The Good
IMAX films continue to capture the world in a way that normal film just can't.
The Bad
No Special Features and this movie is only 41 minutes long!
If you ever wanted to go into the depths of the ocean Deep Sea is the vehicle to take you there. This 41 minute documentary that is narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet is both majestic, scary, interesting and amazing. We get to see Green Sea Turtles, Surgeonfish, Humboldt Squid, jellyfish and numerous other ocean dwellers. There isn't really a narrative in Director Howard Hall's film, but it is essentially broken up into small segments that showcase each creature individually, and sometimes we even see how these creatures help one another.
My personal favorites were the Humboldt Squid, which has the ability to change into four different colors, the Mantis Shrimp, and the jellyfish simply because they looked so cinematically perfect for the IMAX format. Deep Sea would be a great tool to introduce somebody to the ocean and also pique the interest of young children.
Features
No Extras came with this DVD.
Video
They offer this movie in two ways:
Standard Version. Presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of it's original IMAX theatrical exhibition. Widescreen Version. Presented in a "Matted" widescreen format tailored for home entertainment playback. Enhanced for Widescreen TVs. To say that this DVD looked pristine would be a huge understatement. It looked awesome. The quality of the images being presented here are nothing short of astounding. They have been able to gain such up close and personal access to these animals, we can see tiny appendages and hairs that we would never get to see if this movie was shot on regular film. The blue sea takes on an almost a poetic tone and everything is composed to make these images as clear and as strong as possible.
Audio
Dolby Digital. English, French, Spanish and Korean Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio on this DVD was quite good from a sound perspective. Danny Elfman did the music but there wasn't anything about it that seemed to have his signature. This isn't a knock on his compositions on this disc, I just didn't hear anything that didn't sound like the music from other IMAX films. There is a serene quality to this DVD and that is greatly achieved by the music mixing with the images. Everything here is intricately put together so that this DVD plays as an experience that is like no other.
Package
This amaray disc packaging has a vinyl piece that slips over it containing a hologram cover. I don't know that this was necessary as the amaray case itself has the same artwork. We see sharks, sea turtles, various fish, and the rocky depths of the sea. The back cover serves up more underwater images, a well written description describing the program on this DVD, a tiny cast list and some system specs. Warner Brothers has done a fine job presenting this well crafted film.
Final Word
Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet a very good narrating this film. They don't talk too much and when they do it's in very soothing tones. What is so amazing is how clear this documentary was even in the Standard DVD format. I can only imagine how this disc would look coming out of a Blu-ray player at 1080p on an HD screen. The images almost didn't look real. In fact, there were times when what I was watching, especially the sharks, seemed like they were in 3-D. That is something that is really a feather in the cap of this IMAX film. It doesn't seem like it needs much enhancement as the film itself, what this movie is shot on, plays like a Special Effect. All in all, I found this documentary to be interesting in the way that the best films of this ilk are. This movie was entertaining without calling attention to it's overt educational value.
Deep Sea is probably the best looking DVD I have screened on the Standard format in 2007.
Deep Sea 3D was released March 3, 2006.