Anyone see this yet? Is it worth going to? I am quite curious about this. Is it a movie I should wait until it gets dumped into a 6.99 dvd bin?
March of the Penguins
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- Start date
I know it's not a "movie" per se, but a documentary about penguins. If you like animal documentaries you're bound to like it.
http://wip.warnerbros.com/marchofthepenguins/
I have a friend who loves penguins. I think she'll be the first in line.
http://wip.warnerbros.com/marchofthepenguins/
I have a friend who loves penguins. I think she'll be the first in line.
I heard a few things about it. But was not sure what it was about. I like documentries maybe I will see it.
I thought it may of been a kids movie as I was looking to take my 6 yr niece and 4 yr old nephew too. but I guess not this one. However I may see it myself.
Thanks for the link.
I just talked to my grandma and aunt and they went and saw this moving. They seemed to like it and said it was very educational and informing, so when the theatre here gets it I will go.
I thought it may of been a kids movie as I was looking to take my 6 yr niece and 4 yr old nephew too. but I guess not this one. However I may see it myself.
Thanks for the link.
I just talked to my grandma and aunt and they went and saw this moving. They seemed to like it and said it was very educational and informing, so when the theatre here gets it I will go.
In financial terms,this is the big hit of the summer. It was purchased for 1 million dollars, and so far,has made over 60 million for the company...and most kids love it!
Its finally arrivingat local theatre so I guess I will see it at 1 tomorrow afternoon, with some "borrowed kids". ha
Wow! This was an excellent movie. Bought the DVD today. I would not be surprised if it was nominated for an Oscar for "Best Documentary".
Morgan Freeman was excellent in his narration.
Those penguins are amazing animals, the cold and hellish conditions they put up with, down to -80 (not including wind chill)and a hundred mile an wind. The hundreds and hundreds of miles they walk a year, how both parents take care of the young in various life stages, how the males keep eggs on their feet and under flab for so long in such brutal conditions, while the females go eat and fatten up so their young can eat, they walk 70 or so miles to the open sea, then the males go to eat after walking 70 miles, then they return and take turns going to eat and watching their young. In a weird way, penguins seem very familar to humans. They have similar emotions reguarding sex, love, dealing with death and reunions.
Totally remarkable film. If you ever want to learn about penguins, enjoy documentry's this film is for you. Even the bonus feature "Of Penguins and Men" was really good. Shows how they made movie and life around the french science station. Penguins even came up to them while they filmed as they are one of few animals left not afraid of man.
Even kids should like this film, hell I am 38 and enjoyed it, I would reccomend this as a movie to go rent or even buy. The underwater scenes were really really good.
It is rated "G" and is one of the best films I have ever seen.
$77,413,017 US dollars was final box office totals, second highest documentry after Fahrenheit 911. Pretty dam good if you ask me.
Morgan Freeman was excellent in his narration.
Those penguins are amazing animals, the cold and hellish conditions they put up with, down to -80 (not including wind chill)and a hundred mile an wind. The hundreds and hundreds of miles they walk a year, how both parents take care of the young in various life stages, how the males keep eggs on their feet and under flab for so long in such brutal conditions, while the females go eat and fatten up so their young can eat, they walk 70 or so miles to the open sea, then the males go to eat after walking 70 miles, then they return and take turns going to eat and watching their young. In a weird way, penguins seem very familar to humans. They have similar emotions reguarding sex, love, dealing with death and reunions.
Totally remarkable film. If you ever want to learn about penguins, enjoy documentry's this film is for you. Even the bonus feature "Of Penguins and Men" was really good. Shows how they made movie and life around the french science station. Penguins even came up to them while they filmed as they are one of few animals left not afraid of man.
Even kids should like this film, hell I am 38 and enjoyed it, I would reccomend this as a movie to go rent or even buy. The underwater scenes were really really good.
It is rated "G" and is one of the best films I have ever seen.
$77,413,017 US dollars was final box office totals, second highest documentry after Fahrenheit 911. Pretty dam good if you ask me.
Well since this is Penguin news I will post it here.
Fat penguins put on exercise program
A teaser:
TOKYO (AP) - It's wintertime and the king penguins at a zoo in northern Japan are putting on weight. But the keepers there have a solution: exercise.
Authorities at Asahiyama Zoo are taking the penguins on 500-yard walks on the snowy grounds twice a day, said zoo spokesman Tetsuo Yamazaki.
"Just like in humans ... the fat accumulates during the winter months, and the blood-sugar level rises," Yamazaki explained from the zoo, 570 miles northwest of Tokyo.
The zoo's 15 king penguins aren't exactly obese. Penguin winter weight varies from 33 pounds to 40 pounds, said zoo official Kazunobu Maru. So far, only one of the flock is 40 pounds, he said.
The reason for weight gain is natural, zoo officials say.
"In order to withstand the cold, the penguins have a habit of standing very still during winter months," Yamazaki said, while in the summer they can walk around and swim as much as they want.
To fend off obesity, the zoo instituted the winter exercise program in 2003. [/teaser]
Click above link for full story.
Well Emperor Penguins held prisoners (In captivity) do not walk hundreds of miles a year like they do when they are living free in Antarctica.
Fat penguins put on exercise program
A teaser:
TOKYO (AP) - It's wintertime and the king penguins at a zoo in northern Japan are putting on weight. But the keepers there have a solution: exercise.
Authorities at Asahiyama Zoo are taking the penguins on 500-yard walks on the snowy grounds twice a day, said zoo spokesman Tetsuo Yamazaki.
"Just like in humans ... the fat accumulates during the winter months, and the blood-sugar level rises," Yamazaki explained from the zoo, 570 miles northwest of Tokyo.
The zoo's 15 king penguins aren't exactly obese. Penguin winter weight varies from 33 pounds to 40 pounds, said zoo official Kazunobu Maru. So far, only one of the flock is 40 pounds, he said.
The reason for weight gain is natural, zoo officials say.
"In order to withstand the cold, the penguins have a habit of standing very still during winter months," Yamazaki said, while in the summer they can walk around and swim as much as they want.
To fend off obesity, the zoo instituted the winter exercise program in 2003. [/teaser]
Click above link for full story.
Well Emperor Penguins held prisoners (In captivity) do not walk hundreds of miles a year like they do when they are living free in Antarctica.
I bought it on the first day and Zellers only had 2 copies left. It was a surprise summer hit. I really enjoyed it.
I have REALLY wanted to see this for a while now. I think I may go rent this on the weekend now. Thanks for the reminder!
Basic said:
My wife and I rented it this last weekend.
Fascinating!
What weird and wonderful creatures.
Ya I ended up renting it today and I have to say it is very good. It was an extremely unique look at a world we sometimes forget even exists. Very impressive.
Highly reccomended.
Highly reccomended.
Lost in translation
We like cute penguins and chic Parisians, but only about 2% of us will actually pay to see a French film. As a new festival begins a tour of UK cities, Gwladys Fouché (a Welshwoman married to a Frenchman) looks at the problems faced by Gallic exports that come to Britain
Wednesday March 1, 2006
No jolly peasants nor chic Parisians: March of the Penguins was a rare success.
When was the last time you saw a French film at the cinema? Perhaps you marched to the box office along with the penguins. Or maybe you watched Daniel Auteuil sink into paranoia in Hidden.
But if you're an average British filmgoer you most probably haven't seen either. Where Hollywood blockbusters currently account for 63% of the UK market, French cinema has traditionally struggled to reach even 1%. Last year, its share rose for the first time to over 2% and that was considered an amazing triumph. Champions of French cinema are now hoping to build on this modest success.
This week sees the launch of the Renault French film festival, a month-long event determined to lure Brits into catching the latest fare from across the Channel.
Throughout March, cinemagoers in London, Glasgow, Cardiff and six other cities will have the opportunity to catch a varied range of Gallic productions. For instance, Auteuil will face off with Gérard Depardieu in the cop thriller 36, Quai Des Orfèvres - a film described by its director as the French equivalent to Michael Mann's Heat. Meanwhile, the director of the acclaimed 2000 chiller Harry, He's Here to Help, is returning with Lemming, a Hitchcock-style feature starring Charlotte Rampling. Light-hearted offerings come in the shape of Crustacés et Coquillages (Cockles and Muscles), a comedy about love set in a seaside summer house.
The event's aim is to broaden the audience for French cinema. "We will screen films not only in the traditional art houses, but also in multiplexes, so that we get more of a crossover crowd," says the festival's director, Richard Mowe. The audience for French movies is typically very restricted. While a Disney family comedy like Chicken Little can rake in £2.3m in one weekend, "a French film is considered a success in Britain if it earns £500,000 in total," says François Ivernel, head of Pathé UK, the British arm of the French production company. "When a film like Amélie earns £5m, it is considered exceptional."
The irony is that French cinema is far from a struggling industry. It is, in fact, the powerhouse of European cinema, producing more films than any other country on the continent. Just last year, 240 movies were made across the Channel - nearly double the number of those made in Britain. And it seems that it is not just the French who like French films. Close to 74m people around the world bought tickets to see Gallic productions in 2005, well over the number of French cinemagoers who did. But every year, only a fraction of the French crop hops on the Eurostar.
So what does it take for a French film to make it big in the UK? On the one hand there is a perception that Gallic films provide a classy alternative to no-brain fodder like Big Momma's House 2. "There's always a market available for well-made French films," says Laura de Casto, managing director at Tartan Films, one of the main distributors of French cinema in the UK. "You have a middle-class, middle-aged audience who have enjoyed New Wave directors such as François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol and you've got students who are into new, hipper films like The Beat That My Heart Skipped."
"There's a certain sophistication associated with French films," agrees Ivernel. "Films like Hidden and The Beat That My Heart Skipped are associated with a certain complexity of human relations."
That said, the type of French films we respond to is still defined by age-old stereotypes. In general, it seems that the Brits want their French characters to be either jolly peasants or chic Parisians. "Many of the successful films today are rooted into what the British imagine France to be," Ivernel admits. "Jean de Florette was set in Provence, and the Brits love that region. The Chorus worked well because it was describing a traditional France of the good old days ... Amélie was set in a dreamy, postcard-perfect Paris."
Even the leftfield success of a film like March of the Penguins can be easily explained. Admittedly, this acclaimed documentary deviates from the established formula (there are no peasants or Parisians in Antarctica), but crucially, its feathered stars do not actually talk.
Evidence suggests that most British cinemagoers want their actors to speak English. "French films have the same problems as other non-English-language productions," says Ivernel. "All films are subtitled rather than dubbed here, unlike in Germany or France. This reduces straight away the number of people that will potentially go to see the film."
In addition, it is now rare for a subtitled film to be broadcast on terrestrial television. "If the BBC and the other channels showed more French films, there would be more people in the cinema to see them," says The Observer's film critic, the aptly named Philip French. "At Blockbuster or Virgin, non-English-language films are confined to a tiny 'world cinema' section and they are more expensive. It is completely ghettoised."
French believes that Britain is becoming more insular. "People travel more but they learn fewer languages and they read less books in translation. In other European countries, bookshops have as many books by foreign writers as by local ones. By comparison, only a handful of translated authors, like Umberto Eco or Gabriel García Márquez, achieve success in the UK."
Most British cinemagoers, says French, did not used to be so averse to Gallic films: "After the war, they were very popular with audiences in large cities. They were screened in both film societies and on television, when American TV imports were still withheld. Directors like Henri-Georges Clouzot and stars like Jean Gabin or Michel Simon were really admired. I remember the BBC broadcast Le Jour Se Lève [The Day Rises, a 1939 drama starring Gabin] on prime time television, at a time when the BBC only had one channel."
This enthusiasm kept up, explains French: "In the late 50s and 60s, there was this great excitement and interest in international cinema. There was this definite feeling that Hollywood was over and that cinemas would show adult-themed movies in every corner. The New Wave had worldwide influence. Everybody kept track of what directors like Truffaut and Godard were up to."
Since then, of course, the landscape has changed. Hollywood replenished itself and took over the world. The blockbuster boom of the 1970s effectively ended the foreign film rennaisance and carried us through to our present position, with UK cinemas dominated by teen comedies and action blockbusters such as Final Destination 3 and Cheaper By the Dozen 2.
However, it is not quite over for French cinema in the UK. The standard remains high, audience figures are creeping upwards and French is encouraged by the response to several recent releases. "With Hidden, it is the first time in a very long time that I hear people talking about the issues of the films rather than about the special effects," he says. "It reminds me of the late 60s."
Perhaps a new French Wave is in the making.
· The Renault French film festival runs March 1-30 in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2005/12/08/march3.jpg
----------------------
The French might make more movies than the British, but (probably needless to say) they don't spend as much money on their movies as the British. Britain ranks 2nd in the world only to the US in the amount of money it spends on making movies.
We like cute penguins and chic Parisians, but only about 2% of us will actually pay to see a French film. As a new festival begins a tour of UK cities, Gwladys Fouché (a Welshwoman married to a Frenchman) looks at the problems faced by Gallic exports that come to Britain
Wednesday March 1, 2006
No jolly peasants nor chic Parisians: March of the Penguins was a rare success.
When was the last time you saw a French film at the cinema? Perhaps you marched to the box office along with the penguins. Or maybe you watched Daniel Auteuil sink into paranoia in Hidden.
But if you're an average British filmgoer you most probably haven't seen either. Where Hollywood blockbusters currently account for 63% of the UK market, French cinema has traditionally struggled to reach even 1%. Last year, its share rose for the first time to over 2% and that was considered an amazing triumph. Champions of French cinema are now hoping to build on this modest success.
This week sees the launch of the Renault French film festival, a month-long event determined to lure Brits into catching the latest fare from across the Channel.
Throughout March, cinemagoers in London, Glasgow, Cardiff and six other cities will have the opportunity to catch a varied range of Gallic productions. For instance, Auteuil will face off with Gérard Depardieu in the cop thriller 36, Quai Des Orfèvres - a film described by its director as the French equivalent to Michael Mann's Heat. Meanwhile, the director of the acclaimed 2000 chiller Harry, He's Here to Help, is returning with Lemming, a Hitchcock-style feature starring Charlotte Rampling. Light-hearted offerings come in the shape of Crustacés et Coquillages (Cockles and Muscles), a comedy about love set in a seaside summer house.
The event's aim is to broaden the audience for French cinema. "We will screen films not only in the traditional art houses, but also in multiplexes, so that we get more of a crossover crowd," says the festival's director, Richard Mowe. The audience for French movies is typically very restricted. While a Disney family comedy like Chicken Little can rake in £2.3m in one weekend, "a French film is considered a success in Britain if it earns £500,000 in total," says François Ivernel, head of Pathé UK, the British arm of the French production company. "When a film like Amélie earns £5m, it is considered exceptional."
The irony is that French cinema is far from a struggling industry. It is, in fact, the powerhouse of European cinema, producing more films than any other country on the continent. Just last year, 240 movies were made across the Channel - nearly double the number of those made in Britain. And it seems that it is not just the French who like French films. Close to 74m people around the world bought tickets to see Gallic productions in 2005, well over the number of French cinemagoers who did. But every year, only a fraction of the French crop hops on the Eurostar.
So what does it take for a French film to make it big in the UK? On the one hand there is a perception that Gallic films provide a classy alternative to no-brain fodder like Big Momma's House 2. "There's always a market available for well-made French films," says Laura de Casto, managing director at Tartan Films, one of the main distributors of French cinema in the UK. "You have a middle-class, middle-aged audience who have enjoyed New Wave directors such as François Truffaut and Claude Chabrol and you've got students who are into new, hipper films like The Beat That My Heart Skipped."
"There's a certain sophistication associated with French films," agrees Ivernel. "Films like Hidden and The Beat That My Heart Skipped are associated with a certain complexity of human relations."
That said, the type of French films we respond to is still defined by age-old stereotypes. In general, it seems that the Brits want their French characters to be either jolly peasants or chic Parisians. "Many of the successful films today are rooted into what the British imagine France to be," Ivernel admits. "Jean de Florette was set in Provence, and the Brits love that region. The Chorus worked well because it was describing a traditional France of the good old days ... Amélie was set in a dreamy, postcard-perfect Paris."
Even the leftfield success of a film like March of the Penguins can be easily explained. Admittedly, this acclaimed documentary deviates from the established formula (there are no peasants or Parisians in Antarctica), but crucially, its feathered stars do not actually talk.
Evidence suggests that most British cinemagoers want their actors to speak English. "French films have the same problems as other non-English-language productions," says Ivernel. "All films are subtitled rather than dubbed here, unlike in Germany or France. This reduces straight away the number of people that will potentially go to see the film."
In addition, it is now rare for a subtitled film to be broadcast on terrestrial television. "If the BBC and the other channels showed more French films, there would be more people in the cinema to see them," says The Observer's film critic, the aptly named Philip French. "At Blockbuster or Virgin, non-English-language films are confined to a tiny 'world cinema' section and they are more expensive. It is completely ghettoised."
French believes that Britain is becoming more insular. "People travel more but they learn fewer languages and they read less books in translation. In other European countries, bookshops have as many books by foreign writers as by local ones. By comparison, only a handful of translated authors, like Umberto Eco or Gabriel García Márquez, achieve success in the UK."
Most British cinemagoers, says French, did not used to be so averse to Gallic films: "After the war, they were very popular with audiences in large cities. They were screened in both film societies and on television, when American TV imports were still withheld. Directors like Henri-Georges Clouzot and stars like Jean Gabin or Michel Simon were really admired. I remember the BBC broadcast Le Jour Se Lève [The Day Rises, a 1939 drama starring Gabin] on prime time television, at a time when the BBC only had one channel."
This enthusiasm kept up, explains French: "In the late 50s and 60s, there was this great excitement and interest in international cinema. There was this definite feeling that Hollywood was over and that cinemas would show adult-themed movies in every corner. The New Wave had worldwide influence. Everybody kept track of what directors like Truffaut and Godard were up to."
Since then, of course, the landscape has changed. Hollywood replenished itself and took over the world. The blockbuster boom of the 1970s effectively ended the foreign film rennaisance and carried us through to our present position, with UK cinemas dominated by teen comedies and action blockbusters such as Final Destination 3 and Cheaper By the Dozen 2.
However, it is not quite over for French cinema in the UK. The standard remains high, audience figures are creeping upwards and French is encouraged by the response to several recent releases. "With Hidden, it is the first time in a very long time that I hear people talking about the issues of the films rather than about the special effects," he says. "It reminds me of the late 60s."
Perhaps a new French Wave is in the making.
· The Renault French film festival runs March 1-30 in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2005/12/08/march3.jpg
----------------------
The French might make more movies than the British, but (probably needless to say) they don't spend as much money on their movies as the British. Britain ranks 2nd in the world only to the US in the amount of money it spends on making movies.
i can recall 4 recent french films
-les chorists
-winged flight
-les tripletts
- amelie
fortunately these wonderfull films and many others enjoy a moderate success in canada due to the presence of that most cultured province, quebec
some local french canadian films that are worth seeing
- the decline of the american empire
- the barbarian invasions
- crasy
- un zoo la nuit
- soft shell man
- jesus of montreal
- le turbulence des fluids
- leolo
-les chorists
-winged flight
-les tripletts
- amelie
fortunately these wonderfull films and many others enjoy a moderate success in canada due to the presence of that most cultured province, quebec
some local french canadian films that are worth seeing
- the decline of the american empire
- the barbarian invasions
- crasy
- un zoo la nuit
- soft shell man
- jesus of montreal
- le turbulence des fluids
- leolo
Re: RE: March of the Penguins
you mean--- les dukes de hazarde-- dont you--- an exquisite gem of french cinema
the marvelous complexity of this cleverly crafted work of art demands multiple viewing,,,,
i confess i too was overwhelmed......by mademoiselle simpsons
performance-- see it 4 or 5 times ... then we will talk
Toro said:
you mean--- les dukes de hazarde-- dont you--- an exquisite gem of french cinema
the marvelous complexity of this cleverly crafted work of art demands multiple viewing,,,,
i confess i too was overwhelmed......by mademoiselle simpsons
performance-- see it 4 or 5 times ... then we will talk