MicroCosmos

UPC: 786936233124

Studio: Miramax

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Excellent For Children]

Summary: Utilizing special macroscopic photographic techniques, filmmakers Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou created this fascinating and visually spectacular look at the hidden worlds in the life cycle of an ordinary meadow in France. When seen through the lens of Nuridsany and Perennou's cameras, insects become gigantic beasts, blades of grass turn into towering monuments, and raindrops form puddles that resemble vast oceans. The filmmakers find humor, drama, and beauty in the lives of these tiny flora and fauna as caterpillars transform themselves into butterflies, beetles struggle with their day's foraging, and snails reproduce their species. Microcosmos was a multiple prize winner at the 1996 French Academy of Cinema Awards; the American release version features narration by actress Kristin Scott Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Nature [nf]

Awards: Best French Film – French Academy of Cinema Best Cinematography – French Academy of Cinema Best Cinematography – French Academy of Cinema Best Cinematography – French Academy of Cinema Best Cinematography – French Academy of Cinema Best Music – French Academy of Cinema Best Sound – French Academy of Cinema Best Sound – French Academy of Cinema Best Editing – French Academy of Cinema Best Editing – French Academy of Cinema Grand Technical Prize – Cannes Film Festival Grand Technical Prize – Cannes Film Festival Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Film Presented – Silverdocs Film Festival

Features: cc[None specified]

MicroCosmos

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/03/2005

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 75 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. A Meadow, Early Morning [11:05]
2. The Ladybug's Adventures [4:33]
3. Love, Birth and Death [4:52]
4. Caravan Across Parched Earth [5:01]
5. Work [11:17]
6. On the Waterfront [6:42]
7. Stormy Weather [4:55]
8. After the Storm [3:33]
9. The Beautiful and the Deadly [4:09]
10. A Duel [5:33]
11. Afternoon to Night [6:51]
12. New Day/End Credits [6:49]

Derek Armstrong

Microcosmos is light years beyond mere insect documentary, envisioning the daily existence of these tiny creatures as the stuff of full-blown opera. The unprecedented close-ups transform the mundane into the epic; the audience practically cheers after a scarab beetle succeeds at pushing his ball of dung up a hill, and swoons watching two snails entwined in a loving embrace. The augmentation of sounds also has visceral impact, as a pheasant picks off ants with the repetitive boom of a staple gun striking the earth. Intensifying this visual and aural odyssey is a gripping score, as well as narration (by Kristin Scott Thomas in the English version) that's both refreshingly scant and elegantly poetic. Because they mean this as breathtaking visual stimulus rather than teaching tool, directors Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou don't need to clog up the wonder with needless exposition. That raindrops are like traumatic bomb strikes to these tiny creatures is obvious; no disembodied egghead needs to spell things out. The viewer will simply gape at the grand dramas that unfold, prompting them to wonder just how many hours of footage the directors shot before mounting this compilation of elegiac moments. It's a truly groundbreaking technical achievement. Since it doesn't take much to get them interested in creepy-crawlies to begin with, children should love Microcosmos, even if its ambitions are artsier than they can comprehend. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Florence Ricard  Actor 
Claude Nuridsany  Actor 
Kristin Scott Thomas  Actor 
Marie-Josephe Yoyotte  Actor 
Marie Perennou  Actor 
Bruno Coulais  Composer (Music Score) 
Jacques Perrin  Producer 
Michel Faure  Executive Producer 
Christophe Barratier  Producer 
Philippe Gautier  Executive Producer 
Patrick Lancelot  Executive Producer 
Andre Lazare  Executive Producer 
Yvette Mallet  Producer 
Claude Nuridsany  Director 
Marie Perennou  Director 

Country: France,Italy,Switzerland