Search - Oceans Alive on DVD


Oceans Alive
Oceans Alive
Genres: Special Interests, Educational, Documentary
NR     2008     10hr 0min

Studio: Kc Sales Release Date: 06/10/2008
     
     
5

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Movie Details

Genres: Special Interests, Educational, Documentary
Sub-Genres: Nature & Wildlife, Educational, Documentary
Studio: Madacy Home Video
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 06/10/2008
Release Year: 2008
Run Time: 10hr 0min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 5
SwapaDVD Credits: 5
Total Copies: 1
Members Wishing: 0
Edition: Collector's Edition
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Member Movie Reviews

Timothy F. from LEAGUE CITY, TX
Reviewed on 8/16/2009...
This item is brand new.
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

It's all in a name...
Richard L. Knight | 08/25/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)

"...Madacy Entertainment. That label alone should tell you to proceed with caution and although they do have some decent sets out there, caution is definitely good advice regarding this title. The shows on this set were originally aired in the mid to late 80's so I was willing to make some allowances for quality, but I was still disappointed. Colors are muted, images are fuzzy, and I didn't check the bitrate while playing the DVD's, but they must have been transferred at a very low rate because the video jerks and stutters like a low quality quicktime movie you'd find on the internet.

Not to mention the audio which varies from episode to episode, falling somewhere between not so bad to downright awful. Some episodes sound like someone held a cell phone up to the TV speaker to record it. If there was some consistency from episode to episode it probably wouldn't be so bad, but it seemed like as soon as I got used to it, the next show would be worse.

It appears that the star of the show has a bit of an ego problem as well, because it seems he made sure the narrator of each episode only introduced him as either "Naturalist and underwater filmmaker, John Stoneman" or "Expidition leader, John Stoneman", and they also made sure he was seen doing most of the heroic, scientific, or generally important stuff. I know you're probably thinking I'm nitpicking, but after the narrator says "Naturalist and underwater filmmaker, John Stoneman" for the 50th time see if you're not ready to throw the dvd set at your television and shout "OK!!! I got it already!!!".

By now you're probably thinking I've slammed this set pretty hard.

Well, I'm not done yet.

The packaging...it's just not right what they did here. If you've bought any other Madacy products you know it usually comes in a nice tin box (as this one does) and inside is a fold out case with the DVD's nestled in clear plastic snap-holders. Not this time. Basically what you get is the same fold-out case, but instead of plastic inserts you've got 1/4" thick pieces of cardboard with holes cut out for the discs to set in and a little piece of foam rubber in the center to slip through the disc's center hole to hold it in place. This goes way beyond cheap. Also inside the tin you'll find a booklet which summarizes each episode and contains pictures which are much sharper and more colorful than anything you'll see on any of these discs, but it's not much of a bonus when you look at the product as a whole.

Add to all this the fact that the shows are mostly uninteresting and contain no information you probably haven't already seen in better documentaries.

Do yourself a favor and pick up the "Blue Planet - Seas of Life" instead of this nearly unwatchable set."
Great Pick up
Layton E. Huskey | 06/16/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"In contrast to the other guy who bought this DVD set I happen to enjoy this stuff. These were episdoes made by John Stoneman and his crew the Team For Ocean Research. The quality is what you would expect for a late 80's and ealier show but you get over 10 hours of film at this low rate and that is a bargin. The other great thing about it is the interaction and educational aspects of things you see. No ofcourse this is not blu ray or high def in anyway but you have to consdier the time period he did this in. Also you have to consider that what my colllegue over here is saying are overlapping episodes are actually not. This man travels around the world and often does several expeditions (epidsodes) in the same area but on very different things. I will agree this is not up to Discovery channel standards of today with all the high tech stuff. But for what you pay for it, it's a great deal and I found no problem with how the item was boxed. This is very educational and great stuff. It really got me back into Discovery channel stuff and dvds of the ocean and sharks and all kinds of stuff that I use to like when I was a kid, but just forgot about as an adult and lost time for. I think it's worth it's price. Hope you enjoy it."