Cry of the Penguins (1971)

See it for the beautiful Hayley Mills and the penguins - all in all, not bad for $1

I agree that the first 30 minutes are fairly forgettable except for the very English loveliness of Hayley Mills. For one thing, although John Hurt gives a great performance, no one could ever buy that someone who looks like him, even a young John Hurt, could be a womanizer - except for the fact that in this film, his character apparently has lots of money left to him by his aunt.

I would not call this much of a SPOILER, so I'll continue on to say that it was rather ridiculous that a blizzard blew out a window in the Shackleton Shack only after Forbish arrives - a structure that supposedly had survived (as of the time of the filming in 1971) some 50-plus years in Antarctica.

I bought this in Wal-Mart for $1 and it was worth it for the penguin photography and behavior, as well as the realistic cruelty of nature they must endure. January 3, 2008

Like a prequel to March of the Penguins, but with an added love story

First of all, let me say that before I started watching this, I had no idea that it was made in the 70s. I just knew that it was about penguins.

Along the lines of March of the Penguins, except with Adelie penguins instead of Emperor penguins, this film documents the life of penguins. It does not go into too much detail scientifically, and it does not really explain things from a penguin's perspective. Instead, the viewer gets the perspective from a person studying the penguins.

Overall, I thought this film was great, with a great message. A man whose motivation for going to Antarctica is to impress a girl ends up having a more compassionate outlook on life after he spends time with the penguins and begins to truly care about them. Towards the end of the film, there is even a hint of realization that humans take whatever they want from other species with no excuse. Of course, the main character gets the girl in the end, but she also realizes that there is more to life than the human realm.

The reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 is for the horrible quality of the film (even on DVD) and for the slow story line in the first portion of the film, before John Hurt's character arrives in Antarctica. November 29, 2006

Penguins are not a new interest of filmgoers

Hayley Mills' character is the impetus for John Hurt's character to go to the Antarctic, but she has little screen time compared to the wonderful creatures that are the centerpiece of this film. Beautiful photography (Arne Sucksdorff, Dir. of Photography)highlights Mr. Hurt's struggles with nature. While a bit dated in the bits in London, Nature is never dated and the increasing empathy between the scientist and his subjects is touching and heart-warming. Some of the scenes are not for small children or even some large ones, but the film is a treasure.-+ March 22, 2006

This film could change your life

An ambitious claim for a film? - let me explain...

When I was 13 or 14, sometime many years ago, I was off school laying on the sofa with some real or imagined illness. In the afternoon, this film came on the tv. I thought - Wow that looks great I'd like to go to Antarctica!

So when I grew up I did - as a marine biologist. If I hadn't then my life would have taken a different path - so "This film could change your life" - it did mine.

3 stars, because it's not really that great as films go, but I am glad I saw it that afternoon in the 70's. December 9, 2005

One of the odder films

This film is the only English language film made by a Norwegian(?) director and easily qualifies as being one of the strangest most patchy films I have ever seen.

The story is simple enough. John Hurt playes Forbrush, a spoilt rich post graduate student who is supposed to be studying biology at the University of London. He is very good in his chosen field, but is largely wasting his time drinking and chasing women. He decides that he wants to impress Hayley Mills, and semi- accidentally gets signed up for a 6 month tour studying penguins on his own in Antarctica. Once there, his loneliness drives him half mad, and he becomes paternally attached to the penguins he is supposed to be studying. In the course of the six months he grows up and becomes an adult as opposed to the fop that he was

The first half hour of the film is almost excrutiating. John Hurt wades through an appalling script (by none other than Anthony Shaffer) and does his best to be drunk and fey and enamoured by Hayley Mills. This part of the the film resembles an Ealing Comedy forged by a drunk Estonian. Once the story arrives in Antarctica, things pick up. Hurt's acting improves markedly, and the penguins start trying to steal the show. There is a heavy duty snowstorm, heaps of literally astonishing scenery, and Hurt starts chewing the scenery as he goes mad.

The main thing wrong with this film is the script. The dialogue is frequently stilted and shows a poor understanding of motivation and character. (Particularly in the earlier scenes). To make matters worse, the direction is thoroughly uninspired. The odd thing though, is that the spirit of the film shines through these mechanics. This was a film made in hardship, and made with love. You CARE for Hurt as he grows up, you can see why he becomes attached to the penguins, why he hates the Skuas, and how his time alone and his hardship makes him grow into a far improved version of his earlier self.

While it is far from being the best made film that you will ever see, I think that this film's spirit will live with you for a long time. Anyone who has ever needed adventure in their life, will understand and probably love the journey that this film delivers.

The DVD master is appalling. There are almost random changes in aspect ratio, from 1.85.1 (occasionally) through to the standard 4.3 fullscreen. There are frequent major distrubances in the image, partly caused by bad storage of the original film, and partly by what looks like a semi-broken telecine machine.

That said, I am glad I own this one. It makes me feel happy to watch it and it makes me think. While it is a curiosity its' whole adds up to far more than the sum of its parts.

...And it is definitely one of the oddest films ever made. March 27, 2002

More reviews at Amazon.com ...