Great and not so great Movie and/or Docs on Diving/Marine Life

[molksmith]

Hey People,
2 more questions. 1st ? What is the best movie or doc you have seen dealing with diving or marine life and 2nd? what is the worst you have seen...

 

[molksmith]

1. Best Doc - THE BLUE PLANET (Beautifully photographed & pretty informative)
2. Worst Movie - The Jaws of Death ( a horrible shark movie with Richard Jaeckal from the seventies where by means of a sacred shark tooth necklace he can command pet sharks to kill his enemies..Saw it at a Drive-in one time)

 

[drbill]

Can I vote for my own DVD's on both counts?

Dr. Bill

 

[molksmith]

Please list which ones to see!!!

 

[jwdiverdude]

Open Water is the worst movie I have ever seen.
but at least it didn't make me seasick like watching the Blair witch project

 

[ZAquaman]

I liked "The Deep". I dove in a couple of spots they used in the movie, fairly well done for the time I thought. There was an Imax film on freediving that was great "Occean Men" I think was the title. Also, a good freediving show on The Discovery Channel last week with Tanya Streeter. I believe the show was called "Freedive" and it was awesome!

 

[StSomewhere]

My favorites from my collection (rating, out of 5):
=====================================
Blue Planet; parts 1 through 4 (6, really)
Hitler's Lost Sub (5)
Coral Reef Adventure (4.5, Not for neocons. I love the CSN soundtrack.)
Island of the Sharks (4.5, a better title would have been "Cocos Island")
Underwater Trilogy (4, great value -- close to 3 hours in length)
Diving DVD Florida Keys (3.75; average of a 3 for production values, and a solid 4.5 when I can't get to the Keys myself)
Into the Deep (3.5, would have been better if it didn't move so slowly)
Galapagos (3.5, a better title would have been "Under the Waters of Galapagos")
Coral Sea Dreaming (3, moves very slowly but stunning video quality)
The Abyss (2.5, schmaltzy ending to what was going to be a great movie)
Open Water (2.5, but a 5 on the "Indie" scale)

From my almost-7-year-old son's collection:
=================================
Dolphins (5)
Finding Nemo (4.5)
Captain Jon's Island Adventure (4.5)
Captain Jon's Shark Safari (4)
Captain Jon Explores the Ocean (4)

 

[molksmith]

I would list Open Water as a Turkey/Bad Film if it was the work of complete Fiction.
But seeing how it is based upon an actual event I have to give it some slack. Even though Like "Jaws" it is a film that uses Hysteria to draw viewers and definitely chases people away from the Ocean and reinforces the theory the Ocean is dangerous for us rather than we are dangerous to the Ocean. Having said that I got so angry watching it. The whole bit about the Head Count on Board, and letting the Diver jump in mid-way through the dive just made me burn. As well as the couple themselves essentially forgetting to be aware of time even though they were with a dive group. While there are many solo diver threads on this board. Generally when you dive with a group you somehow take part in the group activity even if it is at a distance. The other thing that makes me angry about that film is we really don't know what happened to that couple. Maybe no Sharks were there when they died, and they just succumbed to 1. Dehydration, madness, Exposure. We will never know.
Perhaps it would have been scarier if a single shark never entered the film and they would have just been lost in the desert that the open sea is. As far as Jaws is concerned, I saw it a bunch of times when I was young and it pains me to say it but it did affect the way I felt in the ocean for a long time. I hate that because there are people that still will not go in the water because of it. So I am angry that one film could make people so afraid of the ocean while we haven't had a film that makes people as interested and unafraid of the big blue!!!
Yikes.......

 

[molksmith]

Also if anyone can help me out with this one I would be appreciative. When I was a kid in the 70's there was this Saturday Afternoon Film about a kid in Hawaii who befriends a juvenile Tigershark in a tidal pool and spend many years with it as something like a buddy.
I have no clue of the title. Any Ideas?
Also The Black Pearl about a Giant Manta Ray was a cool kids movie from the seventies.

 

[StSomewhere]

Even though Like "Jaws" it is a film that uses Hysteria to draw viewers and definitely chases people away from the Ocean and reinforces the theory the Ocean is dangerous for us rather than we are dangerous to the Ocean... (snip) ...As far as Jaws is concerned, I saw it a bunch of times when I was young and it pains me to say it but it did affect the way I felt in the ocean for a long time. I hate that because there are people that still will not go in the water because of it. So I am angry that one film could make people so afraid of the ocean while we haven't had a film that makes people as interested and unafraid of the big blue!!!
Yikes.......

Remember, the diver in Jaws survived. It was the shark hunter who got bitten in two