Warner Bros | 2005 | 80 mins. | Rated G


Winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Documentary Feature, March of the Penguins provides a fascinating and poignant look at the lifecycle of the of the Emperor Penguin as it returns to its Antarctic birthplace to breed. Documentarian Luc Jacquet and cinematographers Laurent Chalet and Jerome Maison spent thirteen months filming; braving winds in excess of 100 miles per hour and temperatures that fell to more than 50 degrees below zero. It’s hard not to feel a bit cold yourself, just watching the film, so it’s clear that Jacquet and his crew were extremely dedicated to capturing the penguin’s story.

March of the PenguinsEvery year in March, the Antarctic begins to freeze, which gives the Emperor Penguins a safe place to court, mate, and care for their young. To that end, thousands of the flightless birds emerge from the sea, and begin a walk and slide of almost seventy miles to the mating site. They’ve gorged themselves, building up a protective layer of fat to ward off frigid temperatures and the risk of starvation. Risking attacks from predators, the birds proceed in an orderly fashion; I was struck at how much it looked like a funeral procession. Inevitably, a few birds get separated from the pack. Unfortunately, they will become weak and die of cold and/or starvation. Once they reach the mating ground, the males and females court with gestures and vocalizations. They pair off and mate; for the duration of the mating season, the couple will be monogamous and devoted.

Clearly, building a nest in these conditions is not an option. However, the Penguins have devised a fairly effective way to protect their eggs. Once the egg has been laid, it’s nestled on top of her feet and under a flap of skin. Soon afterward, she passes the egg to the father, who will keep the egg warm in an identical fashion. In the meantime, the mothers will make the long trek back to sea for nourishment. When the mothers return, it’s the fathers’ turn to head for the sea. All of this takes weeks at a time in the harshest of weather conditions. Not every adult or egg or baby penguin survives. As narrator Morgan Freeman remarks, some of the older penguins will simply “fall asleep and disappear.”

Cold and starvation aren’t the only things the penguins have to fear: Omnivorous birds above the ice and Leopard Seals in the sea take the lives of some of the pack. Despite all of this, the Emperor Penguins persevere; proving there’s strength in numbers. The parents unwavering dedication to their chicks is very moving. Throughout the film, the imagery is breathtakingly beautiful; the penguins huddled together for warmth; the landscape at eighty below, with winds gusting up to a hundred miles per hour. When the chicks are born, they’re incredibly cute, with the reunion of the family one of the most touching scenes in the entire film.
This is the same transfer given to March of the Penguin’s first DVD release. The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video. The transfer reveals Antarctica’s desolate beauty. Underwater scenes are bursting with a primary blue color, likely the result of sunlight filtered through the ice. The penguins are conveyed with finely grained textures; in close-up, their feathers seem to stand out individually. Shadow detail is very good, never submerging the birds into a black void. There is a bit of film grain that runs through the documentary, but it doesn’t interfere with the overall viewing experience. I noticed some minor haloing, but it never became intrusive. I didn’t notice any macroblocking or noise.

The sound is the same as presented on the initial DVD release as well. There are two Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, one in English and the other in Spanish. Surround effects are mostly limited to environmental noises such as wind and snow squalls. The original score by Alex Wurman is nicely conveyed. Sound effects, including the crunch of penguin feet on snow and the birds’ squawks, squeaks, and calls sound natural.
Morgan Freeman’s voiceover narration remains clear throughout.

Optional subtitles are in French, Spanish, and English, and English Closed Captions are also included.

The giftset includes the following special features:

• A 69-minute documentary called On the Wings of Penguins, all about the warm-weather African penguin. This one, narrated byPeter Brooks, while interesting doesn’t have the same appeal as the main feature. That being said, it does make a nice addition to the package.
• A set of eight penguin postcards appropriate for mailing, or to put them on your wall and look at them.
• A five-inch penguin plush toy! It’s very soft and cute.
• Of Penguins and Men, a 53-minute doc showing what the filmmakers had to go through to make the film.
• National Geographic’s Crittercam, a 23-minute special from the National Geographic Channel. They put small cameras on penguins and let ’em do their thing, and we get to watch.
• 8 Ball Bunny, the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon where he finds a lost penguin and tries to get him home again.



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