Monday, March 10, 2014

IMAX Coral Reef Adventure (2003) Reviews

IMAX Coral Reef Adventure
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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I wish I had read a more critical review before purchasing this DVD, so here's mine:

Beautiful photography and wish I'd seen it in an IMAX theatre. As this is supposed to be a film about CORAL REEFS, however, you'd expect that alot of it would take place UNDERWATER..... It doesn't. .... Too much coverage of "human drama", with an islander's disappointment in the dying reef near his island, one of the diver's brush with the bends (but you know it will all be wrapped-up in a happy ending, right?), and photographers flying and boating around tropical islands. Personally, I had been looking for more photography and more real information on coral reefs --fascinating beautiful creatures with plenty of interesting drama on their own.

Soundtrack features great music, but the editing of which makes viewing the film quite annoying. You're listening carefully to Liam's relaxing voice and all-too-brief interesting commentary on the subject matter and then BOOM!, your hit with CSN at a volume that has you scrambling for the remote to turn it down three notches.

Overall, its a film that wants to be everything for all interests. Sure ! ...In 45 minutes?

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I didn't know what to expect from this film that I saw at an IMAX Theater but I knew I had to see it. I'm a scuba diving enthusiast and I love coral reefs. Coral Reef Adventure is an eco tour of reefs and the dangers that exist for this delicate ecosystem. We follow Howard and Michele Hall, underwater photographers and authors, in their study of coral reefs to help Rusi Vulakoro, a diver in Fiji, to discover the cause of a dying reef.

Much of the underwater footage is from the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, and French Polynesia. To say the images are breath taking is an understatement. Watching this film just re-enforced why I love to dive. I love the sea and all its wonder. At the end of the film a small child sitting in front of me told his parents that's what he wanted to do when he grows up, that is dive for a living. I love that so I told his parents about my dive club that teaches diving and has a program for children to play in to pool with dive equipment. There is nothing like seeing a wee one learning to dive.

As for the diving, it was exciting. The divers in this film are experienced professional divers and therefore they dive to depths all recreational divers should stay clear of. In the film you'll see depths of 350 and get a real feel for the wonder of scuba diving. Also, there was a guest appearance by Jean-Michele Cousteau; son of famed Jacque Cousteau, father of scuba diving. I also took a good look of the equipment that was used and was amazed at the use of re-breathers. I want a re-breather now.

Anyway, you'll see lots of coral, fish, manta rays, gray sharks, drift diving, incredible depths, and beautiful scenery. The film was incredibly educational and made me think of all the adventure I am missing. This is another film to spark your wonder lust for adventure and instill a respect for nature.

girldiver:)

"When diving with sharks during mating season try not to look like a shark"

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As a half-century scuba diver who has been diving Fiji, the Great Barrier Reef, Moorea and Tiputa Pass in Rangiroa over the years, I can vouch for the authenticity and genuine beauty of this splendid documentary, as well as for the unfortunate reality of the threats to these areas. In particular, we have been diving Fiji's Bligh Waters for years, most often with Rusi Vulakoro (also an excellent singer) who appears prominently in this production. Rusi and Jean-Michel Cousteau demonstrate some of what they are doing to preserve this paradise.

The McGillivray-Freeman production and Michele and photography is top notch, and our friends Rob and Cat, owners of the liveaboard dive boat NAI'A used for the filming, guided Howard and Michele Hall to all our favorite sites their cinematography is superb, in spite of the major problems faced by using the huge and unwieldy IMAX system. Those interested in scuba diving, some of the world's best dive spots and the state of the ocean will love this DVD and come away convinced we should never have called this planet, 70.78% of which is covered by the world's oceans and water, "Earth."

Honest reviews on IMAX Coral Reef Adventure (2003)

If you own a high end HTPC (home theater personal computer), and a HD capable display, you owe it to yourself to buy this movie. Simply put, the Microsoft WMV transfer in high definition (both 720p and 1080p) is the best image I have ever seen on our home theater's very expensive projection system($30k JVC Lcos system).

There are some downsides....

1) Requires a very beefy computer. 3.0 Ghz is recommended by Microsoft, although some are getting away with lower powered machines by using the lower-quality 720p verion

2) Proprietary audio codec requires you to have the computer decode the audio, and send it to your amplifier via analog cables. There is no DTS or DD track on the HD version.

3) DRM You have a choice of one video player, Windows Media 9. The movie has digial rights management on it, which can only be viewed by a Microsoft player. While this implementation is much better than the T2 high definition release (which required you to have an internet connection to get authorization), it's still a bit limiting.

Despite the problems, This is right up there with the best film based HDTV content I have viewed from HDnet or HD HBO.

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I just ordered this from Amazon because of the selling price of $11.00 free shipping. I'm SO glad I took the chance. This is an AMAZING blu-ray disc. The quality of the sound is as good, if not better, than the picture quality. Fantastic underwater photography will have you in awe. If you're into this sort of thing, this is a MUST have for your blu-ray collection.

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