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Winged Migration
Sony Pictures Classics


9.0

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 32 votes
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MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences

Starring Jacques Perrin (narrator)

This documentary examines the migratory patterns of birds through forty countries and all seven continents.

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Stéphane Durand Jacques Perrin Valentine Perrin (idea) Francis Roux
DIRECTED BY:	Jacques Cluzaud Michel Debats Jacques Perrin
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 18, 2003 Video: November 18, 2003 Theatrical: April 18, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	85 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / Italy / Germany / Spain / Switzerland
LANGUAGE(S):	English / French (with English subtitles)

Original title "Le Peuple Migrateur," which translates as "The Migrating Population"; Nominated, Best Documentary, 75th Annual Academy Awards; Winner, Best Editing, 2002 Cesar Awards

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Stays in the mind, changing the way we look at the world.

100

Premiere Addison MacDonald

By the end of the film, one begins to recognize specific birds, rooting for their safe returns and saddened by some of their failures.

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Watching this movie, you can dream with open eyes.

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This French documentary gives us unprecedented intimacy and sweep.

100

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

What an extraordinary idea it was to make this film. What a splendid achievement.

Time Richard Schickel

Intellectually austere but technologically and aesthetically riveting documentary.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

It's not the enormous undertaking that impresses so much as the sheer ecstasy of flight and the ability of Perrin's team to catch it.

Washington Post John Pancake

Mysteries still surround many aspects of bird migration. This film unravels exactly none of them. Rather, in some of the most remarkable footage you'll ever see, the film lets you look over the shoulders of migrating birds.

Chicago Reader Ted Shen

The most astounding cinematic testament to flock mentality since Hitchcock's "The Birds."

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A magnificent documentary that flies us along with migratory birds on their intercontinental travels, it's the polar opposite -- North Pole, South Pole and all latitudes in between -- of modern feature films that rely on special effects.

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Visually stunning, practically dialogue-free and very family-friendly.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Birds are not just the movie's stars, but its whole universe. They inspire in Perrin and his crew, and in us, not just awe but humility. You'll never look at them the same way again.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Leaves you in a state of stunned, exhilarated awe, both for what it shows and how it shows it.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The results require immense patience but also reward it immensely.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The result is a movie miracle; it soars.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Breathtaking.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Mesmerizing.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Somewhat marred by Bruno Coulais' treacly New Age score -- as well as by Perrin's somewhat daft and repetitive narration. But the key word is "somewhat." In the main, Winged Migration is an unforgettable piece of moviemaking.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Absolutely breathtaking documentary whose close-up shots of birds in flight are so freakishly intimate that the film is compelled to open with the statement they're not special effects.

Dallas Observer Andy Klein

The fractured structure, which moves from one species to another while following a generally chronological overall arc, can occasionally leave your mind to wandering, but for a film with no plot or characters to focus on it is remarkably gripping.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

At its best, Winged Migration is a marvel, and if that seems like a gee-whiz word, that's because this film has a lot to be gee-whiz about.

LA Weekly John Powers

Astonishing both for the beauty of the birds and for its sheer technical brilliance.

Film Threat Rick Kisonak

The score is appropriately ethereal. From the Paris skyline to the Great Wall of China, the film's locales on every continent are rarely less than breathtaking. Calling the camerawork stunning, of course, is an understatement.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

A thrillingly vicarious experience that answers a primal urge to join our feathered friends as they soar and glide in the blue beyond.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

If it were any more real - if it were Imax, say -- the audience would be molting.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Jacques Perrin's Oscar-nominated Winged Migration does for birds what the 1996 documentary "Microcosmos" did for insects: It looks at them intimately, very close up, in shots that seem impossible to explain.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The results are exhilarating, thrilling, and extend the wingspan.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

It may sound facetious, but Winged Migration provides such an intense vicarious experience of being a flapping airborne creature with the wind in its ears that you leave the theater feeling like an honorary member of another species.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Parts of this film are as blandly lulling as a mood tape, but at best it’s a literally soaring experience.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Jacques Perrin's Winged Migration is merely about birds, and though you learn less about the various species Perrin circled the globe to document than you might from an afternoon with Animal Planet, you become intensely chummy with the process and labor of flying.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

Makes a case that despite human inability to empathize with the emotional lives of other animals and creatures and to believe they are here only to serve our needs and convenience, birds are as capable of courage, violence, affection and commitment to family as we are.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

As moving wallpaper, Winged Migration is the cat’s meow: One almost wishes the wondrous images had been filmed in the even bigger IMAX format. But as an informative documentary, Winged Migration’s birdbrain comes to the fore.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Settles into pleasant monotony and repetition, without any narrative arc or purpose. Seasoned bird-watchers, however, may find that the sensory overload leaves them close to spiritual nirvana.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

As gorgeous as it is to watch, Winged Migration suffers from a lack of organization.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 32 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Guy M. gave it a10:
Absolutely marvelous movie and overall effort.

armando s. gave it a10:
The best bird documentary I have ever seen. The images of nature inspire awe in the viewer. There is little need for narrration-a plea to preserve the wetlands crucial for the migrating birds.

Paula W. gave it a9:
Gigantic technical achievement, visually lovely. An important piece of work.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Just too Gooood!!!

Adrienne k-g. gave it a 10:
"Winged Migration" is an extraordinary documentary and should be seen by all who love birds, and or documentaries. The cinematography that this film presented was genius and wonderfully executed by the directors Jacques Cluzand, Michel Debates, and Jacques Perrin. I stongly believe that all should see and taste what a good movie is by watching "Winged Migration."

Anne gave it a 7:
When I saw this movie in the theatres I was amazed and moved. I work with migratory birds and was pleased that the movie was depicted from the bird's point of view. However, when the DVD was released I was anxious to see how these great achievments were accomplished so close to wild birds. I was dismayed and upset to see that they imprinted birds to make this movie. I felt it was disney all over again and now wonder what happened to the birds after the movie was completed. Another exploitation of animals for human entertainment. Shame on you!

Ben A. gave it an 8:
THis movie was very enjoyable. I want to put a tv and dvd player in my bedroom and just fall asleep to it. That's not to say its boring. Its just to say its quiet and calming. It has this mellow music, and almost no narroration. Im sure it would be a pleasant sleep. See this movie. It will probably relieve your stress.

Winged Migration Sony Pictures Classics

Winged Migration
Sony Pictures Classics