Winged Migration
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: April 18, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Stays in the mind, changing the way we look at the world. Read full review
100
PremiereAddison MacDonald
By the end of the film, one begins to recognize specific birds, rooting for their safe returns and saddened by some of their failures. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Watching this movie, you can dream with open eyes. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
This French documentary gives us unprecedented intimacy and sweep. Read full review
100
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
What an extraordinary idea it was to make this film. What a splendid achievement. Read full review
90
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Birds are not just the movie's stars, but its whole universe. They inspire in Perrin and his crew, and in us, not just awe but humility. You'll never look at them the same way again. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderTed Shen
The most astounding cinematic testament to flock mentality since Hitchcock's "The Birds." Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A magnificent documentary that flies us along with migratory birds on their intercontinental travels, it's the polar opposite -- North Pole, South Pole and all latitudes in between -- of modern feature films that rely on special effects.
90
VarietyLisa Nesselson
Visually stunning, practically dialogue-free and very family-friendly. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Schickel
Intellectually austere but technologically and aesthetically riveting documentary. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It's not the enormous undertaking that impresses so much as the sheer ecstasy of flight and the ability of Perrin's team to catch it. Read full review
90
Washington PostJohn Pancake
Mysteries still surround many aspects of bird migration. This film unravels exactly none of them. Rather, in some of the most remarkable footage you'll ever see, the film lets you look over the shoulders of migrating birds. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Leaves you in a state of stunned, exhilarated awe, both for what it shows and how it shows it. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The results require immense patience but also reward it immensely. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Breathtaking. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The result is a movie miracle; it soars. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Somewhat marred by Bruno Coulais' treacly New Age score -- as well as by Perrin's somewhat daft and repetitive narration. But the key word is "somewhat." In the main, Winged Migration is an unforgettable piece of moviemaking. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Mesmerizing. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Absolutely breathtaking documentary whose close-up shots of birds in flight are so freakishly intimate that the film is compelled to open with the statement they're not special effects. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverAndy Klein
The fractured structure, which moves from one species to another while following a generally chronological overall arc, can occasionally leave your mind to wandering, but for a film with no plot or characters to focus on it is remarkably gripping. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
At its best, Winged Migration is a marvel, and if that seems like a gee-whiz word, that's because this film has a lot to be gee-whiz about. Read full review
80
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
The score is appropriately ethereal. From the Paris skyline to the Great Wall of China, the film's locales on every continent are rarely less than breathtaking. Calling the camerawork stunning, of course, is an understatement. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyJohn Powers
Astonishing both for the beauty of the birds and for its sheer technical brilliance. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The results are exhilarating, thrilling, and extend the wingspan. Read full review
75
New York PostMegan Lehmann
A thrillingly vicarious experience that answers a primal urge to join our feathered friends as they soar and glide in the blue beyond. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
If it were any more real - if it were Imax, say -- the audience would be molting. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Jacques Perrin's Oscar-nominated Winged Migration does for birds what the 1996 documentary "Microcosmos" did for insects: It looks at them intimately, very close up, in shots that seem impossible to explain. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
It may sound facetious, but Winged Migration provides such an intense vicarious experience of being a flapping airborne creature with the wind in its ears that you leave the theater feeling like an honorary member of another species. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Jacques Perrin's Winged Migration is merely about birds, and though you learn less about the various species Perrin circled the globe to document than you might from an afternoon with Animal Planet, you become intensely chummy with the process and labor of flying. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Parts of this film are as blandly lulling as a mood tape, but at best it’s a literally soaring experience. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
As moving wallpaper, Winged Migration is the cat’s meow: One almost wishes the wondrous images had been filmed in the even bigger IMAX format. But as an informative documentary, Winged Migration’s birdbrain comes to the fore. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Makes a case that despite human inability to empathize with the emotional lives of other animals and creatures and to believe they are here only to serve our needs and convenience, birds are as capable of courage, violence, affection and commitment to family as we are. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Settles into pleasant monotony and repetition, without any narrative arc or purpose. Seasoned bird-watchers, however, may find that the sensory overload leaves them close to spiritual nirvana. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
As gorgeous as it is to watch, Winged Migration suffers from a lack of organization. Read full review
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