March of the Penguins (Widescreen) - Documentaries Classic Movies on DVD (2005) Directed by Luc Jacquet; Warner Bros. Home Video : OLDIES.com

DVD Features:

Encoding: Region 1; USA & Canada
Package Type: Keep Case
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85

Audio:

Dolby Surround 5.1 English
Dolby Surround 5.1 Spanish

Additional Release Material:

Documentaries - CRITTERCAM : EMPEROR PENGUINS: penguin diving and feeding
Documentary - OF MEN AND PENGUINS: The incredible filmmaking process of the movie
8 BALL BUNNY: A classic WB animated short with Bugs Bunny and a penguin
Theatrical Trailer

Major Awards:

Academy Awards - Best Documentary (2005)

Entertainment Reviews:

Entertainment Weekly - 06/24/2005

"MARCH OF THE PENGUINS makes a compelling case for celebrating the glory of all living things..."

New York Times - 06/24/2005

"The feeling that these creatures are brave, indomitable souls surviving unimaginable physical hardship for the sake of their families is inescapable."

Los Angeles Times - 06/24/2005

"[A]s uplifting as anything you will find in theaters as the birds' struggle encompasses all the elements of great drama."

USA Today - 06/24/2005

"A cinematic experience that is dazzlingly different from anything currently in theaters, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS captivates with its straightforward but powerful story of dogged determination, survival against harsh odds and sacrifice."

Rolling Stone - 08/25/2005

"[A] wondrous look at the emperor penguins of Antarctica....Morgan Freeman provides the sturdy narration."

Sight and Sound - 12/01/2005

"This is a story about biological imperative, albeit an extraordinary and impressive one, superbly filmed under the most extreme conditions."

Premiere - 12/01/2005

3 stars out of 4 -- "[B]est appreciated on its simplest level. That is, as a nature documentary. One with neat-looking penguins who exist in a realm that has very little to do with humankind."

Uncut - 01/01/2006

"[A] surprising, endearing and cuddly underdog triumph..."

Rolling Stone - 12/01/2005

Ranked #25 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "[M]agnificently filmed....Popular favorite for the year's best documentary."

Ultimate DVD - 08/01/2007

3 stars out of 5 -- "Certainly it's a gripping tale....Taking us to a place many will never visit, a naturallly spectacular icy wasteland that plummets to 80 degrees below zero."

Description by OLDIES.com:

Every year, thousands of emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They are birds, but they do not fly. They are aquatic animals, but this time they will not swim. Instead, they walk - marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth.

Narrated by Morgan Freeman, March of the Penguins is an amazing, awe-inspiring, all-ages, true-life tale touched with humor and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering you-are-there drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the face of the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable, fuzzy chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader...to adventure!

Product Description:

Coming from a French director, Luc Jacquet, the miraculous MARCH OF THE PENGUINS would have to be a love story. And so it is. The film explores 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 doggedly 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 give birth to 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. This remarkable story is narrated by Morgan Freeman, whose dignified voice gives the penguins the grave admiration they deserve. But even more incredible is the photography, which shows the penguins hunting underwater, sliding on the ice, and even what definitely looks like kissing. At one point the camera even zooms inside the mouth of a penguin as it regurgitates food for its young. A story of love and, more strikingly, survival, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS is a stirring, eye-opening, and educational experience.