Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #804 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-05-08
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 77 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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

Synopsis
Coming from a French director, Luc Jacquet, the miraculous MARCH OF THE PENGUINS would have to be a love story. And it is, in that it follows the mating rituals of the emperor penguin, one of the most resilient animals on earth. Each summer, after a nourishing period of deep-sea feeding, the penguins pop up onto the ice and begin their procession across the frozen tundra of Antarctica. Walking in single file, they are a sight to behold. Hundreds converge from every direction, moving instinctively toward their mating ground. Once there, they mingle and chatter until they find the perfect mate a monogamous match that will last a year, through the brutal winter and into the spring. During that time, the mother will birth an egg and then leave for the ocean to feed again. The father will stay to protect the egg through the freezing blizzards and pure darkness of winter, which would be deadly to practically any other species. Finally, with spring, the egg hatches and the baby penguins are born. Mothers return from the sea to reunite with their families and feed the starving newborns, while the fathers are finally relieved of their protective duties after months without food. The film is remarkable in its story, which is narrated by Morgan Freeman, whose dignified voice gives the penguins the grave admiration they deserve. But even more incredible is its photography, which shows the penguins hunting underwater, sliding on the ice, and in the midst of kissing. At one point the camera even zooms inside the mouth of a penguin as it regurgitates for its young. A story of love and more strikingly, survival, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS is any eye-opening and educational experience.

Customer Reviews

how wonderful
what a lovely film. The penguins are adorable, i found myself laughing and crying along with them. They are beautiful animals and morgan freeman narrates the story incrediably well!a must watch film!

Fabulous


How on earth anyone can fail to be transfixed by this wonderful film is completely beyond me. Some reviewers have claimed that it is 'too slow' - well, learn a little patience and stop subscribing to the 'it has to be fast paced to be good' school of thought. Some stories take time to unfold and are the better for a measured pace. And as to those reviewers who have trounced it because it upset their kids - well, this is nature, red in tooth and claw, where things dont always end 'happy ever after'. If its non-stop jollity you're after, you should have rented 'Happy Feet'. And those who trashed Morgan Freeman's narration because it ascribes human emotions to the penguins - who is to say that animals dont feel emotion? Why do humans think they are the only creatures on the planet that can do so? Presumably these are the people whose religious credo teaches them that animals dont have a soul. The cries of the mother penguin over the dead body of her chick who has wandered away and been caught in the storm were truly heart rending. This is a wonderful, profund, elegant and visually stunning film, made all the better because it is a real-life story about some of the fascinating creatures which share this little blue and green planet of ours. The earth isnt some enormous Disney theme park but a wild, beautiful and sometimes dangerous place. But, with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, human greed and rapaciousness, it is still a beautiful world and this film proves it. It should be required viewing in every school in the country.

Amazing
This film shows the incredible journey that Emperor Penguins take every year to ensure their kind lives on. They follow the same path as their ancestors without a map to the thickest part of the ice (over 70 miles away) to look after their young. Both mother and father brave possible starvation and bitter winter storms to keep thier young safe. Narrated by Morgan Freeman this film is a tremendous insight into a species and its total will to survive. Superb.