Winged Migration

The credits at the end of this visually enthralling documentary by Jacques Perrin run as long as those for the most extravagant Hollywood CGI blockbuster, yet there's not a single special effects shot in it. Rather, the effort to record the extraordinary travels of various species of migratory birds required raising the subjects from egg to maturity to make them comfortable with human companionship, as well as devising innovative ways of recording them in flight, and shooting reams of film to catch them in unusual places and circumstances (some 400 crewmembers labored for three years in 40 countries to pull this off). The result: a bounty of beautiful, often breathtaking shots of flocks on the wing, conveying a remarkable “you are there” feeling. But while it's rather churlish to criticize so Herculean an accomplishment, after a while Winged Migration becomes rather repetitive, and it's strangely detached as well, since for the most part the birds don't exhibit a great deal of--for lack of a better word--personality (the insects that populated Microcosmos, the 1996 film that Perrin also produced and narrated, had more character). That's not to say this isn't worth watching, however: there's more than enough visual splendor here to make Winged Migration a must-see for nature lovers. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by co-director Jacques Perrin, a 51-minute "making-of" featurette, a 17-minute featurette on “Creating the Music,” English subtitled filmmaker interviews--“Further Insights” (14 min.) and “About the Film” (10 min.)--a 13-minute photo gallery with commentary, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for one of 2003's most lovely documentaries.] (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 31, 2009—Sony, 89 min., G, $28.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2001's Winged Migration features a great transfer and a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are identical to the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by co-director Jacques Perrin, a 51-minute “making-of” documentary, a 17-minute featurette on “Creating the Music,” English-subtitled filmmaker interviews in “Further Insights” (14 min.) and “About the Film” (10 min.), a 13-minute photo gallery with commentary, and trailers. Bottom line: a beautiful documentary looks even more stunning on Blu-ray.]