Deep Blue

Liked "Winged Migration" and "Microcosmos," "Deep Blue" is a big-screen nature documentary patiently filmed over a period of years. As "Winged Migration" concentrated on the creatures of the air, so "Deep Blue" focuses on creatures of the sea. Reminding us how little we have explored the liquid space of our own oceans, the images here can be beautiful and graceful (dolphins playing in the surf), humorous (a mass of crabs laying eggs on the sand) as well as grim and deadly (killer whales attacking and eating seal pups). The moments of beauty are poignant indeed, and "Deep Blue" has it's share of "wow" moments. It divides itself into various themes; the shallows, the shoreline, the open seas, the polar seas, and the deep. The latter is shot near the deepest places on earth, and several creatures never before photographed are displayed in all their bioluminescent glory. The penguins shooting out of the ocean like biological missiles is quite amazing, and the feeding frenzy of the sharks is terrifying. Michael Gambon's narration is rarely intrusive, but it isn't as informative as I would have liked; they could have used some graphics to at least give you an idea of what creatures you were seeing, or where the shots were located. Still, this is a beautiful film, much of which was filmed for the "Blue Planet" BBC series. It looks frightfully gorgeous on the big screen, although parents should be warned that the seal pup death scenes can be terrifying to younger or more sensitive viewers.

Water makes up most of the Earth and, unlike the surface ecosystems, it is the hardest for man to explore, inhabit or bulldoze. It is the closest thing to having a different planet, except right here on Earth. As such I was looking forward to watching this film because of the excellent footage of the many amazing creatures and ecosystems that ever improving technology allow us to get closer to. I'm not really one for nature programmes so maybe that is why I was extra impressed by the film – because such stuff has not become "ordinary" to me. At the start of the film I must admit that I was watching the "ordinary"; whales, crabs and seals fitted into that category to me but once the camera went deeper into the oceans it only became more and more fascinating with such weird and wonderful creatures on display.

This goes for the shallower depths as well, as fish, whales, sharks etc are all very well presented and gorgeous to watch. Indeed that is the strength of the film – the beauty of it. It is fascinating to watch and the expertise in filming shines through from start to finish. However it is the appreciation of the view where the film is weak. Gambon's narration is sparse and even but it only occasionally gives out nuggets of information. I didn't expect detail like David Attenborough would give but it could have done with something more to compliment the visuals. The music covers the lack of narration and generally the score is well pitched to support the air of wonder or pace to the film.

Overall this is a great visual treat, even if it is mostly going to be seen on the small screen. It all looks impressive and is fascinating but a bit more narration and detail would have been useful. Best viewed as a visual experience or as an entry into the wider genre of nature programmes.

The beginning of this documentary is devoid of credits. We see dolphins swimming and leaping in the open water and sea birds diving directly into the ocean to snatch a fish. The narrator (Pierce Brosnan) says, "This is a world of constant jeopardy, an endless cycle of birth, death, and renewal." Powerful waves crash into the rocky coast, where the sea lions return to give birth, but unwary seals become prey to predators (the black and white colored killer whales) in the shallows at high tide. Then again, the whales themselves risk being stranded there.

More marine life is seen before the view shifts to the coral reefs, "a narrow band of sun-fed life only found in the shallows of the tropical seas." The skeletons of coral polyps – the smallest and most fragile of organisms – form the reef. The darkness is feeding time for some; the night-feeders with built-in sensors have no need of light. Fascinating and colorful sea creatures abound further below the ocean surface, but unfortunately most are not identified. There are poisonous jellyfish and manta rays. Just before the halfway mark of the film the scene moves to the Arctic (polar bears) and also Antarctic (penguins). In the Antarctic the temperature is seventy degrees below zero (-70°F) and the winds exceed one hundred miles per hour. The penguins gather speed in the cold waters before jumping out and landing on sheet ice. Meanwhile in the far north the polar bears search for nesting seals hidden in ice caves situated just below the surface. Thirty-ton gray whales travel six thousand miles to feed in the polar seas. After six hours of jostling, killer whales separate one unfortunate gray calf from its mother and move in when it is thoroughly exhausted.

From the surface of the ocean we next enter a subterranean world, the deepest underwater area on the planet and where surface light does not penetrate. Seven miles deep (the Marianas Trench), it is a mystery world of perpetual night. It is a sparsely explored netherworld of odd life forms (again unidentified). The only light emanates from the undersea creatures themselves. Light is used as a lure to attract prey or as a decoy to confuse them. Poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas and boiling water spew forth in some areas. Yet, even near those settings some life forms exist. At film's end we hear that there are only a few thousand blue whales left on earth. The blue whales are earth's largest creatures by far.

The narration is limited and the orchestral music appropriate. If you like nature documentaries, you will enjoy this one, although there are several lulls.

Reading some of the previous comments I feel that I must have been watching a different Deep Blue. Although i found some of the visuals stunning i felt that much of it was appalling. Some of the 'out of water'shots looked horrible, reminded me of watching games on a Commodore 64!!! As some others have said, much of this footage has been seen before, so i really didn't see the point of this movie. The musical score was good and it did match the footage well. If sea life is your thing, I would recommend the Blue Planet. Note of interest: did anybody else actually find some of the footage very poor. I watched on a widescreen LCD (brand new), so perhaps the poor quality arose because of the screen size.

I have just watched three hours of the Galapagos on the National geographic Channel, and am preparing to watch 11 hours on Planet earth on Discovery. What a joy to see this film, narrated by Pierce Brosnan in between.

Fi9lmed at the deepest ocean where no light can pierce, the colors and lights that are created by the inhabitants outshine any laser show that you can imagine.

This is the wonder and beauty of our planet at its best. I cannot imagine why we have to travel to other worlds, when we have this one waiting for us.