Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MIND-BLOWING, August 4, 2000
This review is from: The Living Sea (Large Format) (DVD)
I've only ever seen 3 IMAX films and this is one of them. I was totally blown away by the incredible sound and photography. I had to study every shot because there is so much in it. It's not actually a movie like other IMAX films (such as Across the Sea of Time and T-Rex) but more of a documentary about how we are all islanders and how we live because the sea lives. It was surprisingly effective in this sense. My fave part was the discovery of the new underwater fish and the fish that had, what looked like, thousands of little lights flashing on and off. A scene with a boat fighting waves and crashing back down onto the sea was better than anything in The Perfect Storm. The sound in this particular scene is IN-CRED-IBLE. Whenever you pass by an IMAX check to see whether or not they are showing this masterpiece. You'll love it. The DVD is in DTS/Dolby 5.1 and is in fullscreen
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"the cradle of life", June 27, 2003
This is an educational film which also has hypnotically beautiful visuals and a lovely score put together by composer Steve Wood that includes a lot of music and vocals by Sting, as well as having Meryl Streep give us a stream of information in her well-spoken narration. It documents the sea and its creatures, and also how people connect with it, either for pleasure, commerce, or survival. We get to see the Coast Guard boat traveling through 15 foot waves, some outstanding surfing footage, and how the inhabitants of the West Pacific island of Palau interact and respect the water that surrounds them. One one level one can use this film to learn some facts about the ocean, and on another, one can sit back and enjoy the wonderful cinematography. Fascinating parts include the jellyfish in Palau, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute showing us a Siphonophore, which is about half the size of a football field, and visible through their underwater probe, and of course, the whales ! The film is 40 minutes long, and the video contains a 27 minute "Making of" documentary, which has interviews with Producer/Director Greg MacGillivray, among others, like photographer Howard Hall describing the difficulty of filming in water.
I found this documentary particularly interesting, and think it deserves 5 stars, because it gave me knowledge I did not have before, and the filmmakers made some painstaking efforts to bring it to us, like the timelapse photography of the tides. It was nominated for a 1995 Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award, and seeing it is definitely time well spent.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Images & Sound, August 2, 2000
This review is from: The Living Sea (Large Format) (DVD)
One of the best IMAX videos available. Great visuals. Great sound (thank you Sting). If you're fortunate enough, watch this on widescreen TV & crank up the surround sound system & enjoy. And thank you DVD producers for making this with DTS. Most enjoyable moments (no order): * Everything on Palau * Migrating jelly fish (also in Palau) * Watching a cuttlefish change color to camouflage itself while moving * Coast guard boat going through horrendous ocean waves. Highly recommended!
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