Product Details

• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• DVD Release Date: July 14, 2009
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001Y7CWIG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,035 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The great white shark: an animal of myths and legend. All the earth’s oceans are home to these fearsome predators, yet the movements of these intriguing beasts have remained largely an enigma … until now. Now, National Geographic journeys on a deep-sea expedition with world-renowned shark experts Michael Scholl and Ramon Bonfil as they tag a 12-foot great white they call Nicole—named for shark-lover and actress Nicole Kidman. Nicole is a lone female who takes them on an epic journey across an ocean seething with threats to her survival. Driven by overpowering natural instincts, Nicole navigates icy cold waters, dives to unfathomable depths, battles hunger and fatigue, outsmarts some of the ocean’s most lethal inhabitants and ultimately travels 6,000 nautical miles in 99 days, the fastest trans-oceanic migration recorded for any fish. Experience her world up close through her eyes and senses—a world full of wonder, mystery and danger.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So much from so little..., November 13, 2009

By 

Charles G. Johnson "chizzzz" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Great White Odyssey [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This is a Disney-like 'documentary' from the NG Channel, in which a cute, nubile female shark named 'Nicole' exhibits rogue behavior in the seas of South Africa, and is tagged by her jealous, scientific admirer who wants to know why she leaves him for 6 months a year.

I must admit, I was 'hooked' when I saw the footage that suggests that Nicole was letting herself be 'petted' by her hunky scientist, maybe a trick of the cameras. But, as the video progressed, it was clear that the cameramen had only filmed Nicole in the water before and during her tagging (as well as a bit upon her return), and, through the editing process, sought to create the impression that they followed her on her migratory journey. What ensues is an embarrassing assortment of CGI recreations of bioluminescent creatures and stock footage of humpback whales, all designed to give color to Nicole's journey to the Australian continent. The cameras didn't follow her, and they weren't there when she arrived. (No shot of her shows the tag after the start of the journey.) And, as also 'filmed', the tag just ejects itself from her body, the cause of which is not questioned. The scientists just seem to accept it as standard...

Drama above all! There are questions as to why she dives so deep at a certain point, and why she heads to Australia, but these go unanswered. (Sex with better-gened partners is suggested as a possible motivator for the migration.) We also get some stock footage of Nicole's stand-in eating a seal and a duck, and are shown the dangers for a top-of-the-food-chain-predator in the unprotected waters outside of South Africa, the greatest of which is the threat of becoming soup for the Asian shark fin hunters (truly the scum of the earth).

I was so relieved (really!) to know that Nicole returned to her SA waters that summer, after the Australian migration. But then the narrator, as well as Nicole's admirer proceed to tell us, matter-of-factly, that she was never spotted again afterwards. For me it was like Bambi's mother and Old Yeller and Thomasina all combined! Nicole, are you still with us?

4.0 out of 5 stars The Oceanic Pilgrimage!, August 31, 2011

By 

anonymous caller - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great White Odyssey [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I enjoyed this documentary and I wish their were more series like this out there. I don't believe it's a good idea to give a totally wild shark a name like Nicole, because it was not a personal pet. That's one of the few negatives, I can think of about this movie. This documentary also shows the other negative cruel inhuman treatment of sharks, with shark fin hunters that catch sharks to remove the fins, and throw about 95% of the dying, struggling, fish body back into the ocean to drown.

At times I also knew they used a second shark, because the white marking on the underbelly of the sharks were different if you did not pay close attention. I have always liked the Great white shark, because of their famously cute teethy grin. This movie is a good family adventure, and education. Since the movie Jaws aired in 1975 Sharks have been even a bad rap, to create fear, and a justification to indiscriminately kill them.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Journey of "Nicole", August 27, 2010

By 

Sharklady (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great White Odyssey [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This is a great DVD -- it's the journey of "Nicole," a great white shark in Australia. It's a wonderful and beautiful tale, well made, and the viewer will definitely enjoy it. I recommend it to any shark, aquatic or nature lover.