Documentary about combat pigeons, starring 103-year-old pigeoneer

[Video Link] Col. Clifford Poutre - my new ShorDurPerSav. The film, The Pigeoneers, opens June 8.

In this debut film, director Alessandro Croseri delivers a stunningly beautiful ode to combat pigeons and their pigeoneers. The documentary follows Col. Clifford Poutre at age 103 during the final year of his life and examines his innovations in the training of homing pigeons for combat missions during World War II.

Drawing on a rich array of archival footage, the film tells the story of Poutre's thirty-one years of military service as former Chief Pigeoneer of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, his successful rejection of "starvation" methods of training in favor of a system defined by kindness and care, his pigeons' remarkable feats both in combat and in civilian races, and his notable friendships with the likes of Nikola Tesla, himself an impassioned pigeon handler in the later years of his life.

Through a collection of intimate interviews and black and white photography set to the nostalgic tunes of Glenn Miller, The Pigeoneers serves up a one-of-a-kind tribute and heartfelt exploration of the complex, interdependent relationships between humans and the birds we so often overlook.

This makes me want to raise homer pigeons!

The Pigeoneers (Thanks, Jon!)

• [mat catastrophe]

  When will we stop glorifying the use of pigeons as engines of war?

  • [Mark_Frauenfelder]

    Here you go.

    • [mat catastrophe]

      Aww! That’s sweet!

      Disturbing………

      But sweet.

• [AwesomeRobot]

  Homer pigeons? doh!

• [jasg49]

  ‘pigeoneer’? Private Plumpick called himself an ‘Ornithological Specialist’.

• [SmokingHeartDesigns]

  Bird is the word!

  • [Ant]

    o/~ A-well-a everybody’s heard about the bird
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    A-well-a everybody’s heard about the bird Bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a don’t you know about the bird? Well, everybody’s talking about the bird! A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A-well-a bird…
    Surfin’ bird Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb… [retching noises]… aaah!
    Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa- Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow
    Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-oom-oom-oom Oom-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-a-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow Papa-oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow Well don’t you know about the bird? Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word! A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
    Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow [repeat to fade] o/~

• [BarBarSeven]

  Beautiful.

• [hutchfx]

  “We didn’t receive any messages, and Captain Blackadder definitely did not shoot this delicious plump-breasted pigeon!”