As a big fan of 'Microcosmos' and 'Traveling Birds'...
I'm heavily anticipating 'March of the Penguins'
http://impawards.com/2005/march_of_the_penguins.html
And 'Deep Blue' which is from the makers as 'Microcosmos' and 'Traveling Birds'
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0365109/

Has anyone actually seen of these two new flicks(in the Netherlands 'Deep Blue' has already been released, and still got to buy it). I'm curious if there are any more fans of this kind of documentaries.
Or does anyone else have some other interesting choices, like 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill'.

i want to see deep blue- looks amazingly beautiful...

*EKR waits patiently*

Well, 'Traveling Birds' was a hit, I don't see why they still haven't released this one in the U.S.

Me too. Looks fantastic. I'm a sucker for these sealife-docs. Or whatever they're called :razz:

Hopefully it will play here.... maybe on IMAX? [-o<

March of the Penguins is nothing like Miscrocosmos. Microcosmos lacked formal "National Geographic" narrative and was actually about decontextualizing bugs' habits. Penguin is a National Geographic special (honestly, check the credits). Usual stuff for IMAX. I'm glad its getting wider distribution, and it looks nice, but I wouldn't expect strong comparisons between the two.

Closer to Winged Migration, but even that was still more about aesthetic value of flight. This really is an all out NG production. I didn't like how they were forcing human sentiments onto the penguins in the trailer. But it did look like it would at least be fun, and a very cute trip.

You can easily compare Deep BLue to Winged Migration. Same directors/producers, same style.
Although I'm curious about 'Penguins', anyone a link for a trailer... The poster is absolutely beautiful(got to have that one).

http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_in ... guins.html

Personally, Deep Blue looks better to me. I'm not sure I like the whole personification of penguins.... It might be cute, but I'm not particularly eager to see it.

Yes zach, I'm with you on that. Perrin's past works have been a bit smarter, because while he clearly has formal training in NG-type productions, he took that knowledge of technology and did something different with it. He decontectualized his subjects, making the films more about sound, movement, and expectations, and less about some animal's mating, eating, and sleeping habits. It not really clear what those two slugs in Microcosmos were doing (that scene is wonderful).

Penguins is NG/IMAX all the way. Which is fine, because I'd rather that be considered 10 dollar worthy film fare than some really simple, regressive, or overly ggressive film...but it doesn't really call my name in the least. I've seen a thousand like it, and still like to see them on IMAX once in a long while. I'll be holding off on Penguin and more likely to see Blue.

Now if Perrin could just got Philip Glass to do his soundtracks I would be so excited.

To this day, seeing Glass in concert during Monsters of Grace is one of my top music experiences.

AmEx commercials, random docs, Glass is everywhere.

What AmEx work has he done?

Unlucky, DEEP BLUE flops in opening weekend -- $8000 from two theaters.
http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/ ... =22&p=.htm

Unlike THE BEST OF YOUTH (which is dumped by Miramax), Miramax puts many P&A on DEEP BLUE ...... Now, DEEP BLUE may even gross less than THE BEST OF YOUTH.....

What a shame. Deep Blue looked fabulous.

A flop? 'Deep Blue' already grossed a lot of million Euros in Europe.

It's the De Niro Tribeca Film Fest commercial.

I haven't seen that one. I'll keep my eye out. Sometimes AE posts commericials on their site, I'll poke around there.

I appear to be a little late on the subject, but I'm interested in both, especially March of the Penguins.

I haven't seen much on Deep Blue yet, but I'd like to see it eventually (as well as Aliens of the Deep).

March of the Penguins looks great. Like Winged Migration (which I loved), only... cuter?

March of the Penguins has a fantastic poster. But slightly misleading?

It looks like a cute, fun documentry.

Wow...really cute actually. Penguins are awesome. ut i mean, i can see a national geographic documentry just like it on the national geographic channel, or in my national geographic subscritption
Do i really need to pay £8 to go see it?

just saw the movie. i'm in love. will write a review for this soon.anyone with nothing to do and patience for documentary should watch this if just watching nature and life go about its business envokes millions of questions, answers in your head. i was seriously too overwhelmed with emotions while watching this.

here is an unedited review from me

Is it wrong for a person to shed a few tears while watching this movie? You don’t expect to find yourself with soggy eyes while watching National Geographic’s take on penguins performing their yearly rituals. Yet here I was, moved not by actors acting their part but creatures that have been doing what they do year after year for generations. This is no act. They did not rehearse for the shoot. They were just caught on camera doing what they do and the end result of it is a documentary that overwhelms one’s emotions, or at least mine.

Every year in March (After spending a few minutes trying to determine a relationship between the month of March and the movie title, I quickly dismissed that thought and decided that it’s purely coincidental), the emperor penguins embark on a 70 mile long journey to their breeding grounds. The penguins come as their own little clans from different directions yet through some invisible compass, guide themselves towards each other to arrive at approximately the same day to the location in question. What begins then is a 9 month long mating and nurturing season and it’s not pretty. You will witness specie of animals that will endure more natural hardships than any of us have ever been accustomed to handling so they may survive and nurse their new offsprings.

What makes ‘March of the Penguins’ unique is the fact that it obviously concentrates on penguins. I do not think the movie could have had the same impact if the choice of animals here was a Rhino, or a duck or a caribou. What makes penguins so unique is their utter isolation from the rest of the universe in many ways. Unlike other animals co-existing, the penguins make this 70 mile long journey alone with no other life to disturb them. It’s like nature itself was able to isolate them from the rest of the world so they could be studied. The animals are disconnected; living in a world of their own that possibly no other species on this planet could possibly wish to survive in. That in itself is an important point. Not only does the movie feel like you’re peeking into a looking glass at a world we know so little about, but this world also offers the harshest living conditions imaginable. The idea that these penguins proceed to spend 9 months of their life in these conditions itself is terrifying. Add to that the prerequisites needed to survive these conditions and the world portrayed by this movie is unbelievable.

This movie is categorized by scenes that are extremely powerful and thought provoking. Questions and ideas spawned in ones mind will be different from person to person. In some ways, it provides a unique and fresh perspective for everyone watching the movie and the possibility of discovering so much more when conversing with one another about it. Once again, the fact that the penguins were the center of attention here was of utmost importance. By being able to isolate this one specie from the rest of the world, just studying them shows how each action or thing had some sort of a purpose. It showed the interdependencies of the different forces of nature that are at work. Whether it’s God’s design (if you believe in one) or just the way nature is, everything works in harmony and each action affects something else in nature. One of the most powerful scenes depicted in the movie comes halfway through the movie when the father penguins, after starving for almost four months and nestling an egg and soon, his offspring for over a month right under his own body in the freezing blizzards of -80 degree temperatures performs an act of utter selflessness. The fact that it’s instinctive and built in is irrelevant. Just the fact that it’s part of the nature’s design is very overwhelming. When the mother penguins are just a day or 2 away from bringing back food for the chicks, each father has to account for an error in the arrival of the mothers. In this situation, the father of the chick uses his last option to keep his child alive. It’s something that they keep with them for 120 days while they themselves starve and lose half their body weight. Watching this scene is bound to overwhelm one’s emotions. To just see nature account for the different factors makes you realize how well the entire system works, even its imperfections.

Of course, a movie cannot rely on just what is shown on screen. Amplifying the importance of the contents being displayed is usually done through imagery, a soundtrack and voiceovers. This movie is no different and it does more than just a satisfying job at it. Morgan Freeman with his voice that screams of wisdom narrates it from beginning to end, speaking from his heart when a scene requires emotion and easing off at times of humor. The score does the same, littered with themes of survival, selflessness, humor, despair and struggle.

If you love nature, then this is the documentary to catch this summer. It’s not necessarily a big screen movie but it deserves to be seen by everyone.

@Dolce: Thats the beauty of this movie. It never once implies (well, maybve once it did) that the penguins are very human. the coolest thing about this was how different and freaking stubborn these creatures were to try and survive in this own little world of theirs. when it comes down to it, these creatures were doing what everyone does, including human beings .. and that is to survive. how the penguins wetn about doing this though was their own thing.

another thing is how each person can at the end of the day interpret this in the way they choose to. some people saw human emotions .. i saw nature at work. brilliant .. i love NG

I really need to see March of the Penguins, along with Mad Hot Ballroom and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

Major documentary catch-up.

Libs, you must watch Twist of Faith (2005). It's only playing in San Fran and NYC now but it's also being shown on HBO and HBO On Demand. Nominated for Best Documentary this year, it also was up for an award at Sundance. I gave it an A+.

Yeah, as adorable as it sounds (and entertaining, according to Baba's great review), I'll pass till it airs on NGC. It's just too much of a hastle to go to the movies for something I can enjoy at home in a year or two.

I think this one is worth the price of admission to see it on a big screen. Some of the details are fantastic.

Local newspaper had an review for Deep Blue today, as it just opened in the Atlanta area. I think it only added one theater in the city, but it might do decently.

The review, however, was scathing, in fact it was a D- claiming it was sadistic, gory and unsuitable for children. I was quite shocked myself.

Current box office sits at just over $70,000 in the US, and it should be able to add a little bit more to that over the coming weeks.