Amazon.com: March of the Penguins instantly qualifies as a wildlife classic, taking its place among other extraordinary films like Microcosmos and Winged Migration. French filmmaker Luc Jacquet and his devoted crew endured a full year of extreme conditions in Antarctica to capture the life cycle of Emperor penguins on film, and their diligence is evident in every striking frame of this 80-minute documentary. Narrated in soothing tones by Morgan Freeman, the film focuses on a colony of hundreds of Emperors as they return, in a single-file march of 70 miles or more, to their frozen breeding ground, far inland from the oceans where they thrive. At times dramatic, suspenseful, mischievous and just plain funny, the film conveys the intensity of the penguins' breeding cycle, and their treacherous task of protecting eggs and hatchlings in temperatures as low as 128 degrees below zero. There is some brief mating-ritual violence and sad moments of loss, but March of the Penguins remains family-friendly throughout, and kids especially will enjoy the Antarctic blue-ice vistas and the playful, waddling appeal of the penguins, who can be slapstick clumsy or magnificently graceful, depending on the circumstances. A marvel of wildlife cinematography, this unique film offers a front-row seat to these amazing creatures, balancing just enough scientific information with the entertaining visuals. --Jeff Shannon
"MARCH OF THE PENGUINS"; EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY FOR THOSE WHO ARE EARTH-CONSCIOUS! March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition)
This documentary is, along with "An Inconvenient Truth", one of the most powerful movies for appreciate the beauties on Earth and to gain conscience on this problem (global warming) who threats our permanent home in the Universe. Also, with the service Amazon.com gave me (merchandise in brand-new condition, prompt and secure delivery, trusted name, etc.), I don't have complaints at all. Take my advice and buy this movie; remember "March of the Penguins" won an Academy Award for best documentary and with the outstanding voice of Morgan Freeman as narrator, even this feature beautifully shot in the Antarctica, this docu-movie is worth to get it, specially if you're a Earth lover. Enjoy it!
Good film This film has even inspired a political controversy, with Right Wing advocates claiming that the annual `monogamy' the male and female engage in supports their view that the nuclear family unit is ordained by God, and that Emperor penguins are proof of `Intelligent Design', even though they are clearly marvelous products of adaptive development. Gay rights activists have countered the Right's claims by noting that female penguins often steal the chicks of other females if theirs dies, and that lower animals do not feel human emotions like love, but merely act instinctively, sometimes engaging in same sex sexual play- which is not `homosexuality', which would imply that penguins are sexually turned on my male humans. Much of this misinterpretation of penguin behavior, as presented in this film, seeped over into the fawning critical reception of this film. Indeed, while the film is enjoyable, it is so only a Disney/Pixar level, for it almost plays out like one of those computer animated films, not a real nature documentary. Yes, the penguins suffer through conditions that would kill humans in seconds, seventy mile treks across ice, male and female sharing of the caring of the egg and chick, both of which would freeze if not for a warm parental pouch to crawl into, huddling for warmth in 125 mile per hour winds at -80° Fahrenheit, months of starvation, but these are not the makings of drama, because true drama requires conscious actors. Yet, many reviews of the film contain terms like `lovemaking', `bravery', and `fortitude', only further confusing the boundaries between fiction and reality, even as the film never focuses on an individual bird nor couple, the way most documentaries do, knowing that is the way to emotionally invest a viewer in a story. Instead, this film merely relies on the cuteness of the penguins, and especially their fuzzy chicks., who, by summertime, will be abandoned by both parents, and left to fend for themselves for four years, before they return again to their birthing grounds, to give birth to the next generation of their kind. Cinematographers Laurent Chalet and Jerome Maison do get some incredible pictures, especially those underwater shots of agile female penguins swiftly trying to outswim a seal that's out to eat them, as they try to fatten up on small fish, squid, and krill, to bring back and feed their chicks. Yet, the Emperor penguins transcend this film's limitations. They are silly looking yet beautiful creatures: their black and white feathers are so densely packed they resemble the gloss on fine china, and the orange marks near their pates are so rich in color they dazzle in the blinding white of the ice, but the dull classical (or New Age?) musical score by Alex Wurman is one of the few aspects of the film that has rightly and universally been panned. Supposedly the original French version of the film had much more contemporary and apropos music by Emilie Simon. Regardless, while March Of The Penguins may be solid enjoyable kiddy fare, no adult should expect to be much enlightened, for the natural and documentary parts of this `nature documentary' seem to have been CG'd to death. Check out PBS or cable tv for more science-based nature films. Spin, Marlin, spin.
Horrible, It is not entertaining for any ages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition) The movie is about a group of penguins who travel throughot the artic and survive most but not all problems that nature brings them.THe movie has many,mANY PENGUINS. The movie has mainly one character. They are the penguins. THere are alsoone of the problems which is a polarbear which tries to eat them. Since animals cannot talk there is a narrator telling what they are doing. The theme is to entertain which they are not doing a good job at.I would not reccomend this movie because it was made for people who need to know about penguins life style. Otherwise this movie is not interseting.I reviewed many people and they all did not like it.
A formal affair, Antarctic style This ia a profound, sublime film that shows--close-up--the intense life-force and personality of Emperor penguins. At turns tender, funny, sad, and inspiring, it made me appreciate even more how we humans are sharing this great ark called Earth with amazing and wonderful creatures. Narrated with graceful style by Morgan Freeman. A must-have film for nature lovers.
Wildly overrated but nicely filmed. I saw this finally with great anticipation. It was one of the highest grossing and best-reviewed documentaries in years. Wow, was I disappointed.
NOTHING. HAPPENS.
There is one, I repeat one, moment of suspense in the entire show (when a mother who has lost her chic tries to steal another). In a 15 second flash, it's gone, and we are back to Morgan Freeman's soothing-yet-sleep-inducing narration.
Otherwise, there is no great revelation in this piece. There no moment of amazement.
I love nature shows. I watch all those discovery, national geographic, Nature, shows, etc. I thought this was a good, albeit long and boring one. So I give it three stars. But there isn't any of the sense of wonder or enlightenment that you find in other, better productions.
The cinemetography is brilliant. Some amazing shots. And the idea of having a crew sit in Antartica over winter is a fascinating story itself. But the Penguins just don't have any interest for me.
I will give one example, but this is how the whole movie is.
Of course not all penguins live through each year and each breeding season. Of course some eggs do not hatch and some young do not make it. In a good documentary, though, there would be foreshadowing of this fact before and exposition after. Not here. Here, we get 10 minutes of the father penguin hiding his egg in silence, and then Morgan Freeman breaks the silence with "of course, not all eggs make it" and two seconds later, we get a picture of a freezing/frozen egg. And then that's it. No exposition, no foreshadowing = no emotional reaction.
I give it three stars for the photography. But good documentaries establish an emotive experience and build a relationship between the subject and the viewer. This -- especially in light of how wildly it's liked -- was a great disappointment for me in that respect.
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