Volcanoes of the Deep Sea Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea Blu-ray Movie Review

IMAX Goes 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater January 11, 2010

“I came here for the first time fifty years ago, on my honeymoon,” says Dolf Seilacher, standing on a cliff in Spain. “It was certainly not my intention to be unfaithful, but here on these cliffs I fell under the spell of a mistress, one that has not released her grip in all these years.” No, Volcanoes of the Deep Sea is not the story of some torrid mid-century love affair. Actually, Dolf Seilacher is a renowned paleontologist, and the mistress that bewitched him fifty years ago is Paleodictyon nodosum, a mysterious, never-before-seen sea creature that has left these cliffs littered with fossilized burrows composed of almost perfectly hexagonal grids. (Think: honeycomb of the sea.) Seilacher theorizes that these creatures, presumed to be a kind of worm, still exist, and his theories are backed up by geologist Peter Roma, who has discovered identical patterns—fresh ones—on the ocean floor. In Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, a 2003 IMAX film executively produced by James Cameron (Avatar) and directed by Stephen Low (Titanica), Seilacher and Roma—self-proclaimed “old fossils” themselves—board the research vessel Atlantis and set out on a quest to find the elusive Paleodictyon nodosum, a creature that has survived for hundreds of millions of years.

Fossilized burrows left by Paleodictyon nodosum...

So, what does Paleodictyon nodosum have to do with undersea volcanoes? Not a lot, actually, and if Volcanoes of the Deep Sea has one fault it’s that the core mystery of Paleodictyon’s existence is only tangentially related to the bulk of the film’s undersea science lesson, which is mainly concerned with the stunning biodiversity that exists around volcanic vents 12,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. Up until 1977, when researchers discovered hydrothermal vents near Galapagos, most scientists thought the bottom of the ocean was a barren, lifeless void. However, close inspection of these vents—which spew toxic gases and superheated water that’s hot enough to melt lead—revealed microorganisms that rely on chemosynthesis to convert hydrogen sulfide into energy and support an improbable ecosystem that includes snow-white crabs, heat-resistant shrimp, and six-foot-long tubeworms. This discovery threw a wrench into typical evolutionary thinking, which maintained that all life on Earth was dependent on the sun—and photosynthesis—for energy.

In the light of this new knowledge, scientists have acknowledged the possibility that life might have began in the deepest recesses of the ocean. Volcanoes of the Deep Sea notes genetic similarities that define humanity’s evolutionary link to the ocean, and this stance briefly earned the film some controversy upon its 2003 release, as IMAX theater managers in several southern U.S. states refused to show the feature so as not to anger their creationist patrons.

Most of the documentary’s footage is of the incredibly resilient fauna that dwell near hydrothermal ocean vents, and of the vents themselves, which often rise up from the ocean floor in strange spires of sediment and volcanic rock. The hexagonal burrows of Paleodictyon nodosum, however, are found in barren oceanic plains—nowhere near the undersea volcanoes—and the point seems to be that these hypothetical worms must be hardy and efficient to survive outside of the ecosystem provided by hydrothermal vents. I suppose it makes sense to compare and contrast the oasis of life that forms around volcanic activity with the relative lifelessness of the rest of the ocean floor, but featuring Paleodictyon nodosum so prominently makes Volcanoes of the Deep Sea seem slightly disjointed. We’re also led to believe that Rona and Seilacher will find the heretofore-unseen worm, but alas, when they slice open their soil sample, they find naught but the creature’s honeycomb-shaped burrow. It’s definitely a disappointment, but in a way it’s also more exciting—the mystery still exists.

Actor Ed Harris’ easy-to-follow narration is well-scripted, explaining scientific concepts and geological processes with layman language that’s largely non-intimidating, though the subject matter won’t appeal to young kids as readily as other IMAX films like Sea Monsters and Dinosaurs Alive! That said, slightly older eggheads—and I’m including myself in that demographic—will be gripped by the haunting underwater visuals. Two miles down, subject to 3,500 pounds per square inch of pressure, and rigged to the ALVIN submersible—famous for its involvement in exploring the Titanic wreckage—this is probably the most extreme place on Earth that an IMAX camera has ever been sent. The images, then, are appropriately alien, and should send your mind reeling around other things that may potentially be lurking in the ocean depths.

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I usually look forward to reviewing IMAX films, if only to check out the often-stunning 70mm picture quality on display. While the subject matter of Volcanoes of the Deep Sea doesn't necessarily lend itself to the typical oohs and aahs associated with the format, the 1080p/VC-1 encoded image is still fairly decent considering all the technological hurdles it takes to film 12,000 feet below sea level. You'll notice that the underwater segments are not nearly as sharp as your average IMAX film, mostly because of the water's noticeable diffusing effect. The edges of the frame are particularly soft, though I'm assuming this might also be due to whatever housing is protecting the lens and camera from the elements. On land and ship, however, the image looks expectedly spectacular, with all of the clarity and detail you expect from an IMAX production. One close-up of a Paleodictyon fossil is particularly impressive, as you can make out individual grains of sand as an oceanographer dusts the sample free of debris. You'd be correct in assuming there isn't a lot of strong color in Volcanoes of the Deep Sea—one exception is the hemoglobin red of tubeworms' fleshy appendages—but the image does have a nice weight to it. Contrast is as good as can be expected and black levels—appropriately enough for a film that takes place in the absolute darkness of the ocean floor—are deep and substantial. Grain is present but rarely noticeable, and there are no overt compression issues to report. This certainly isn't the best looking IMAX film I've seen on Blu-ray, but it's no slouch in the PQ department either.

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

"Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink," goes the famous Coleridge poem, and in a way that line defines Volcanoes of the Deep Sea's listening experience, which is mostly dominated by the splashing, crashing, bubbling, and gurgling of water. Image Entertainment has typically done a fantastic job with the audio on these IMAX releases, usually supplying lossless audio tracks in multiple languages, and this one is no different, sporting English and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks. Naturally, I chose the English track and flipped to the French for a few random comparisons, and really, I have no real qualms with either mix, other than the narration volume seeming slightly low at times. The surround channels are almost constantly engaged with watery ambience, the score sounds appropriately grand, and the non-stop delivery of scientific facts is relatively easy to follow. I do have to note, though, that the foley artists seemed to have had a little too much fun finding sound effects for the various underwater activities we see onscreen, actions which would obviously be silent in real life. Tubeworms slurp and suck, crabs and shrimp skitter, but my personal favorite is the sound used whenever Alvin's lights get turned on. It sounds like someone flipping an enormous electrical breaker, flooding a football field full of light. Kind of funny, but also fitting somehow.

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Behind-the-Scenes (SD, 17:40)
Behind-the-Scenes is really a misnomer for this featurette. Yes, it features interviews with director Stephen Low, biologist Richard A. Lutz, paleontologist Dolf Seilacher and others, but the run-time is padded with overlong clips from the film. Seriously, I bet if you took out the film clips, this featurette would only run for less than 10 minutes.

Voyage Into the Abyss (SD, 27:38)
Get ready for 7th grade science glass. Voyage Into the Abyss gets more in depth, so to speak, on deep ocean science, explaining plate tectonics, the formation of volcanic chimneys, and the biology of the crazy creatures that live on ocean vents. This would make a great lesson for Blu-ray capable science classrooms.

Deep Sea Trivia Quiz
Test how well you were paying attention! Like all of their IMAX releases, Image Entertainment has given Volcanoes of the Deep Sea a remote-controlled, 10-question multiple choice quiz.

Hot Film, Cool Facts
This text-only section gives us a few pieces of trivia, like that fact that scientists have mapped nearly 100% of the surface of Venus (26 million miles from Earth) but only 0.001 to 1% of the ocean floor.

About the Director
A text-only bio for director Stephen Low, who has developed numerous IMAX technologies for working underwater.

Synergy of Science & Cinema
A text-only entry that explains Rutger University's involvement with Volcanoes of the Deep Sea.

Trailers
Includes trailers for Journey Into Amazing Caves, The Magic of Flight, The Living Sea, Mystery of the Nile, Greece: Secrets of the Past, Hurricane on the Bayou, Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk, The Alps, Dolphins, Amazon, Super Speedway, Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag, and Volcanoes of the Deep.

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea explores our planet's final frontier—the ocean depths—and introduces us to a bizarre ecosystem that's different from anything else on Earth. While it doesn't have the mass audience appeal of more general IMAX films, its scientific specificity makes it much more worthwhile as a teaching tool, and I can see Volcanoes of the Deep Sea getting regular rotation in high school biology classes. If you're a budding geologist, a prospective marine biologist, or a parent who likes to provide quality home video "edutainment," Volcanoes of the Deep Sea is definitely worth a look.