Customer Reviews

Coral Reef Adventure [HD DVD]

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I didn't know what to expect from this film that I saw at an IMAX Theater but I knew I had to see it. I'm a scuba diving enthusiast and I love coral reefs. Coral Reef Adventure is an eco tour of reefs and the dangers that exist for this delicate ecosystem. We follow Howard and Michele Hall, underwater photographers and authors, in their study of coral reefs to help Rusi Vulakoro, a diver in Fiji, to discover the cause of a dying reef.

Much of the underwater footage is from the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, and French Polynesia. To say the images are breath taking is an understatement. Watching this film just re-enforced why I love to dive. I love the sea and all its wonder. At the end of the film a small child sitting in front of me told his parents that's what he wanted to do when he grows up, that is dive for a living. I love that so I told his parents about my dive club that teaches diving and has a program for children to play in to pool with dive equipment. There is nothing like seeing a wee one learning to dive.

As for the diving, it was exciting. The divers in this film are experienced professional divers and therefore they dive to depths all recreational divers should stay clear of. In the film you'll see depths of 350 and get a real feel for the wonder of scuba diving. Also, there was a guest appearance by Jean-Michele Cousteau; son of famed Jacque Cousteau, father of scuba diving. I also took a good look of the equipment that was used and was amazed at the use of re-breathers. I want a re-breather now.

Anyway, you'll see lots of coral, fish, manta rays, gray sharks, drift diving, incredible depths, and beautiful scenery. The film was incredibly educational and made me think of all the adventure I am missing. This is another film to spark your wonder lust for adventure and instill a respect for nature.

girldiver:)
"When diving with sharks during mating season try not to look like a shark"

If you own a high end HTPC (home theater personal computer), and a HD capable display, you owe it to yourself to buy this movie. Simply put, the Microsoft WMV transfer in high definition (both 720p and 1080p) is the best image I have ever seen on our home theater's very expensive projection system($30k JVC Lcos system).

There are some downsides....

1) Requires a very beefy computer. 3.0 Ghz is recommended by Microsoft, although some are getting away with lower powered machines by using the lower-quality 720p verion

2) Proprietary audio codec requires you to have the computer decode the audio, and send it to your amplifier via analog cables. There is no DTS or DD track on the HD version.

3) DRM - You have a choice of one video player, Windows Media 9. The movie has digial rights management on it, which can only be viewed by a Microsoft player. While this implementation is much better than the T2 high definition release (which required you to have an internet connection to get authorization), it's still a bit limiting.

Despite the problems, This is right up there with the best film based HDTV content I have viewed from HDnet or HD HBO.

BUY IT NOW!!!

I wish I had read a more critical review before purchasing this DVD, so here's mine:

Beautiful photography and wish I'd seen it in an IMAX theatre. As this is supposed to be a film about CORAL REEFS, however, you'd expect that alot of it would take place UNDERWATER..... It doesn't. .... Too much coverage of "human drama", with an islander's disappointment in the dying reef near his island, one of the diver's brush with the bends (but you know it will all be wrapped-up in a happy ending, right?), and photographers flying and boating around tropical islands. Personally, I had been looking for more photography and more real information on coral reefs --fascinating beautiful creatures with plenty of interesting drama on their own.

Soundtrack features great music, but the editing of which makes viewing the film quite annoying. You're listening carefully to Liam's relaxing voice and all-too-brief interesting commentary on the subject matter and then BOOM!, your hit with CSN at a volume that has you scrambling for the remote to turn it down three notches.

Overall, its a film that wants to be everything for all interests. Sure ! ...In 45 minutes?

I may be a bit biased- as I have dived all the reefs shown in this movie, and have enjoyed diving in Fiji with Rusi Vulakoro, focus of the film (and dove with Rusi again for two weeks in November 2003, for the last time, as he has now retired.) The footage is superb- showing Australia's enormous Great Barrier Reef, French Polynesia's Rangiroa Atoll (with a huge school of about 300 grey whalers / grey reef sharks) and lots of Fiji's world-class reefs- from its spectacular soft corals to the eutrophication of a once-vital reef just offshore to one of Fiji's islands. One even sees how the huge IMAX camera is maneuvered in "Rangi's" stiff currents, as well as in 107 meters / 350 feet of depth as cinematographer Howard Hall and scientist Richard Pyle discover fish completely new to science, using CIS Lunar Mark 4-P rebreathers.

The sound track is excellent, the footage outstanding, and the explanation of why coral reefs are failing, while basic, is quite accurate: overfishing of reef inhabitants, silt from logging and development, and waters warmed by the global warming some still deny and the El Ni?o / Southern Oscillation phenomenon.

Unfortunately gone missing in the simplification are fishing for aquarium specimens and food fish with cyanide, dynamite fishing, coral removal for various commercial schemes, and inflow of insecticides and fertilizers, as on barrier reefs off Australia and Central America. And some explanations and scenes are, shall we say, a little bit "embellished" up for effect... but in the end, this is an awesome movie. Divers will love it, those who do not dive will begin to get an idea of why we who do actually dive and travel to such wonderful places. Those concerned about reefs' well-being will be gratified there is some information how people can help conserve reefs, with some prominent mention being given to NGO Reef Check and its activities involving sport divers.

If you enjoy underwater film, this is a "MUST SEE". A very good supporting book (Living Mirrors: A Coral Reef Adventure, by Jack Stephens, Umbrage Editions, ISBN 1-8844167-26-8) is available, and Coral Reef Adventure is also available in VHS and DVD editions; I bought the DVD, and it's nice to still be able to see Rusi diving and all Fiji's underwater denizens, even when I am at home.

All I can say is WOW! What an incredible film. MacGillivray films has mastered the art of using the IMAX camera to capture amazing footage and now has mastered the ability to use the WMVHD format to bring their films new lives on HI-DEF screens in your home. The clarity and color are simply top notch not to mention the teriffic music. The colorful reef footage is exquisite and the footage of the dead reef saddened me beyond words. If you are a fan of brilliant underwater photography, this DVD is definitely for you.

And now, my soapbox moment:
There are a few people who have written negative reviews here, but they are disappointed Mac users whose operating system provider hasn't brought a portable Hi-Def format to market. (Get over it or buy a PC.) If you have a suitable Windows XP-based computer connected to your Hi-Def TV, you won't find any better imagery to have playing at a party than the MacGillivray films. I own "Coral Reef Adventure" and "The Living Sea" and will definitely be ordering more of their titles soon.

I also use this film for demonstration when my friends ask me about the differences between Standard-Def TV and Hi-Def. Since this set comes with both formats, I am able to switch from my Windows XP machine to my Set top DVD player quickly for comparison.

WMVHD may only be an interim step in the evolution of portable Hi-Def for consumer use, but the software to play it is free, the DVD's aren't any more expensive and if you have an HDV Camcorder, you can even make your own WMVHD discs at home for free. All the software required comes with Windows Media Player 10. (The first WMVHD enabled set top DVD players are due out on the market this year too.)

Unlike the last reviewer, I found the information presented in this IMAX powerful. What more proof does one need, that the oceans are DYING? It is also a feast for the eyes as well. The filming/ photography is magnificient. The ocean is the next wild frontier, and we need to learn more about it and appreciate it, before it is completely ruined. The film focused on a couple whose love of marine life takes them on a journey from Fiji to the Coral Reefs of Australia. It was informative, interesting, and overall a very beautiful. I would suggest seeing at the IMAX theatre, if possible.
Also, the soundtrack makes this film move right along with songs from Crosby, Stills, and Nash. The songs fit the footage perfectly ( which you may be surprised about !)

Enjoy!

This one is one of the rarest Imax movies in which information is equally well combined with the videography. The basic advantage and thus the drawback with the Imax People is that they are too good at videography thus being less informative in so many of their movies. Their primary focus is always on visuals and not on informations and facts. But this one is exceptionally well done with the very best knowledge available about the Coral Reefs as to how they form, where in the world are best coral reefs located and what are the causes of their decay and somehow how can they be saved. Equally well supported by stunning visuals as always being the highlight of Imax Videos. All in all a great movie for sealife lovers.

I bought this DVD only for the eye candy WMVHD version...and I wasn't disappointed. The video quality is simply spectacular !

My girlfriend and I recently recieved our Open Water Diver certification and in doing so, wanted to watch some films that would expose us to dive sites we could potentially visit outside of the US. This film provides some amazing footage of Australia and Fiji, and also gives some valuable insight into how current global conditions are affecting the world's coral reefs.
I'd highly recommend this film for anyone interested in marine life and reef ecosystems.

Even if you aren't taken with underwater nature shows, this movie will probably grab you. The visuals are stunning, the message is clear, and the sound effects are well placed.

I haven't had the chance to watch the HD version yet, but even still the "plain" DVD has better resolution and sound quality than most commercially available DVDs.

The only thing that could make this disk better is if it were available in 3D!!!