One of the very first things I ever reviewed was The Sea Around Us, a great 50s documentary focusing on marine life and how humans interact with it. Three fifths of the world is covered by the sea, and how little most of us know about it. Even back then when I was watching that program, I was aware of Jacques Cousteau, often considered one of the most influential explorers of the underwater realm. The man literally invented self contained oxygen tanks for people to breathe with, which is the thing most people will immediately think of when I say the word "diving." If that doesn't convince you of his impact, nothing will. Anyway, about this documentary: as of the 1970s, Antarctica was still quite an unknown continent and most people alive will never see it in person. Cousteau, a few of his shipmates, and the director of a French museum travel in a ship named the Calypso in order to reach the frozen wasteland continent, braving huge storms, frigid winds and towering icebergs on the way there. Unlike in Cousteau's previous two films, he does not dive in this one. When they arrive in antarctica, footage is shot of various animals (such as seals, penguins, orcas, birds, etc) and their habits. Penguins are shown trying to scare off a bird attempting to steal eggs by charging at it. A humpback whale and its calf are shown, which is a rare sight even in the freezing waters of the south pole; humans have hunted them relentlessly. The Calypso explores more of antarctica, eventually bringing Cousteau and the others to Deception Island, close to the Antarctic Peninsula. It has an active volcano, and after dropping anchor, they go to investigate. Lowering themselves into a glacier, the crew of the Calypso find an oxymoron of the arctic world, as the place looks like something out of the underworld, but is covered in snow. Shortly after the crew celebrates Christmas, tragedy strikes. The ship's chief mate is fatally wounded by the tail rotor of the Calypso's helicopter. It is Cousteau's sad duty to bring his body back to the ship after the accident. A big storm then arrives and batters the Calypso, as Cousteau and the rest have to rely on the ship's radar to avoid hitting into things. The winds are so intense the anchor won't stay in place. After this near disaster, the ship is on the move again. Probably my favorite moment occurs around this time, and the Calypso lowers a circular shaped submarine (with Cousteau and his son Philippe inside) so they can examine what life lies in these dark waters. Never before have I seen so many imaginative creatures. Some of these include an octopus, which is able to survive here just as easily as in the warm Mediterranean, or a cuttlefish. Cousteau was actually the first person to pilot a submarine in antarctica. After the sub journey is over, the crew come across one last wonder: a huge formation of ice looking vaguely similar to a Sphinx. Philippe and some other divers take a dinghy to get a closer look, and then climb some of it. They discover a small passageway that seems to lead all the way into the structure, and this leads to a wondrous chamber of sparkling ice formations sealed under sheets of ice. After this, the expedition is basically finished. This film is awesome. It really shows what an incredible place the ocean is, as there's things in it that we still know nothing about. Seeing the landscapes of antarctica is like visualizing a different planet. All these people were very brave to go on this trip since Captain Scott and his explorers 60 years before did not come back. Due to Cousteau's reputation in the underwater world, I really want to give this a perfect score, but him staying on the Calypso most of the time felt kind of like wasted potential. Still, 9 out of 10 is more than most other documentaries like this can boast.
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