The Sea Around Us

Sea Around Us, The (1953)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oscar-winning documentary runs a short 62-minutes but it packs one great punch for some wonderful family entertainment. This documentary, written and directed by Irwin Allen, takes a look at the various lifeforms that live in and around the sea. The documentary using, at the time groundbreaking camera-work, takes us below the sea and shows us a wide range of items from various varieties of fish and even a fight between a shark and an octopus. It's funny to note that one segment of the film deals with tidal waves, which is the subject of Allen's The Poseidon Adventure nearly twenty-years later. The documentary was filmed in Technicolor and this is another plus as we get to see the beautiful fish and other items in their full glory. Some of the footage, like the shark fight, is black and white but this is only a small fraction. Not only do we get to see the various fish but we also get to look at various jobs including a crab farmer and a shark walker, which some might remember because of a certain scene in Jaws 3. I'm sure kids would really get a kick out of all the scenery here but there's enough stuff here for adults as well. The film is probably old-fashioned in regards to some of the information it's giving out but that's not really a problem since I'm sure most people will be caught up in the visuals. The one minor problem is some of the narration, which is a tad bit over-dramatic.

This is probably the first documentary made on life that makes its home under the water. Today, it doesn't really look like much, but for its time, there were really no other resources for learning more about undersea animals, other than going to the sea yourself or having a book. The film shows a number of extremely beautiful wonders that exist beneath our oceans, but few people have had the pleasure of seeing, such as tremendously tall growths of seaweed that can be over 100 feet in length, resembling a submerged jungle, coral reefs, and sea anemones. The film doesn't just focus on underwater things though. There's also a segment that shows how turtles hatch on land, then attempt to make a dash for the shoreline on the beach. Sadly, many of them die and are eaten by birds in the process. Also shown are seals and gannet birds. The reason why I say it's a little disturbing is because of how the interactions between the divers and some of the animals go in the movie. In particular, there's one moment when someone grabs a small shark and cuts open its midsection with a knife in only a matter of seconds, leaving it to die of blood loss. Even one of the posters I saw for the movie depicts this. Nowadays, this type of behavior would be unacceptable and divers would only take the animal's life as a last resort if it was threatening to attack a diver. Other than that, it's pretty good. If looking at the vibrant and stunning life of the ocean interests you, try to find a copy of this. The ocean is so huge and vast there are things in it we still don't know about.

Adaptation of Rachel Carson's book about the sea. I've never read the book so I don't know how faithful it is but some of this is fascinating. It starts out pretty badly with ponderous narration describing how the Earth (and sea) came into being. After that it lightens up pretty quickly and shows us various creatures of the sea including some incredible microscopic views of sea life. There's an interesting (and non-bloody) fight between a shark and an octopus. It also shows various occupations men have dealing with the sea like a shark walker and crab herder. The part showing different ways to capture fish (so they can be killed and eaten) might be troubling to some viewers but it's more of a sign of the time it was made than anything else. Narration aside this should be seen for visuals alone. Also the ending seems to predict global warming before it was discovered! I give it an 8.

This is a shockingly awful 'documentary'....what the viewer sees is almost beyond belief.

Plot in a nutshell: Underwater photographers reveal various aspects of sea life, with a healthy dose of human interference.

Why is this shockingly awful? "The Sea Around Us" is not a documentary in any modern sense of the word. If by 'documentary', you imagine film-makers immersing themselves into nature and documenting what they see, you'll be very surprised by this film; because what you get here instead is mankind inserting himself into the sea, and more importantly the film, usually to the detriment of the sea life around him.

Rather than being called "The Sea Around Us," a more accurate title would be "Man's Clueless Exploitation of the Sea." I don't think you can really have 'spoilers' for a documentary, so I'm not going to check that box, and really, what I'm about to say here SHOULD be known by anyone who thinks s/he might be interested in this 'nature' film.

Imagine seeing a diver spearing a barracuda. Then the diver spearing a moray eel. Then the diver stabbing a small shark in its belly with a knife when it comes too close. This is in fact the film-maker's idea of a documentary, it seems - namely, 'Go deep-sea diving, and kill everything that crosses your path.' Anyone who enjoys nature and wants to learn more about it will likely be flabbergasted, horrified and stunned when watching this film, as I was.

The carnage doesn't stop there. The viewer also sees an example of deep-sea trawler fishing, where the fishermen scoop up everything they can in a huge net, and whatever they don't want - 'bycatch' - simply dies in the process. We witness sponges being collected by men off the sea floor, and see salmon on their way to their breeding grounds instead being caught by fishermen positioned in strategic places along a river (what a river scene is doing in a film about the sea, well, don't ask me). We also see sharks being captured for display in aquariums and hermit crabs being trapped and captured, I assume destined for pet shops everywhere. The film is capped off - believe it or not - by a whale hunt, as the viewer watches a whale get harpooned and then mercilessly stabbed to death by the hunters. The narrator then unbelievably labels the dying whale a 'monster' not once, not twice, but three times. Never mind that the whale shown here was of no threat to humans. This film - or more accurately, this utter piece of trash - is an absolute horror fest for anyone who loves nature and finds beauty within it. 'Abysmal' is a pretty fair description for this mess.

The fact that "The Sea Around Us" won an Academy Award for Best Documentary seems to be some sort of cruel joke. It speaks volumes about the stupidity of mankind and what it deemed as acceptable and good, just a few decades ago. Famous conservationist Rachel Carson's name was used to promote this film, but after seeing the finished product, she angrily distanced herself from it, and never sold the filming rights to any of her work again. Seeing this travesty of a film, that should come as no surprise.

1/10. This is valuable only in showing the viewer what was deemed normal in 1950s America. It should serve as Exhibit A for "What to avoid when making a documentary." Would I watch again (Y/N): Hell no!

It's a real shame that the copy of "The Sea Around Us" that was shown on Turner Classic Movies is in great need of restoration. Due to the effects of time on nitrate film stock, the film is often too dark or muddy or faded...and it's a shame as the original color film must have wowed audiences.

The film is named after Rachel Carson' book and her name in in the opening credits. However, I have not read the book and assume it differs significantly because there isn't much in the way of plot...just lots of clips of various sea creatures.

When you watch the film today, you also will probably notice that the style is very old fashioned and sensationalistic. Instead of using scientific jargon, the film often tries to amaze viewers and the language is often ridiculous. Moray eels and octopi are described with such florid words as 'killer', 'murderous' and 'cruel'...none of which are true about these relatively benign creatures. This isn't too surprising because this is how many early nature documentaries were...such as Jacques Cousteau's "The Silent World" or the Disney nature films of the 1950s. I suspect much of the sensationalism also was because Irwin Allen made this film...the same guy who loved disaster films and bigger than life stories.

Overall, some excellent early underwater cinematography combined with some very unscientific and sensationalistic material...such as showing a diver knifing a shark to death or using ridiculous narration meant to entertain and not educate. Some of the sea life is misidentified or misrepresented. A real mixed bag.