Winged Migration Disc-HD Fri 12/29 8PM

It looked outstanding when shown in HDNET a while back. I have it on DVHS.

When I first setup my plasma...the first DVD I played was WM. I was let down...I thought it would be much better than it was. When HDNET ran it in HD I was stunned....it looked fantastic.

My wife saw the commercial for Winged Migration the other day and I had a hard time convincing her that the images weren't computer-generated. Not because they look fake, mind you, but because it seems impossible to get the shots that they were able to get.

Discovery HD has some great viewing experiences. I hope NGCTV will as well (if Comcast ever gets around to carrying it here in South Jersey).

What a great movie.

Is is OAR with DD 5.1, etc, etc? Sorry I could not help myself...........................

I was wondering the same thing. I saw the promo and was wowed. Some of the birds had that 3D pop that I also thought they were CG. As soon as the promo finished I set my DVR.

I always recommend that it's best to get your brakes done by a good reputable brake specialist. Your life depends upon it.

Anyone on FiOS *not* see this on their program guide? My Discovery HD listing for tonight is 11pm - Desert Speaks, 11:30 - White Hot Winter, 12:00am - Road Trip where the Discovery HD site says 11-1 is Winged Migration.

Also, right now, the program guide says "Road Trip", and it's definitely Winged Migration.

EDIT: Speak of the devil, the other time it's scheduled to play on Discovery HD, 12/31 @ 3am, the same 3 shows are scheduled. The Desert Speaks, White Hot Winter, Road Trip. Is FiOS's schedule all screwed up?

After 1 year, I FINALLY got a WOW from my wife (uh, this is in regards to HD programming). She (and I) loved Winged Migration. Her comments almost brought tears to my eyes.

The French has produced some amazing films like this. I've watched it 3 times now.

Seeing those caged Canadian geese almost made me cry.

Recall commenting here a few years back about the not-so-subtle international 'digs' at the U.S. within this otherwise superb film. Happened to tune in briefly yesterday during one such scene, geese soaring spectacularly above North America, then shots as most fell from the sky. Another good one: birds landing in a polluted city, wading through what looks like oily gunk. For equivalent contrast, too bad they didn't shoot geese being force fed (feet nailed down?) to enlarge livers for French foie gras production. Just quibbling. Looked as good as earlier, and hope it looks still better on a 1080 DVD one of these days since my TWC 8300HD STB is limiting maximum effective horizontal resolution to 1290 lines, as an earlier STB was during Migration, while my display can deliver at least 1335+ lines, perhaps up to ~1600. -- John

Loved the PQ on my new Mits HD1000. Absolutely fantastic show !! Wish all HD looked like this !!! I was watching War of the Worlds on HBO HD & it seemed average ?? Problem I'm having is I'm watching either football in HD or Discovery HD !!! Nothing else compares !!!

I'm at 5 years and got the same reaction from my wife. She said that she can now see the full impact of what HD can be. On another note, my cat looked at the screen, a 65" Mits, walked up to about 3 feet from the TV, sat down and looked up and followed the birds for a good 15 minutes. It was a riot. Even the cat see the advantages of good HD.

I just watched my recording of it... there are still three shots that I think must have been created by special effects... they were shots that would appear to have been taken so high above Earth that you can see the shape of entire continents and the curve of the Earth. I can't see how they aren't effects shots... they'd almost have to be in space to get them and I doubt birds fly that high. I noticed there were digital effects artists and 3D modelers credited in the end. Yet the disclaimer at the beginning says "no special effects were used in the filming of the birds". Assuming those were effects shots, they were entirely unnecessary... there were so many shots in the film that were such incredible achievements in cinematography and technology that were so much more impressive than these shots, and it ruins the integrity of the disclaimer at the beginning.

Noticed that too. There was also the shot of the mean insensitive farmers in their tractors carelessly about to run over the poor little bird.

Umm, do you know that was in Eastern Europe? At least that was what the subtitles said. But, I think of it as a truthful portrayal of the perils of these birds. I though the death of the penguin chick was more gruesome than what the hunters did. Though the 'dogfights' with the hawks were cool, if only less gruesome.
My friends and family have talked about it and I finally got a chance to see it. Very cool, I really liked the snow scenes, the geese and cranes in the desert was also amazing, and the clouds of starlings(?)--the Danish call them the 'black sun' when they flock like that. Though the limits of MPEG were scene during scenes when the various flocks would take off.

Might be mistaken, it's been a while, but thought the web-footed birds wading through oily sludge in an industrial zone was from an Eastern U.S. city. Thanks for the correction if I was wrong. -- John

I just showed it to some friends last night, and indeed the subtitles said it was in Eastern Europe before those birds flew over the industrial sight. It did seem to be the same set of birds. I didn't think the hunting scene was a dig at North America either, they don't even mention it took place in North America until the end credits, where they had to mention that the birds weren't shot specifically for the filming.

Recall the comment or caption was a while before the shots, but don't have a recording handy. We of course want to pin down this vital info. ;-) Maybe French Canadians were hunting. -- John

I have this still on my DVR and have been watching bits and pieces. The subtitles before the birds get shot mentions it takes place in North America.

Does anyone know if this will be shown again? Unfortunately I didn't get my HDTV until after the new year so I missed this.

Edit: I answered my own question, went on Disc-HD's site and it will be on again on Jan. 18th. Sorry to have wasted this post.

Sorry for my mistake. Still, there were many scenes that featured subtitles explaining where the birds are located. I'd say they were purlely informative. For example, there was the scene involving birds and a monkey in cages on a boat that took place on the Amazon. That was probably no more intended as a slam on South America than the hunting scene was a slam on North America or the industrial scene was a slam on Europe.

How is showing reality a "slam"? We shoot birds here in the USA. If you're reading too much into it, you're seeing the point from the other side and you don't like what you're feeling.

They're showing the majestic, soaring, pretty birds in flight that get picked off by Bob the Hunter. Are they not supposed to show hunting? Do hunters actually only kill the non-majestic and soaring pretty birds?