March of the Penguins (Blu-ray) (2005)

"Astonishing!  David Ansen, NewsWeek
"A perfect family movie...one of the most eye-ravishing documentaries ever made.  David Denby, The New Yorker
"A delightful, wholesome experience for the family.  Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
"Miraculous!  J.P. Sarni, Sirius Satellite Radio
"Unbelievable!  Rex Reed, The New York Observer
"Amazing!  Roger Ebert, Ebert & Roeper
"Riveting!  Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Editor's Note 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.

	Alex Wurman - Original Music By
	Emilie Simon - Original Music By
	Ilann Girard - Executive Producer
	Jean-Christophe Barret - Producer
	Jerome Maison - Cinematographer
	Jordan Roberts, et. al. - Screenplay
	Laurent Chalet - Cinematographer
	Luc Jacquet - Director
	Luc Jacquet - Based On Story By
	Morgan Freeman - Narrated By
	Sabine Emiliani - Editor

Entertainment Weekly
"MARCH OF THE PENGUINS makes a compelling case for celebrating the glory of all living things..." 06/24/2005 p.143

New York Times
"The feeling that these creatures are brave, indomitable souls surviving unimaginable physical hardship for the sake of their families is inescapable." 06/24/2005 p.E21

Los Angeles Times
"[A]s uplifting as anything you will find in theaters as the birds' struggle encompasses all the elements of great drama." 06/24/2005 p.E8

USA Today
"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." 06/24/2005 p.5E

Rolling Stone
"[A] wondrous look at the emperor penguins of Antarctica....Morgan Freeman provides the sturdy narration." 08/25/2005 p.112

Sight and Sound
"This is a story about biological imperative, albeit an extraordinary and impressive one, superbly filmed under the most extreme conditions." 12/01/2005 p.70-71

Premiere
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." 12/01/2005 p.185

Uncut
"[A] surprising, endearing and cuddly underdog triumph..." 01/01/2006 p.132

Rolling Stone
Ranked #25 in Rolling Stone's "Top 25 DVDs Of 2005' -- "[M]agnificently filmed....Popular favorite for the year's best documentary." 12/01/2005 p.98

Ultimate DVD
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." 08/01/2007 p.91

Reel.com 8 of 10
...Luc Jacquet's wonderful new documentary, March of the Penguins, [is] a film that inspires awe not just from its subjects but also from the harsh conditions under which it was filmed...Jacquet and his crew spent 13 months in Antarctica in order to catch one complete breeding cycle. While the penguins' steadfastness in repeating this harsh cycle over and over again for thousands of years is something of a miracle, Jacquet's dedication in capturing their story is feat in itself...These birds are naturally photogenic, intrinsically comical, and frankly adorable. Jacquet artfully exploits these traits, emphasizing the humor of their clumsy waddle and the way they slide on their bellies when they get tired during their lengthy trip to the breeding ground...what shines through is the penguins charm and the triumph of their survival. - Pam Grady

Salon.com 9 of 10
Luc Jacquet's luminous, moving documentary "March of the Penguins" is enough to make you hope there's no such thing as reincarnation: Human beings have it hard enough, but the life of the emperor penguin, one of strife, deprivation and against-all-odds adaptability in one of the most unforgiving corners of the earth, is far rougher...There's more drama, and more heartbreak, in "March of the Penguins" than in most movies that are actually scripted to tug at our feelings. More than once the picture's narrator, Morgan Freeman, notes that the emperor penguin's saga of mating and child rearing is a love story, and while that's an admittedly handy anthropomorphic device, when it comes to understanding why the emperor penguin would go to such great lengths to mate and have babies, the inexplicability of human love may be the only comparison we have. - Stephanie Zacharek