Customer Reviews

Jacques Cousteau - Pacific Explorations

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

These are some of Cousteau's best programs, part of his, "Rediscovery of the World," which was broadcast on TBS in the late '80s and early '90s (environmentally aware Ted Turner reportedly made sure they made it on the air.)

Five programs explore Australia: Fortunes in the Sea (about the Northwest coast); The Last Barrier; Out West Down Under; Tasmania; and Continent of Dreams (covering Kakadu National Park, Kangaroo Island, and Aboriginal deserts).

Three are set in New Zealand: The Rose and the Dragon looks at the contrasts of the North & South islands; The Heron of the Single Flight is about the conflict between commerce on the one side, and Nature & the Maori on the other; while The Smoldering Sea is Cousteau's attempt to understand a major earthquake.

The last three programs are an especially fascinating exploration of Papua New Guinea: Into the Time Machine retraces the 1930 discovery of a civilisation of more than a million people that had never been seen before that moment; River of the Crocodile Men is a journey up the Sepik River; and The Center of Fire explores the depths of World War 2 wrecks.

These programs are wonderful. The lone caveat: the set is incomplete. Two amazing programs about Borneo, and one about Tahiti could have been included without adding more discs.

I loved Jacques Cousteau when I was kid. Ultimately, it was probably these television shows that prompted me to become a diver. This collection of his television shows, produced with his son Jean-Michel, are in excellent condition (much better than the Jacques Cousteau Odyssey DVD set). I understand that there are a few titles missing from the set, which I think is a shame. These remain some of the most fascinating and beautiful underwater documentaries of all time. This is a great series to watch as a family.

I enjoyed this series immensely and was reminded of the reasons I began diving in the first place. The video quality is exactly what I would expect from footage shot 25-30 years ago, a bit grainy with some color shift but that never interferes with the content or becomes a detraction to the program's continuity.

If your old enough to remember the pre-cable made-for-TV documentaries (before "extreme", "mega" or "ultimate" had to be in every title), this DVD set will bring back some nice memories of the men in red hats and Speedos while providing insight to some exotic places above and below the water. And if you have never seen a Cousteau special, this series may give an interesting look back to the earlier efforts of documenting our planet, protecting its inhabitants and environments (and how things have changed).

This set is informative and relaxing to watch. I love natural movies and this is a great set to add to your collection. I would recommend this to anyone who is familiar with Jacques Cousteau. I love to crochet and this is going to be a great set to watch over and over again while I create.

Jacques Cousteau like many French artists is enraptured by life and his specific passion of Undersea Exploration. Men of such caliber are rare in our modern world, and under-appreciated. Jacques takes us through some great exploration footage, montaged with his own poetic musings about life and his work. You won't find massive big budget shots here, though there is some spectacular footage on hand, these movies are done by a small group of passionate explorers and filmmakers for the love for their work... it's like reading an old novel, how it grips one with a longing for exploration, and how we wish we could be alongside the heroes of the story as they travel.

Jacques Cousteau is the greatest marine biologist so far and his films are beyond wonderful. I bought the Odyssey DVD set and I believe this one is better but both are amazing. I highly recommend them to anyone who is interested in Marine Biology or Underwater nature shows.

take trip to the past and the man who opened the life under the sea to everyone.

I have a soft spot for Jacques Cousteau. These documentaries are definitely worth while, though there's 2 things I don't understand:
1. Why are they mostly around Australia when the collection is called Pacific Adventures? (If Jacques Cousteau were playing Risk, he wouldn't have a very good strategy. haha)
2. Why is this DVD like $20 cheaper than the other two collections? They're all equally good.

First off, Those who wrote reviews expecting to see HD or LCD quality in these videos, gimme a break please!! These are just how I remember watching them on TV every weekend when I was a kid. Juaques Cousteau is and will forever be the king of the oceans and seas. I loved watching these videos, took me back in time. I did NOT expect to see fully remastered picture quality....There's no such advertisement nor do they mislead anyone into thinking otherwise. So if you're a pampered baby and must have HD quality without whining then don't buy these videos, but if you can overlook that and have a lust for marine biology and oceanography then these are for you.

I used to watch Jacques Cousteau documentaries on TV as a kid. I'm lately looking for stuff my kids might enjoy watching.

First of all, I have a great deal of respect for Cousteau as a scientist, inventor, and pioneering documentarian.

That said, there is so much less nature in these shows than I remembered. A Jaques Cousteau documentary spends a lot of time above water. A lot more mundane running-a-ship business than you probably want to pay good money to be watching.

Endless footage of the crew hanging around, shaving, eating, putting away equipment, joking and laughing in French, waking up and putting boots on. Really uninteresting scenes of Cousteau speaking in French to someone other scientist and pointing at charts and ship's logs, and you can't hear what they're saying, because an English speaking narrator is narrating over it; not that you'd enjoy listening to a mundane conversation about charts and log books and engine problems, or whatever they are talking about.

These shows could never make it on television today, because there is always something less boring than this, even if you have to click it over to the shopping channel.

I hate having spent about thirty bucks on this, and my four-year-old daughter I bought it for hates it too.

Get the Wild Kingdom Definitive 50-Episode DVD Set if you want lots of animals and very little boring logistics. It's a blast from the past you can't help but love.

Cousteau's documentaries are just plain dull.