Nature: Raptor Force
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Liev SchreiberDVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 56 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Questar
Movie Reviews of Nature: Raptor Force
Movie Review: Powerful study of powerful birds
Summary: 5 Stars
From the first time that a human watched a bird fly overhead, I think the thought has been there, "I want to do that!" Eventually, balloons, dirigibles, gliders, hang-gliders, airplanes, and helicopters were invented. We still have a long way to go, though. This documentary does an excellent job of chronicling humanity's recent efforts to emulate the fiercest of birds, the raptors, in their mastery of the air.
Specifically, this video focus on how scientists study the flight of raptors to find ways to improve military fighter-planes. The birds studied include the harpy eagle, the owl, the vulture, goshawks, and falcons. The peregrine falcon gets the most attention, and I will detail that below.
The aspects of the raptors that are studied include the near-silent flight of owls (that could help improve stealth technology), the ways that owls have enhanced hearing, the ability of the very large harpy eagle to fly through a dense forest (that could teach us about improving the maneuverability of our planes through dynamic wing-shape changes during flight), and the incredible soaring efficiency of vultures. Regarding the soaring of vultures, the documentary discusses a theory of how vultures actually accelerate while gliding, using air currents in very specific ways. At face value, this theory does not sound credible, but then the scientists demonstrate it with a glider, and the acceleration is not only measurable but clearly, and astoundingly, obvious, during the demonstration.
But it is the peregrine falcon that gets the most attention, and why not? Peregrines can fly faster than any other bird, sometimes exceeding two hundred mile per hour during stoops, or downward dives while hunting prey. During these stoops, the falcon experiences G-forces, or body pressure caused by acceleration and speed, in excess of anything humans can survive. Yet, at those tremendous speeds, and under that incredible pressure, the peregrine can plummet down onto a target as small as a pigeon, with almost no room for error. If the falcon misses the target, at that speed, a collision with the ground becomes a real risk.
How did the scientists study the flight of these falcons? They designed a tiny camera and mounted it just behind the bird's head. While watching this video, you get to see the final result: as the peregrine stoops down, in a complex spiral pattern, tiny feather adjustments give it the accuracy it needs, and we get a "bird's eye" of the falcon targeting in on its prey, from hundreds of feet up, as it hurdles down onto the bird that never knows the falcon exists, until it is too late. The video quality of even this experimental, one-of-a-kind video, is very good. The clarity is such that it might cause those, who are prone to vertigo, a moment of uneasiness.
When I watched Nature: Dogs That Changed the World, I was very impressed with the thorough presentation and the way the information was presented. Raptor Force is another in the Nature series, and it was just as well-done and fascinating. The camera-work and the narrative were paired perfectly, to give a very professional study of these birds. The computerized graphics, used to explains the physical and physiological aspects of raptors and their hunting, added much to the narrative. While a few of the sequences were not easy to watch, as the raptors fulfill their role in the chain of life, as a predator near the apex, I learned much about these magnificent birds and their sometimes stunning abilities related to flight. There is a peregrine that occasionally visits our neighborhood, plus a pair nesting in a skyscraper near where I work, and I have always admire their fierce beauty and unparalleled skill.
Summary of Nature: Raptor Force
Experience what it's like to fly with nature's deadly aces! Birds of prey--raptors--remain the envy of every human air force. Their targeting skills, cunning battle tactics and nimbleness on the wing are unmatched by any machine. Now, revolutionary tiny cameras designed by engineer and falconer Rob MacIntyre allow you to take off with the biggest, fastest, and deadliest things on wings! Learn the secrets of nature's aerial killing machines. Stunning aerial footage and computer graphics demonstrate how raptors's tricks and tactics have inspired engineers to devise fighter jets with unprecedented maneuverability and stealth. Liev Schreiber narrates.Documentary DVD Video
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