Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2651 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

Brilliant visuals, and you can always switch off the sound
They're big birds, Emperor Penguins, and they combine the dignity of a maitre d' in formal dinner suit with the comic bathos of a Chaplin … multiplied by the thousands. ''March of the Penguins" follows their Antarctic breeding pattern - although 'breeding' is altogether too rapid a word for such an astonishing feat of endurance. The birds march miles through some of the most inhospitable weather and terrain on earth - 'march' may be too dignified a word for their metronomic waddle and occasional belly slide, but it does convey their indomitable determination and sense of purpose.

The film may concentrate on the routines of survival on ice, producing an egg, keeping that egg warm until it hatches, keeping baby alive until it is capable of fending for itself (there is an enormous death toll), but it also follows the penguins into the sea. Unable to fly, once in the water they take flight. Water really is their element. But, with no predator on land (or ice) except the temperature and weather, at sea they are hunted, and life becomes a life and death struggle for survival.

A massive box office hit, ''March of the Penguins" is a French documentary which has attracted considerable critical acclaim. It's original French soundtrack can be a bit twee in places in the way it gives the birds a voice, but the American, English language version casts Morgan Freeman in the role of narrator. Now Freeman has a lovely voice - warm, avuncular, yet with just a hint of gravitas. Unfortunately, the narration at times does tend to sound like "The Shawshank Redemption" - a brilliant film in its own right, but the voice-over here can be a touch sentimental … overwhelmingly so at times.

The visual imagery, the sheer visual genius of the film is extraordinary, and often commentary enough. It literally features a cast of thousands, every one of them typecast as a loveable little character. And, let's face it, penguins are about as loveable as they come.

If you like nature photography, if you love penguins, this is a must-watch film which, despite the voice over, will keep you entertained and amazed for hours. And maybe, just maybe, it'll waken up a few more people to the threat of global warming - somebody needs to ensure that George Bush sees this and recognises that the world we have needs protecting!

ONE FOR YOUR COLLECION.. AMAZING!!!
''March of the Penguins." It sounds like the title of an unwritten episode in George Lucas's intergalactic megafranchise, but this touching and brisk National Geographic-produced documentary actually is about penguins, with whom we have far more in common than any of the digitized creations in Lucas land.

Directed by Luc Jacquet, bravely photographed by Jerome Maison and Laurent Chalet, and narrated by The Great Voice Of Morgan Freeman, ''March of the Penguins" presents the unique breeding cycle of Antarctic emperor penguins, majestic little creatures with long white torsos, talon-like beaks, and an enduring need to reproduce. 'rampant little thing's they can be' lol

Every spring, they waddle and slide on their bellies for miles to a wide open space where the ice is thickest and where hundreds of other penguins have gathered to look for a mate in the coldest place on earth.

It's a great, big singles mixer. And because the females outnumber the males, the ladies compete for the attention of the unattached men, who seem to know the statistics and carry on with a cocky sense of aloofness. The movie never says what becomes of the single female, who presumably will have to wait until next season, but certainly someone at Modern Penguin magazine is writing an article about how they should be in a total panic.

The good news for the remaining singles is that there really is always next year: Once the courtship is over, the love made, and the egg hatched, man, woman, and child sever their bond and go their separate ways, only to gather in the same spot the following season for a different partner. The movie never mentions whether repeat couplings occur or if really old penguins have midlife crises and just want to keep pairing off with hot young things. lol

Alas, ''March of the Penguins" is a sensitively made family film about how families are created and maintained. The bulk of the footage shows us what a nightmare parenting is, a never-ending trudge back and forth for sustenance. The single egg is laid (only is one produced per rotation) in the thick of winter. Mum, who is depleted and famished, trudges back to the sea for food enough for her and baby, entrusting the fathers to keep the eggs safe from freezing and from predators.

For two months, and as 100 mile an hour winds hit them in 80-below temperatures, that's enought to turn us human beings into human snowman pretty damn quick lol the males huddle in a large, heat-generating mass that, from above, resembles a black-and-white jetty. The eggs remain in a pocket cradle atop the father-to-be's claws and beneath a flap of warm belly flesh. Some penguins lose the egg, which freezes on the ice.

''March of the Penguins" doesn't hide the dangers of being a penguin. It shows the feeding mothers, who plow through the water like torpedoes, under a hungry leopard seal's attack. Kids might blanch at some of the more upsetting images, but ultimately the movie will delight and uplift more families than it will scare.

Captivating Children and Adults Alike....
Although this technically is a glorified television documentary, I can completely see why this was put into cinemas.

I won't bore you with facts about penguins, but it is guaranteed to make you go "Awww!" If you are more cynical about fluffy creatures, it does not cease to be fascinating following the annual ritual of the penguins.

It focuses quite a lot on the love between the penguins which is lovely. It's been placed under children's films here, which I agree with. This wouldn't look at all out of place alongside your Disney films.
As they get older, or are at an age to appreciate it, they will be able to understand the lifecycle of these lovely creatures.

But for the younger ones, the visual impact would be enough I imagine, and at just over an hour, doesn't entail sitting forever. Even can be watched in shorter sittings if necessary.

However, children aside, I thought this film was lovely!
There's no real interest in penguins needed- although if you dislike with a passion documentaries, I perhaps wouldn't recommened this particular film.

Captivating with stunning scenery.