Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and stunning visuals
Review: Most of the movies these days have some kind of objectionable material in them, from violence to sensuality to language. Even movie rated PG usually have something that some parent will object to. Winged Migration, however, is a movie that all parents would allow their children to watch. This movie has no objectionable material whatsoever, as it is a nature movie. Winged Migration is a movie about different bird's migrations around the world. It's a really beautiful movie, and shows amazing scenery and visuals. You get to take a migration along with the birds, which fly thousands of miles to get to warmer weather in the winter and back. This movie was made over a long period of time, and the preparation is evident from the movie. The views are outstanding, and you get a unique "birds eye view." They used various aircrafts (helicopters, gliders, planes) to accompany the birds. If you're a bird lover or a nature lover then you've got to buy this movie!
Rating:
Summary: Winged Migration is an excellent film
Review: I watched PBS's one-hour wildlife special last night. The special concerned the efforts of a French crocodile expert who was trying to capture alive a huge man-eating crocodile in Burundi. The crocodile is/was at least 18 feet long and weighs/weighed at least a ton. It was reported to have killed 300 Burundians. The big metal trap set up to capture it fell into a river. A live goat had been placed inside it as bait, but it disappeared along with the trap. The night it and the trap disappeared, there was a storm which caused the river to rise. The Frenchman surmised that either the rising water claimed the trap, or that the huge croc, which he had named Gustaf, entered the trap and, either his enormous weight caused it to fall into the water, or he (the croc that is) was captured, but managed to escape the cage using his great strength. If that was the case, no wonder the trap fell into the river. The Frenchman was given two months by the Burundian government to capture the croc, but he did not succeed. War broke out, and he had to leave the country. It is not known whether the huge beast, estimated to be at least 60 years old, is still alive. Since the war broke out, there have been no more reports of human deaths caused by crocodiles. Perhaps the big croc is dead, killed by poachers or shot by soldiers. He was seen by the Frenchman before the war broke out and there were noticeable healed scars from machine gun bullets as well as a healed shoulder that had once been badly injured. Hopefully, he is still alive and is just hiding, waiting for the war to end. Wild crocodiles longer than 15 feet have never survived in captivity for longer than a week after they were captured.
Did you know that crocodiles can leap straight up six feet from the water in order to catch prey that is hanging or crawling on an overhanging tree branch? I have seen wildlife footage of crocs using this method of hunting to capture black rats, hutias (a type of rare Caribbean rodent), and fruit bats. Amazing, huh? Besides opera, I happen to love nature and its wildlife.
Rating: 
Summary: Great photography but...
Review: Great photographic images but not a coherent film. As it describes itself, it is not a documentary and not fiction. It could have been a great documentary but instead they made a mediocre artsy film out of it. They say no special effects are used, so I guess editing out the motor and other noises from the soundtrack is not considered a special effect. The narration is very sparse and sometimes you would like just a little more explanation of what you are seeing. The photography is fascinating but after a while my feeble American mind could stand no more French subtlety (if that is what it was) and I fell asleep. I thought the music was just dreadful. I give the DVD four stars for the great photography and the much more interesting "Making of" featurette, for which I did stay awake because it does have a comprehensible storyline and informative narration.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Skillful and Elegant Anti-American Visual Hate-Fest
Review: An entertaining and interesting movie, but not nearly as good as I'd hoped. It gets downright funny when they reach the shores of the Great Satan, and suddenly all the birds are getting shot down by Evil White Gun-Toting Republican Hunters and Smothered In Oil and so on. You can almost here the crew muttering in the background, "Come on you stoopeed behrd, go eento zee oil! We are falling behind on zee scheduelle!" And then there's the glorious shot of a wounded bird (not in the US) that gets devoured by flesh-eating crabs. A wonderful bit of 'verite', that, but one that reeks of a 'setup' to me. Where's PETA when you really need them? As a scientific/artistic physical study of animals in flight, however, the film is a must-see.
Rating:
Summary: Needs more narration
Review: Although the images in 'Winged Migration' are fabulous, I found myself frustrated by the (very) sparse narration. Not that I wanted a constantly chattering voice over, but something a little meatier would have helped out a non-birder like myself. I also question some of the editing decisions that were made. For a movie focusing on the wonders of migration, the only images locked in my mind a month after my viewing are a damaged bird falling victim to a swarm of crabs (an almost nightmare-inducing scene), gulls feasting on a baby penguin and geese being shot by hunters. I don't think was the 'take away' the filmmakers wanted to imprint on its viewers. For those who say these scenes depict the dangers and realities of migration, look at the "Making Of..." extra on the DVD. This is not a documentary, it's (esentially) a piece of nature art staged by the filmmakers. In fact, seeing how they filmed these scenes will really make you re-think this entire movie and see it in a new light. No doubt, it's a brilliant technical achievement by the crew. But when you raise the birds yourselves, crate and fly them to a location...well, let's just say Sir David Attenborough won't be calling anytime soon for advice on the making of "Life of Birds, Vol. II."
Rating:
Summary: THIS FILM IS ANYTHING BUT "DISAPPOINTING."
Review: When I consider all the trite, pedestrian, poorly-done excuses for films I am continually confronted with and then think of this gloriously beautiful, fantastically incredible film, I believe I must take issue with those who complained about it being a boring fake or disappointing. It is not fake and it certainly is not boring. Anyone who claimed boredom needs to have his/her intelligence tested just to confirm everyone's suspicions and stick to TV sitcoms in the future. Because the film makers revealed their huge investments of time with animal experts to imprint, raise and train the birds who would be their "stars," they are blasted by some as not being true to their art. Some of the reviewers must have been embarrassed that they thought they have been "fooled." I found the "Making of" more interesting than the documentary. Indeed, it was a documentary within a documentary. I would have been appalled had the film makers subjected untrained birds to the intrusive shock of being filmed. Until I watched the "Making of" I thought perhaps computer graphics had been used. Even though the birds in the film were imprinted, there was no telling if the birds would fly off into the wild blue yonder, never to return. My heart is always with the subjects of these "filmed in the wilds" movies, but my fears were unbased. I felt reassured that the birds had been well cared for prior to and during the filming. Anyone who has ever owned or worked with birds will understand this film represented a monumental undertaking in creative ability, technical skill and expertise. This is an outstanding film. I recommend it to anyone, not just birders. Natural flight is intriquing to all earth-bound humans. I say, "thank you for letting my eyes delight just once in these exquisite heaven-bound sights." Thank you for creating a classic film of divine beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing!!!
Review: I have just finished watching the making of Winged Migration..and MAN! was I disappointed! When you first watch "Winged Migration" you will be thrilled
by the great cinematography and music but when it ends you
don't feel that you have new or cool facts i.e. it is a
documantry that might entertain, but NOT educate you. All is good until you watch the making of. They ACTUALLY raised
and trained the birds. It's like 95% fake which blows all the
amazing cinematography. And you stop wondering how they shot
thoses critical angles.Also, the narration was like 5 to 6
lines, and it was totally unnecessary; it actually ruined some
scenes. I only gave it 3 starts because there is no 2.5. Anyway rent or borrow it first then decide wether to buy it or not.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the bitter posts written by losers with no lives
Review: The birds in this film are not "trained pets"; they are imprinted, but still WILD animals. If you don't like it, tough. The bitter losers who bash this film have an axe to grind. They hate birds for no apparent reason. Just ignore them and they'll find some other masterpiece to bash. They should be ashamed of themselves for bashing this gorgeous film that celebrates earth's avian inhabitants. By the way, after filming, the birds were sent to a wildlife sanctuary in the Calvados district of Normandy, France. Seven caretakers look after the birds. This film is a stunningly beautiful masterpiece filled with breathtaking cinematography. The four years of work that went into making it shows during every second of the film. Jacques Perrin and the people he worked with have created a piece of work that is in essence a spectacular gift to the world. Watching birds of various kinds fly gracefully through the air seemingly without any effort is a sight to behold. You feel privileged to be able to glimpse this magical world in which the birds inhabit. Also a treat is watching what the birds do when they are not flying, whether it is Clark's grebes dancing on the surface of a lake or male sage grouse strutting their stuff by inflating their throat sacs and creating weird noises with them or gannets plunge-diving into the ocean to catch fish. The scene involving the sage grouse is quite stunning. At the beginning of the scene, you see sage grouse on a partially snow-covered grassland in Idaho. In the background, you see several flocks of migrating birds flying against a backdrop of mountains. Some of the aerial shots of birds flying are so beautiful that they appear unreal. It is as if a skilled artist had painted the landscapes. There are numerous scenes of flying birds that will take your breath away. I will mention three. The footage of Canada geese flying throught Monument Valley, Utah, is gorgeous. The rock formations provide a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop for the shots of the birds. The footage of trumpeter swans flying over a river in a Southeast Asian rainforest on their way to Vietnam is also incredibly beautiful. When they arrive in the paddy fields of northern Vietnam by flying past a landscape of green dotted with majestic rock formations, your breath is taken away by the beauty that you see onscreen. The footage of the white storks flying over the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert is so incredible that it appears fake. You really have to see it to believe it. There is also a magical shot of the Great Wall of China on a foggy day. It looks so incredible that you may actually think that a master Chinese painter had painted what you see onscreen. I do have several gripes with the film. First of all, the selection of birds that were shown in the film had a glaring omission. I only noticed one scene showing ducks in full flight. This was the scene of a single male Mallard duck flying through the French countryside and eventually joining a flock of geese over the river Seine in Paris. Why weren't more ducks showcased in the film? Second, the scene where a mother bobwhite quail is nesting in the path of moving farm combines is an unnecessary addition to the film. Third, the scene of the Canada geese drinking water from a broken-down truck is unique, but in my opinion, out of place with the rest of the film. Also, the scene involving the same geese flying over a herd of running mustangs is so fake that its inclusion in the film is almost embarrassing. What is such a shot doing in a film that claims to have no special effects? This DVD of the film is amazing. The picture quality is stunning. The transfer is amazingly clear. The sound quality is rich and clear. Several extras are included. They are well worth viewing. The Behind-the-Scenes featurette is a pleasure to watch. It explains very well the process that was used in filming the birds and all the effort that went into making the film. We learn that the white pelicans became sick during the airplane flight from France to Senegal. We also learn that the footage of the film showing snow geese flying through snowy weather in the Adirondacks in New York State was improvised when bad weather conditions forced the film crew to abandon a staged scene of geese hunting. Watching the cute baby birds at the beginning of the featurette, especially when they are running with ultralight planes on the ground, is an absolute delight. In one shot, you can see that baby white storks demonstrate the same weird neck-bending, beak-clapping behavior as adult white storks. The narrator of the featurette makes a few mistakes. He pronounces "Adirondacks" as "A-DIR-on-dacks" instead of "A-dir-ON-dacks". The last part of the featurette is about the filming of white storks flying over the Sahara Desert. The narrator mistakenly refers to the storks as "swans" at least twice.
Rating: 
Summary: A Cheat
Review: 1. The fact that the birds were trained maekes this film no more exceptional than filming dogs or caged parrots.
2. "Winged" is a disingenuous attempt to move the viewer toward a pro "nature" stance. Or maybe its just an attempt to win awards. Either way, the Wellsian, Dr. Moreau training of birds so they can be filmed "natural" is a major joke.
3. Birds are better from afar. Some of the closeup footage of these robo-birds shows the glassy eyes that come from Skinner conditioning.
4. The film and th etechnique of making it is only slightly less disgusting than Frankenstein. And if you believe birds are as good as humans (or better! as some wackos think), then "Winged" is worse than Frankenstein.
5. In short, the film is inhuman!
Rating: 
Summary: Skillful Filming, Morally Bankrupt
Review: As an avid birder I started watching this film with great anticipation. The visuals of migratory birds photographed from feet away flying over amazing scenery blew me away. I kept wondering "How did they do that?!" I loved the minimalistic narration, and the sound track neither added nor detracted from the experience. Then there were some disturbing scenes started being sprinkled in. The first one ended happily enough with the goose free and with his comrades. Then a few scenes started ending not so happily. Oh, well. Not all is sweetness and light in nature. Then a couple of the scenes were positively grim. I stopped enjoying the film at this point so I stopped watching and skipped to the Making Of. During this segment I found out how they did it and was appalled. The birds were raised by and imprinted on humans. They were accustomed to interacting with people, airplanes, and cameras from the time they were hatched. The film makes then put them in crates, shipped them to remote parts of the world, and filmed them. The images, though wonderful, are of pets performing tricks. Nothing more, and nothing less. I'm still wondering what happened to the birds after the film. I think this picture will appeal to people who like excellent cinematography and natural-looking documentaries who can distance themselves from the material. If you empathize with the animals this film will be much harder to enjoy.
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