Directed by: J Perrin, J Cluzaud
Staring: Philippe Labro, Jacques Perrin (narrators)
A revealing and beautifully-photographed documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents. Astonishing footage made possible by working with birds from birth, so that they were entirely accustomed to the presence of cameras and crew. Some of the sequences have a dramatic contrivance to them, such as one particular scene in which a goose gets stuck in industrial sludge. This was deliberately staged by the producers, but the bird was immediately freed after filming.
Another involving a wounded Tern beset by crabs was not a staged scene, and the bird was rescued by the crew at the last moment after shooting the action. The film features by far the most intimate and breath-taking footage of birds on the wing ever photographed, and represents something of a landmark of its type.