Customer Reviews

Ocean Odyssey

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like the "Walking With" series, you'll love Ocean Odyssey. But for someone like me who hasn't seen a "Walking With" and doesn't feel particularly motivated to glory in the gigantic extinct saurians or their hairy, club-wielding mammal conquerors, well, Ocean Odyssey blew me away.

This world is not extinct and millennias old. This world is not light years away. This world is right here, right now: the highest mountains in the world, the most volatile volcanic activity, and creatures larger than brontosauruses and Tyrannosaures Rex. Squids three times longer than your car fight sperm whales bigger than your upstairs rooms. Animals whom we see only as skeletons in the museum or glistening, air-blowing humps are brought to life in 3-D. Their dark underwater world is lit up for our depressingly human eyes by the imagined view of an animal with powerful sonar. The sperm whale sees thousands of feet ahead through the murky waters where light doesn't reach, and the plant life and wildlife survive on the heat only from the core's molten activity.

The epic tale, a true odyssey, is told in two segments of one sperm whale bull who lives from the birth of man's Industrial Age into the 21st century. He travels farther than any land-borne creature in all of the world's history, traversing the Atlantic to the Pacific across the Horn of Africa and then up into the freezing water and seemingly impenetrable ice of the slowly melting Antarctic icecap. He is protected by adults, off to fight and protect himself in young adulthood, and then off to fight off other comers to mate to make sure the end of his life, beached on the New Zealand coast, is not the end of his DNA.

This is a world that's real and happening every day, but we will never see it in our lifetimes, a world where light doesn't penetrate, but the most epic combat is fought and lives are lived.

NOTE: Amazon is pairing this with my favorite documentary series of recent time: Life in the Undergrowth. Ocean Odyssey brings to life a world we can't see because we're too small and weak; Undergrowth brings to life a world we can't see because we're too big. Both are mind-altering visions.

Ocean Odyssey is awesome. There has never been a documentary that deals with the life history of whales. The documentary goes indepth in to the 80 year life of a sperm whale, know as "the bull".

From Infancy to Twilight, we see the ocean thru "the bull's eyes". Facinating, and from the same folks who did the Walking with series. CG animation mixed with actual footage make an amazing mix. The only problem with the content is that some of the social interactions between sperm whales is incorrect, or otherwise out dated.

Interestingly, a segment is devoted to Mesonychotuethis, the recently named "Colossal Squid". Okay, well watch it, and you'll enjoy it.

for another brilliant attempt to educate the public about the world we live in. Kudos. So well done.

XXXXX

"A sperm whale lies stranded close to death. To look at him now, it's hard to imagine what an extraordinary life he's led. This is the largest predator the world has ever seen. His home is the abyss. He's spent most of his life at a staggering 2 kilometers [about 1 1/4 miles] beneath the [ocean's] waves, only surfacing to breath.

Our technology has given us the briefest glimpse of [the ocean's] alien landscape. But what if we could see it as [the sperm whale] sees it? It would be like turning on the lights in a world of external darkness. Down here, mountains rise higher than [Mt.] Everest, ravines run deeper than the Grand Canyon, and the creatures are more monstrous than anything found on land.

This film lights up the deep. It tells the story of one whale's 80-year journey from calf to King of the Abyss.

Welcome to the ultimate ocean odyssey!"

This is how the first episode (1 hr., 8 scenes) of this mesmerizing two-episode documentary begins. Both episodes are narrated by actor Bernard Hill, whose deep voice adds a mysteriousness to the film.

And what a two-episode film it is!! The viewer gets to see strange underwater sea creatures such as giant squids, colossal squids (the "beasts of sailor's legends"), bioluminescent creatures, Orcas (killer whales), and Tube Worms. We see battles the sperm whale has with its predators and with other sperm whales. Perhaps, the most interesting is that we get to see the ocean bottom or marinescape, truly an "alien landscape" with its "Lost City," its ridges of volcanic mountains, its "Curtain of Fire," and its steaming underwater vents (that provide energy without sunlight).

Episode two (1 hr., 8 scenes) continues where episode one left off but this time with the sperm whale all grown up and "ready to travel further and dive deeper than any other creature on Earth, facing new dangers in an ocean that [humans] are changing."

The computer animation is fantastic. You can't tell the images are computer generated. Besides computer animation, there's life-action footage and historical real-life footage. Besides being entertained, you'll also learn a lot since recent scientific information is presented.

Finally, the DVD itself (the one released in 2006) is perfect in picture and sound quality. There are no extras.

In conclusion, this is an unforgettable film, both entertaining and educational, that made a "big splash" with me. Sadly, "by 1969, we knew more about the lifeless surface of the moon than we did about the deep oceans of our own planet." This is still the case. This film changes that. In fact,

"This is the closest you'll get to seeing what lies thousands of feet below the ocean's surface!!"

(2004; 2 hr.; made for TV (BBC); wide screen; 16 scenes)

<<Stephen Pletko or "Uncle Stevie, London, Ontario, Canada>>

XXXXX

I really liked this video. It told a story about a subject (whales). The focus was on the whales and not some individual telling the story. If you want a documentary, this may be the closest you get thousands of feet below the oceans. Good video.

When I saw that this was created by the makers of the "walking with" series, it was a no-brainer to pick it up. It's a fantastic series and I own them all (except Cavemen, looked pretty lame, to me) and what I love about them is how they make prehistoric creatures feel so real, as if they were being filmed just like you would film living creatures today. That is also why this sounded very appealing to me, filming the parts of a sperm-whale's life that we can't see.

It's a neat idea, and it makes for a pretty neat program. There are only a couple of things that bother me though, the main one being the camera-work. Many shots they make using the CGI whales, are impossible to film, and no I don't mean because of the depth. Whether they're swimming on the ocean floor or near the surface, there are many times where they will fly right up to the camera and nearly knock into in, or even swallow it. These kinds of images detract from the realism for me, because they can't be real, so they must be CG. I'd rather not be reminded of that. That is an aspect that I always loved about the "walking with" programs, they were filmed just as a documentary would be today.

The other thing is that, as another reviewer pointed out, since you can compare the CG whales to the real ones, it makes them look a little less real. Also, the CG environments that they're in don't look completely real, they sort of look like miniatures being filmed with a small camera. Still, though, there are some shots that look very convincing, and the footage of the live whales is great.

As a whole, the program is still very enjoyable and interesting. The complaints that I have listed above, while do sound rather harsh, do not a program break. The information and the life of the bull sperm-whale they follow from calf to adult are very well done. The animation is in no way terrible, it just could have been handled in a more realistic manner...

This review isn't meant to discourage potential buyers though; it's still worth picking up. (especially if you already like the "walking with" series) Despite its flaws, this is still a good documentary, recommended to anyone with an interest in ocean-life.

It is difficult to believe sometimes that you are not looking at underwater photography most of the time. The documentary is mostly very believable. The only part that pushes the limits of (in fact, goes lightyears beyond) credibility is the final few minutes where it attempts to promote fear of the results of global warming by showing an American subburb completely underwater with a whale swimming between houses and over cars still parked in the driveways. I mean, get real! The water level increases by fractions of an inch per year - plenty of time to move that car further inland, if not the whole house, eh? And if the water got that deep at the rate the oceans are rising today, you wouldn't recognize anything because of the ocean life that would have covered it. Unless you believe that global warming will cause the oceans to rise 50 feet in one hour (Noah, come back!) - that tiny part of the movie is pure propaganda. Let's stick to science in these videos. Nevertheless, throw out the bones and enjoy the fish. It is a great movie.

This is a couple hours of computer animated documentary about ocean's topography. Since it is computer generated, everything is almost one colour in different shades so it was very uncomfortable to the eye. I am more interested in HD cinematography like the BBC Earth collection so this did not cut it for me but the producer deserves credit since it is educational. There is no stupid loud music and the narrator speaks clearly.

I love documentaries of all types. All genre's in consideration, this is one of the most well done documentaries I have ever seen. Beautiful story, fascinating topic (the mighty Sperm Whale!), thorough presentation, and very good CGI to enhance the the viewers understanding (not overdone). I am now fascinated with sperm whales due to this documentary. Thank you BBC for opening my eyes once again to a world I did no know existed!

That being said, AMAZON PLEASE MAKE THIS A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD! I want to buy this and have it all the time to show people! Please!!! Please!!! Please!!!

I saw this programme here in New Zealand last year on TV & thought it was brilliant. After some time I was able to locate somewhere to purchase a DVD & on seeing it again I am still of the same opinion. It is brilliant. I have watched it about 4 times already & will continue to do so.