Herb Kane
Screenwriter
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March Of The Penguins
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 2005
Rated: G
Film Length: 80 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Enhanced Widescreen
Audio: DD 5.1
Color/B&W: Color
Languages: English & Spanish
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
MSRP: $28.98
Package: Single disc/Amaray Keepcase
The Feature:
March Of The Penguins is a documentary that was directed by Luc Jacquet and ably does what all good National Geographic documentaries do: it informs and entertains while providing interesting wildlife footage. Over the course of a calendar year in Antarctica, the documentary follows the life cycle of Emperor Penguins.
Every March, as winter approaches in the southern hemisphere, the birds emerge from their watery playpen and trek 70 frigid miles across ice to the mating ground. There, they pair off before engaging in ritualistic behavior that results in the female laying an egg. While the male keeps the egg warm, the females return to the water to gorge themselves. By the time they return, the chicks have hatched. Then, it's the males turn to go back to the water. After several alternating round-trips by the parents, the chicks are developed enough to be left on their own, and the families break up. The circle of life goes on…
March of the Penguins shows some of the dangers and hardships faced by the birds. Some eggs are not properly warmed and never hatch. Chicks die of starvation, exposure, or end up in the stomach of a predator. Yet the "violence" is limited and sanitized. This is, after all, a G-rated motion picture - no need to scare off or terrify the kids in the audience. From the documentary, however, one gets the feeling that penguin deaths are infrequent, unfortunate exceptions to the rule that send their parents into downward spirals of grief. I suspect this isn't the case.
The film is narrated by Morgan Freeman who is the perfect choice to provide it. He has a voice that is comforting and believable. Freeman seems to be type of guy who all of us would appreciate having as a friend, a man with wisdom who could be called upon for advice on just about any topic. It's no surprise that this is the third movie in less than a year where he functions as the narrator (the other two are Million Dollar Baby, in which he has an acting part, and War of the Worlds, in which he does not appear). Should there be any doubt as to Freeman's ability, look no further than the modern day classic, The Shawshank Redemption - a factor which in the opinion of this reviewer, is one of the main reasons which contributes to the film's legendary status.
While I was intrigued by the story of the penguins, I was just as interested in the process that the unseen filmmakers went through to get their shots. (We see a little of the behind-the-scenes process during the closing credits.) The temperatures get to less than -80 degrees) - the icy water conditions - the subject matter (was it difficult to photograph these little critters?) - the harsh geographic conditions alone seem to be as intriguing. Some of this intrigue will be cleared up during the "Of Men And Penguins" special features, more on that below.
The Feature: 4/5
:star::star::star::star:
Video:
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, this enhanced for widescreen transfer is solid and what we might expect from a relatively high profile documentary. Needless to say, some of the geographic locations are visually spectacular. While there's not much to be found on the harsh continent, the photography is breathtaking.
The few colors that we do see are vibrant - needless to say, you'll see plenty of blues and whites. The blacks (as noted on the Emperor Penguin's beautiful markings), was dark and rich - whites were clean and rarely bloomy. The level of detail was satisfactory, though not sharp as a tack. The print was virtually immaculate and free of any dirt, marks or blemishes and you’ll see a fair amount of grain from time to time. There we're no issues relating to the disc's authoring or any compression errors - everything here seems to have been handled fine. Edge enhancement was virtually non-existent.
Considering the equipment used and the bleak conditions of the location, this documentary looks fine - just don't expect a big budget blockbuster like image.
Video: 3.5/5
:star::star::star:1/2
Audio:
Not much to say with regards to the audio portion of this transfer. March Of The Penguins is not the type of film your going to pull from your shelf to demo your system. Most importantly here is the Morgan Freeman narration which was always clear, bold and intelligible. There's not much to discuss in terms of dynamics - hey, other than Freeman and thousands of squawking penguins, that's pretty much it. There’s some general ambiance and filler provided in the surround channels limited to wind and other location noise.
What you get here is on par with what you might expect from a documentary. All in all, this is a fine job.
Audio: 3/5
:star::star::star:
Special Features:
[*] First up is Of Penguins And Men which is a behind-the-scenes documentary that was completed by the filmmaker throughout the progression of the film. It shows like a video diary and is also told via voiceover narration. Again, some phenomenal photography is showcased here with plenty of factual information thrown at us regarding the subject matter as well as many of the obstacles they were faced with during the shoot. An interesting watch and a welcome addition. Duration: 53:43 minutes.
[*] Next up is a feature entitled, National Geographic’s Crittercam: Emperor Penguins. In this rather straight forward special feature, cameras are strapped to various penguins in attempt to glean more information from the critters. All pretty much self explanatory but an interesting inclusion nonetheless. Duration: 23:30 minutes.
[*] The hilarious Merrie Melodies short, 8 Ball Bunny is fittingly included here. The 1950 short, directed by Chuck Jones, chronicles Bugs Bunny’s trek to return a small pen-gew-in back to his home in the South Pole after missing his ride from the Brooklyn Ice Palace Show – a Hoboken pen-gew-in, that is. Along the way, he comes across fellow down-on-his-luck American, Humphrey Bogart who hits up Bugs several times for loose change. The short also appears on the Two-Disc SE of Treasure of the Sierra Madre due to the John Huston cameo in which this borrowed from. Ooooh, I’m Dyin”. Duration: 7:07 minutes.
[*] The Theatrical Trailer is also included here which is in fine shape. Duration: 1:52 minutes.
[*] Theatrical Trailers are also included at the start of the feature for other WB films including: Happy Feet, The Polar Express, Duma and another National Geographic animal special.
Special Features: 3.5/5
:star::star::star:1/2
**Special Features rated for the quality of supplements, not the quantity**
Final Thoughts:
March Of The Penguins is a fine documentary and will appeal strongly to nature and animal lovers, but falls short of the mark established by groundbreaking movies along the lines of Winged Migration, say for example. Unlike the usual weekly releases of no-mind fare, the film is suitable for family viewing, which makes for a welcome and refreshing change. However, it's not totally unlike what one might expect to find on any number of educational networks. Remarkable it's not, although the inclusion of Freeman as the decisive narrator, certainly elevates this a notch or two.
The audio/video presentation is what we would expect for a documentary program and the disc includes a couple of interesting special features, but the decision to purchase a documentary of this nature will vary widely among DVD enthusiasts. For this reviewer, while I'm happy to have seen this, I doubt very much I'd have an inkling to see it again anytime soon. With that caveat, if you do have a thing for pen-gew-ins ("8 Ball Bunny", remember...?), then you should be pleased with the disc, otherwise, this will make a solid rental.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 (not an average)
:star::star::star:1/2
Release Date: November 29th, 2005
