Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Living Sea Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Sir Terrence December 10, 2008

This is my third IMAX movie review, and I continue to be astounded at the imagery that is captured and presented, and the ability to use that imagery to tell a story, or make us aware of what is happening on our planet. The Living Sea is probably the most highly regarded of the IMAX films, as it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Unlike other IMAX movies, The Living Sea does not focus on one particular subject in our oceans, it covers it all. What the filmmakers are trying to show us is that we all make up a part of the sea, and that is why it is here and alive. It lives so we can live, as we no doubt have a symbiotic relationship with it. When it flourishes, we flourish, and when it is deteriorating, we will be as well. Taking care of our oceans is much like taking care of ourselves. If we fill ourselves full of toxins, we will die. This applies to the worlds oceans as well, as we seem not to understand that what we discard on solid ground can ultimately end up in the ocean. We have pumped billions of gallons of sewage water into the oceans, and this has got to take a toll on ocean life in some way. It seems as humans we do not try to live and exist in our environment, we take it over, and shape it around our lives, often destroying everything in the process. This documentary shows us the beauty and majesty of exactly what we are affecting while we go on with our daily lives. I just read recently that the world’s coral reefs are deteriorating at a rapid pace, and are not easily replaced when gone. This should at least make us aware of how our activity is negatively affecting it.

Meryl Streep leads us on a tour of the planets oceans, ocean life, and people who use the ocean for food and recreation. We visit and watch surfers ride the oceans waves looking for the ultimate wave. We take a trip to the Island of Palau to follow a father and his two children as he gives them a lesson on the ocean. We are taken under water to view a rather large swarm of non stinging jelly fish as they follow a daily migratory pattern around a land locked salt water lake. We swim with whales in the deep sea, visit a undersea coral reef, and ride 12-15 foot waves off the Oregon coast following Coast Guard training and rescue efforts. Accompanied by the music of Grammy award wining Sting, the IMAX format offers a huge clear view of these places, giving us unique and beautiful images that do more of the story telling than any voice can.

The Living Sea Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Living Sea floats on to the Bluray Format with a beautiful 1080p/AVC encode and presented in a 1:78:1 aspect ratio. Originating from 70mm film, the source looks to be in great condition with only an occasional speck here and there. Detail and micro detail are excellent, as images are naturally sharp without any trace of edge enhancement or any other post processing. This clarity extends far into the background giving whole scenes that coveted three dimensional look that is common in good high definition video. Black levels are deep, stable, and inky dark with contrast being spot on. Colors are well saturated and vibrant with no chroma or video noise. Daylight scenes have a bright and punchy look. Undersea images are captured with eye popping detail, with each different color fish coming through beautifully.

The Living Sea Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is the main audio feature in the sound department, and it is as good as the video. This soundtrack is not system threatening by any means, as the mix is rather conservative as IMAX movies go. The music of Sting is highlighted on this film, and is wonderfully captured to the point that the speakers positions are not given away, but a wall of transparent sound that is both very wide stretching from wall to wall, and from floor to ceiling, extending all the way back to the front wall. The LFE is in constant use, with some really floor shaking low level bass emanating from my dedicated LFE subwoofers. Almost all of the mixes bass is in the LFE, with just a few points of below 40 Hz bass coming from the three front main speakers. Dialog is always mixed dry and unaccompanied by any music or effects in the center channel, so clarity is excellent is not a little close miked for my taste. Surround usage is generally ambience and music bleed, but during the coast guard scenes they become very aggressive with the sound of waves moving from front to rear with a smooth and accurate motion. Waves splash into the mains, then back to the rears with great phantom imaging along the side walls, and great fill across the center rear. For those of you with 7.1 systems, you will find a slight widening and deepening of the sound field via the center rear speakers, but the effect is not as profound as you would expect as this mix is optimized for a more enhanced effect. Great sound is presented with great visuals that give a very satisfying presentation overall that will not invoke any complaints from lovers of IMAX presentations.

The Living Sea Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Image Entertainment brings an interesting set of extras to The Living Sea as they do with all IMAX titles.

Making of The Living Sea (37 minutes) is almost as long as the film itself. It features in depth interviews with the producer and director who takes us through all of the steps it takes to create a movie of this kind. It is really interesting, almost as much as the movie itself.

There are also 11 trailers of other IMAX films, and a text retrospective of Greg MacGillivray and his production company MacGillivray Freeman Company.

The Living Sea Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I saw this film back in 1995 at the California Science Center just a short walk from my alma mater the University of Southern California, and I remember just being overwhelmed by the sheer size of the screen, the bright sharp colorful images coming from the screen, and the glorious sound coming from the IMAX 6 channel sound system. Obviously this is the optimum environment to watch an IMAX movie, but I didn't feel like I lost anything sitting 8 feet from a 65" RPTV, and listening through a very powerful 7.1 channel sound system in my home theater. I really enjoy IMAX presentations for home theater, and am glad that I have the finest presentation of The Living Sea I have ever seen on disc. This is a must buy for the lovers of IMAX films, and worth a least a rental for those who enjoy a good high definition images and high quality sound.