in the forms of oil slicks and chemical run-off with fatal results. Road fatalities are implied and there is no escaping the hunters who shoot huge numbers of returning birds. These are birds we have seen fly thousands of miles in demanding conditions only to be killed for fun. The point is made that modern weapons have been exchanged for bow and arrows to devastating effect.One area of migration not touched upon, other than the single example of the cuckoo, is that of the countless millions of songbirds which also travel great distances and share the same challenges and dangers. The technologies required to follow those in the same way have yet to be developed, if ever. The other 'extras' are also well-worth investigating featuring a Director's Commentary, In-depth filmmakers interviews, a music creation feature and a stills gallery with appropriate soundtrack provided by a photographer who gives detail and background to each shot.The on-screen commentary is kept to a minimum but, by following the optional sub-titles, it becomes clear that more information is available than that heard on the soundtrack. In particular all the birds are clearly identified by name with distances travelled etc. Watching the soundtrack while reading the sub-titles is definitely a case of more is indeed more!Despite dealing with the dangers of migration, this is essentially an up-beat production providing a unique insight into winged migration. This is a work of considerable dedication by an enormous team of specialists spanning four years. An extraordinary effort.

The film work in this movie is incredible. The best camera work is when you are invited to fly with these incredible birds on their journey across the world - the camera being positioned right at the birds flying formation and you feel like you are taking the journey yourself!The film is a visual feast and you get to experience the bird's successful migrations and their unfortunate unsuccessful ones - being shot down, hunted by birds of prey, or getting injured. It also puts into perspective our own lives, as we busily migrate back and forth to work everyday, mostly oblivious to our surroundings, while above us and all around us life is thriving and surviving. These magnificent animals soar over our cities, as the film shows beautifully, and we are only little spots to them as they travel thousands of miles with only the flap of their wings. Humankind was once so impressed with these birds, and envious, that we wanted to be like them, so we invented planes. But we still could never match their elegance and magnificence.The film however does get boring at times, which is usually the case with films that are majority visual and lack narration, taking away depth and educational aspects. The film is less a documentary and more an art film. But it is definitely worth a watch and will give you a different perspective on birds and yourself forever.

English language version of a French film.On Blu-Ray, this film is stunning to watch, as one spectacular scene follows another for 90 minutes. I wasn't even briefly bored. The low key narration is just right, as are the occasional captions.Like most documentaries, this film makes use of actors to show events that actually happened. In this case, the actors are hand-reared birds which have been specially trained to fly alongside microlites and paragliders. The birds were shipped, with the filming equipment, to various photogenic locations along typical migration paths. Although this falsifies the claim that "no special effects were used", I think the visual results justify the method - and this is pretty close to what a migrating goose or swan would actually see.Besides the acted shots, about a quarter of the film is of genuinely wild birds, also very well filmed.

I've had a DVD copy of this film for years and whilst I enjoyed it I was always aware that the true beauty of the scenery and birds depicted would require an HD source.I watched my Blu-Ray copy of the film last weekend and what a difference! It's wonderful now and worth every penny. The birds are actors (mostly), recruited for the task and trained but that's not really a problem. Don't think of this as a wildlife documentary, think of it as a fictional film that mirrors reality. Then it works just fine.(Anyway, many scenes in Attenborough's documentaries are filmed indoors, particularly the insect and small animal work. It's a necessity to get the shots.)

Wonderful photography of birds on migration and anyone who loves birds will marvel and sometimes be saddened by the film footage here.Just on minor niggle that is really nothing to do with the DVD itself, the original French name for the DVD was Le Peuple Migrateur or the migratory people. So much more poetic than Winged Migration but that does not detract from the wonderful photography.