Review: IMAX Deep Sea 3D

Yesterday, I attended a preview screening of Howard Hall’s Deep Sea 3D in London, along with some of the biggest names in British underwater photography. The turn out reflects the very high esteem in which HH is held over here.

I am no film reviewer, and I’m much more used to reviewing camera kit, but since I have been lucky enough to see this fantastic film I thought I’d share my views.

Deep Sea 3D is a 40 minute total immersion into the underwater world. With charismatic stars including Green Turtles, Giant Pacific Octopus, Mola mola, Mantas, sharks and even a Bowhead Whale, the film is first class family entertainment. A favourite sequence is on cleaning stations, culminating with a classic sequence at Turtle Spa. The narration, provided by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet is engaging and informative, and continues the family theme with the two of them bantering like brother and sister.

The film is full of classic HH trademarks, such as perfectly observed and edited behavioural sequences and beautiful underwater seascapes that look unbelievably real in 3D (you really have to see them for yourself). Fans of HH’s work will no doubt recognise many of the locations. It is a sensible approach as it is the technology that really shows these scenes in a completely new way.

Hall also shows excellent sensitivity to his IMAX medium. The shooting style for a 20mx26m IMAX screen is clearly different to shooting for TV. At this scale you have the space to allow the events to unfold on the screen. As an underwater photographer it makes you want to grab your camera and swim off into the scene and get snapping. The filmmakers’ skill is most apparent in their ability to transform invertebrates into movie stars! 

Perhaps my favourite aspect was the way the director handled the environmental message of the film. Many films are either too heavy handed and turn off the audience, or ignore the serious threats facing the ocean. Deep Sea 3D presents it message pitch perfect. The film first allows you to get to know the creatures, to become captivated by their quirks and to realise how interdependent their lives are, before mentioning the devastating impact of over-fishing towards the end of the film.

This is obviously a film that all underwater photographers must see, and more importantly they should take the whole family. There can’t be a better way to get to know the ocean without getting wet.

Deep Sea 3D opens at IMAX cinemas in the USA, Canada and the UK from the 3rd March.

Deep Sea 3D will play at the following IMAX® 3D Theatres beginning March 3, 2006:

Opening March 3rd

UNITED STATES
Arizona
Tempe-- IMAX Theatre at Arizona Mills
California
Cathedral City – Desert IMAX Theatre
Dublin—Regal Hacienda Crossings IMAX
Irvine—Edwards Irvine Spectrum IMAX
Los Angeles—California Science Center IMAX Theater
Los Angeles—IMAX Theatre at The Bridge: cinema de lux
Sacramento – Esquire IMAX Theatre
Colorado
Denver—UA Colorado Center IMAX Theatre
Connecticut
Hartford – IMAX Theatre at Showcase Cinemas Buckland Hills
Florida
Fort Lauderdale—Blockbuster IMAX Theater at Museum of Discovery and Science
Tampa – Channelside Cinemas IMAX Theatre
Georgia
Atlanta—Regal Mall of Georgia IMAX
Illinois
Chicago—Navy Pier IMAX Theatre
Indiana
Indianapolis—IMAX Theatre at the Indiana State Museum
Kentucky
Louisville – IMAX Theatre at Showcase Cinemas Stonybrook
Massachusetts
Boston—Simons IMAX Theatre, New England Aquarium Central Wharf
Natick—Comcast IMAX 3D Theater at Jordan’s Furniture
Reading – Comcast IMAX 3D Theater at Jordan’s Furniture
Michigan
Dearborn – The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre
Grand Rapids—IMAX Theatre at Celebration! Cinema
Lansing—IMAX Theatre Celebration! Cinema
Minnesota
Apple Valley—Great Clips IMAX Theatre
Missouri
St. Louis—Ronnies 20 Cine IMAX
Nevada
Las Vegas – Luxor IMAX Theatre
New Jersey
Atlantic City—IMAX Theatre at Tropicana
New York
New York—AMC Loews IMAX Theatre, Lincoln Square
West Nyack—IMAX Theatre at Palisades Center
White Plains – IMAX Theatre at City Center: Cinema de lux
Ohio
Cincinnati – IMAX Theatre at Showcase Cinemas Springdale
Rhode Island
Providence-- Feinstein IMAX Theatre
South Carolina
Charleston—The Charleston IMAX Theatre at Aquarium Wharf
Tennessee
Chattanooga –Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Theater
Nashville—Regal Opry Mills IMAX
Texas
Austin-- IMAX Theatre at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Dallas—Cinemark IMAX Theatre at Cinemark 17
Utah
Salt Lake City-- Clark Planetarium IMAX Theatre
Sandy-- Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons
Virginia
Virginia Beach – The Virginia Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater
Wisconsin
Fitchburg – Star Cinema IMAX

CANADA
British Columbia
Vancouver-- CN Theatre at Canada Place
Manitoba
Winnipeg—IMAX Theatre at Portage Place
Nova Scotia
Halifax—Empire IMAX Theatre

INTERNATIONAL
United Kingdom
London-- Science Museum IMAX Cinema
London-- bfi London IMAX Cinema