MPAA Rating: PG
Distributed by: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Running Time: 193 minutes
Our Score: 3 out of 5 stars
I am a sucker plain-and-simple any kind of shark documentary. “Shark Divers” delivers some decent entertainment for any shark lovers. If you are looking for some hardcore documentary, this may not be for you. But it is a fun mix and facts with entertainment factor. Mill Creek’s delivers overall a nice collection of documentaries including the following: “The Shark Divers”, “Shark Business”, “Whale Sharks: Gentle Giants” and “Giants of San Benedicto”.These are film taking advantage of the high-def underwater photography and are developed by Danny Mauro. He has worked on over 100 programs about the marine environment, including “The Blue Realm”. So you know that these docs have a lot of love going into them.
“The Shark Divers” – Sharks are BIG business in adrenaline eco-tourism. And some thrill seekers deliberately pursue close encounters with deadly sharks – without the protection of a cage. The bigger and more dangerous the shark, the better. But have we taken this risky sport too far? “Shark Business” – Shark Business unravels some of the mysteries surrounding sharks with controversial behaviorist Dr. Erich Ritter. You’ll witness divers testing the limits of shark-human interaction outside of cages with dangerous sharks such as lemon, bull and even Great White sharks!
“Whale Sharks: Gentle Giants” – Whale Sharks: Gentle Giants introduces us to this amazing creature through scientists who are racing against time to save the species. Utilizing space-age technology from NASA and the Hubble Telescope, researchers are able to identify, catalogue and track individual sharks.
“Giants of San Benedicto” – You’ll travel to the remote Socorro Islands off Mexico’s Pacific coast and see breath-taking encounters with enormous manta rays. You’re sure to love these majestic giants as you see how they invite human contact, and encourage certain divers to ride them. The film crew also travels to the Bahamas to visit “Bubbles”, a fifteen foot Manta in the world’s largest aquarium, and witness her release back into the ocean.
The Blu-ray release itself looks nice but not stunning within its high definition transfer. Despite the fact that it was shot underwater, it still looks presentable for the format, thought not going to blow anyone away. The audio track included is DTS-HD MA 2.0 is like the video transfer…acceptable. The narration sounds decent and works well with the music in the docs. If you are looking for any additional special features, besides the four documentaries, you will be disappointed. I wouldn’t though have expected much more besides the films themselves.
