IMAX The Living Sea (1996)

Index
The Living Sea takes you to the world's oceans, traveling to Palau, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Alaska, Nova Scotia and the Red Sea. Explore the mysterious depths and come face to face with life-sized humpback whales when you dive into "The Living Sea." Swim with thousands of golden jellyfish and witness the bizarre spawning behavior of giant clams. Surf in Hawaii, deep-sea dive in Palau and test your courage with the Coast Guard in some of the world's roughest seas! Follow a remotely operated vehicle 3,000 feet down through the ocean depths to view strange creatures (one as long as a football field!) which live where sunlight never penetrates. "The Living Sea" celebrates the "world ocean"--its beauty, diversity and importance to all life on earth.

Music by Sting; narrated by Meryl Streep.
Peter's DVD rating: 1.0 stars
This visual muzak features gorgeous scenery and soothing music, but little educational content. Actually the cinematography is also disappointing: the predictable Humpback Whale scenes are mediocre, and all we learn is that their population is growing. The search-and-rescue training and surfing scenes would probably give you a rush in a theater, but what does that have to do with ocean ecology? The Siphonophore looks interesting, but in what way? Species descriptions include vague statements such as this gem from Palau native Francis Toribiong: "cuttlefish is a type of squid". Marine biologist Laura Martin misinforms us that Jellyfish Lake in Palau was created thousands of years ago by the Ice Age rather than millions of years ago, but at least she tells us something interesting about jellyfish migration. The BBC Deep Blue has better visuals; though it offers even less educational value, at least you would be spared watching footage of humans in a nature film.
5:15 Giant Kelp (California) 15:50Giant Siphonophore (off Monterey Bay) 16:40 Giant Clam spawning (Central Pacific)
19:45 Humpback Whale and calf (Bar Harbor, Maine) 26:30 Cuttlefish (Palau) 31:00 Golden Jellyfish have tiny stings, migrate with the sun
Macrocystis_pyrifera.jpg
5:15 Giant Kelp
Siphonophore.jpg
15:50 Siphonophore
Tridacna_gigas.jpg
16:40 Giant Clam spawning
Megaptera_novaeangliae.jpg
19:45 Humpback Whale and calf
Sepiida.jpg
26:30 Cuttlefish
Mastigias.jpg
31:00 Golden Jellyfish
Index Dec 08, 2005 copyleft Peter Chen