A brief documentary about the tiny island of Grassholm. Just off the coast of Wales, this is a popular location for the breeding of gannets. Thousands of them perch on the precarious rocks nesting in pairs before heading to sea - dive bombing the fish with speed generated by their six foot wingspan. There's some ceremonial "billing" - the mated pairs showing their affection, before they prepare for combat with some marauding seagulls who want not just their eggs, but also their regurgitated food too! It's a bit over-scored, but the informative narrative tells us plenty about the 6 week gestation period for these birds that only lay one egg per year, but may live for up to fifty years. Assuming these tiny and vulnerable chicks survive at all then they must learn to fly, to feed and the photography here captures their story quite actively and engagingly. Just a shame we have no natural sound.
2 Reviews
Holds up remarkably well after roughly 80 years.
llltdesq20 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This live action short won the Academy Award for Short Subject, One-Reel. There will be spoilers ahead:
This short was shot in 1934 and was directed by Julian Huxley (brother of Aldous Huxley). It's a remarkable piece of work, being one of the first, if not the first, wildlife documentaries. Making use of time-lapse photography to show the hatching of an egg and the subsequent growth and development of a gannet chick is just one of the fascinating things about this short.
This short starts with a short description of the gannets found nesting on a small island off the coast of Wales (Greenholm) and then shows a large grouping of gannets on the island. It shows them trying to fend off seagulls, the primary threat to the colony, it shows pairs in bonding rituals and gives a thorough description of the physical characteristics of gannet, with a focus on adaptations to their survival and way of life.
After showing the hatching of a chick and its growth, its subsequent need to fend for itself after four months and its departure for "bachelor island", the audience is treated to footage of the gannets as they feed on fish. Their various diving techniques and the reasons behind them are described and the footage is remarkable.
This short deservedly won an Academy Award in its year of eligibility (1937) and deserves to be widely seen. Most recommended.
This short was shot in 1934 and was directed by Julian Huxley (brother of Aldous Huxley). It's a remarkable piece of work, being one of the first, if not the first, wildlife documentaries. Making use of time-lapse photography to show the hatching of an egg and the subsequent growth and development of a gannet chick is just one of the fascinating things about this short.
This short starts with a short description of the gannets found nesting on a small island off the coast of Wales (Greenholm) and then shows a large grouping of gannets on the island. It shows them trying to fend off seagulls, the primary threat to the colony, it shows pairs in bonding rituals and gives a thorough description of the physical characteristics of gannet, with a focus on adaptations to their survival and way of life.
After showing the hatching of a chick and its growth, its subsequent need to fend for itself after four months and its departure for "bachelor island", the audience is treated to footage of the gannets as they feed on fish. Their various diving techniques and the reasons behind them are described and the footage is remarkable.
This short deservedly won an Academy Award in its year of eligibility (1937) and deserves to be widely seen. Most recommended.
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