RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Winged Migration
Winged Migration

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Winged Migration (2003)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
97 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:125

Fresh:121

Rotten:4

Average Rating:8.2/10

Consensus: A marvel to watch.

Rated: G

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Apr 18, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $10,646,376

Synopsis: The chronicle of this population with whom we share the earth, since not so long ago, the sky, will rumble with a multitude of sounds which nature conceals. The words of a commentary will not... The chronicle of this population with whom we share the earth, since not so long ago, the sky, will rumble with a multitude of sounds which nature conceals. The words of a commentary will not distract the emotion. Songs and calls of birds, whispers of the wind in hollows, swell of the high seas, will blend with the accents of original instrumental music. Added to this highly poetic and spectacular fresco, the innumerable pranks which the birds play among themselves will from time to time bring a burlesque note.

We will discover the planet as it was millions of years ago, when gigantic volcanic eruptions shook the earth’s crust and freed rivers of magma in fusion, when cyclone storms came down on a dismantled mineral universe. Primitive birds, which nowadays still nest in the Amazon river area, will symbolize the survival of birds of another era. Some, still having four legs, live in inaccessible swamp areas. This will be the end of the pre-generic – an impressive representation of the evolution of species.

Initial pictures of the beginning of life, it is from the inside of an egg that we watch the development of an embryo, up to the achieved form of a fledging. His shell is broken, he will invite us to contemplate from the height of his nest, a viewpoint open on nature, a scene of trees and plants. In this haven of quietness, the very young bird will take on his adult’s dress in a succession of seasons pictured as they pass. The mist, the rain, the sunshine, the dew, the hail, the snow, the days and nights will progressively change the territory annexed by the bird.

Not a pebble of the ground, to the foliage of the highest branches, escapes the insatiable curiosity of this vigilant settler. Animals of all species and of all sizes living on or crossing the site will be watched, fought, left alone as masters or reduced to the mercy of this sentinel with a stealthy flight. This chronicle might have gone on, had a large company of migrating birds not come and invested the area. An avid and noisy crowd in quest of food, succeeding to the prevailing quietness. Having renewed their strength, one evening, in the confusion of calls and gatherings, these seasonal guests will spring forward in an irresistible thrust towards heights, which we will reach for the first time.

The sedentary bird will see this great departure. Flying over the nearby hill will open the prospect of far away and sumptuous horizons. After having crossed clouds, having passed around rain clouds, having flow against the wind, having faced the storm, these sturdy navigators will make a stop on another territory where a large number of migrants are already stopping off. Once this natural relay established, from one stop to another, from meeting with one specie to another, from flights in formation to solitary flights, from a nearby latitude to the most remote, these winged guides will help us to discover their planet which they have been traveling over for the past 60 million years.

On nesting sites at the end of their journey, they will have to protect their nest or annex it, search for their food sometimes under other skies, get ready for the season of love parades, and armed against rivals, but no force compels them to engage in the infinite winged games and aerial dances which are a prelude to the great gathering, where entire populations, young and old, take off towards the renewal of summer. Thus hooking space to time, the migrant populations live, during years and years, the same season. -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Director: Jacques Perrin

Director: Jacques Perrin
Screenwriter: Stephane Durand, Jacques Perrin
Producer: Christophe Barratier, Jacques Perrin
Composer: Bruno Coulais
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 7

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Nov 18, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Winged Migration

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Filmed with exceptional care and remarkable photographic ingenuity, no other nature documentary is as personal and as close-up as this one to the peculiarities of birds.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
10/17/09
Jamie Gillies
Jamie Gillies
Apollo Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

The Oscar-nominated "Winged Migration" is a virtuosi technical achievement in documentary filmmaking due to its astonishingly intimate photography of the migrations of numerous species of birds across the earth's northern and southern hemispheres.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/19/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
07/08/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
03/05/05
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic

The point of this true-life adventure is not the dissemination of information but the instilling of a sense of awe in the viewer ...

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Winged Migration must be the most subversive G-rated film ever.

Full Review Source: Low IQ Canadian | comment Comment
06/13/04
Martin Scribbs
Martin Scribbs
Low IQ Canadian

The material seems shapeless... no question was raised that might have held me... And maybe Born Free was a documentary, too.

Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS) | comment Comment
03/19/04
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

There’s no better tribute to the beauty of flight than Jacques Perrin’s lighter-than-air documentary wonder.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
02/09/04
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/23/04
Marco Lanzagorta
Marco Lanzagorta
PopMatters

It’s a movie you sit back and marvel at.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
01/05/04
Mark Robison
Mark Robison
Reno Gazette-Journal

Winged Migration soars, and lets us fly along for the ride.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
01/02/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

In the tradition of the also nearly wordless Atlantis and Microcosmos… educational voiceover narration is superfluous: It's enough simply to see.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
12/26/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

The movie is, in three words, beautiful beautiful beautiful.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
12/19/03
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Winged Migration

January 25, 2006: SUNDANCE: A Buyer Hunts For "Penguins," "Camels"
Adam Lepzig is on the lookout for marching penguins or weeping camels. More to the point, the president of National Geographic Feature Films is looking to acquire films that he... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
95% 95% Star Trek
67% 67% Bruno
47% 47% My Sister's Keeper
66% 66% Is Anybody There?
82% 82% Thirst

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Friday Harvest

Friday Harvest

This week's best pics, posters, and videos!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What to Watch?

What to Watch?

Read our Holiday Movie Preview!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
68
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
62
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
  • Rachel McAdams Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor Source: Entertainment Weekly
117
  • Avatar: Gambling on Film's Future Source: Los Angeles Times
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
127
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
67
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
34
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Star Trek, Bruno, and Cheaper Sopranos
32
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
28
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
28
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Winged Migration at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Winged Migration at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.