It’s clear that Deepsea Challenge is a passion project for James Cameron and being one of the richest filmmakers, he can afford to, at least partially, finance an expedition of this magnitude, creating new devices to reach further depths than every explored before.
James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge
(2014)
Genre(s): Documentary
Millennium | PG – 91 min. – $24.99 | November 11, 2014
PLOT SUMMARY
As a boy, filmmaker James Cameron dreamed of a journey to the deepest part of the ocean. This film is the dramatic fulfillment of that dream. It chronicles Cameron’s solo dive to the depths of the Mariana Trench—nearly seven miles beneath the ocean’s surface—piloting a submersible he designed himself. The risks were astounding. The footage is breathtaking. James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge is a celebration of science, courage, and extraordinary human aspiration.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.75/5
This release comes with a glossy slip cover. Inside is a standard DVD Copy.
The features, though, are fairly light with only The Deepest Point on Earth (3:33; HD) and An Alien World (2:14; HD) featurettes included, both pretty basic.
2D VIDEO – 4.0/5 | 3D VIDEO – 4.5/5
Deepsea Challenge submerges onto Blu-ray presented with a 1080p high-definition transfer and in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio. The picture features excellent colors throughout while detail levels, while nice, are limited due to the documentary style. Still, with James Cameron, he showcases the sea like no other.
The 3D transfer, which is on the same disc, comes out a bit better and its clear this documentary was made for this version providing excellent depth when Cameron does dive while even subjects on the surface look good and still provide something nice to look at.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track offers good dialogue levels and the score, when used, comes through well enough, but it’s a standard track. As with the picture, because it’s a documentary, you’re not going to get, pardon the pun, a submersive track, but one that’s more than adequate.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, it’s clear that Deepsea Challenge is a passion project for James Cameron and being one of the richest filmmakers, he can afford to, at least partially, finance an expedition of this magnitude, creating new devices to reach further depths than every explored before.
Published: 11/08/2014