Sanctum: Scary in
its realism.
For me, this one fits in nicely with other horror films, in
addition to being one of the few diving movies that does not use sharks as
their instrument of fear. It taps
into the fear of extreme overhead environments and exploring them. Cave diving is a highly specialized
skill and when in an unexplored cave, let alone underwater in an unexplored cave, there are many ways to die,
and Sanctum touches several of them.
In this film, which was
inspired by actual events, a world renowned cave explorer is looking for the
way to get from the opening of Esa’ala cave in New Guinea, to its exit into the
sea. It teaches lessons such as,
“It is not good to take short cuts,( like neglecting to bring bail out
bottles)”, and “Don’t dive if you are not fully up to the task,” and remember
all your training, even stuff like “free flow regulator breathing.” I think this one is technically pretty
authentic.
Thunderball: James Bond thriller
Seeing the remnant of the sunken plane used in this film is
what inspired Mike and me to learn to dive. In addition, if you were wondering where they came up with
all the crazy characters in the first Austin Powers movie, viewing Thunderball
will make it all clear. In this
classic James Bond film starring Sean Connery, the dashing Bond must outwit Spectre’s Number 1 in a race to retrieve
two atomic bombs somewhere under the Bahamian waters. Among the cool Bond gadgets is a tiny mouth held scuba tank,
and a jetpack. Again, plenty of bikini
clad women and brushes with sharks keep the plot moving.
The Abyss: Science
fiction with aliens.
During the cold war, an American nuclear sub mysteriously
goes on the fritz and sinks several hundred feet into the ocean and on the edge
of the abyss. Believing that the
Reds must be involved in this mishap, a Navy SEALS team is deployed to salvage
the sub’s missiles, but that they must get help from the diving crew on a deep
water oil drilling rig nearby. The
intrepid crew soon realizes that the Reds are the least of their worries as
they find themselves in a fight to stop WWIII. At one point though, Ed Harris and the crew are trying to
revive a drowned Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio using breaths and defibrillation
only techniques. So no one on this
mission has proper first aid training? Lots of scary special effects in this
Sci-Fi thriller.
The Life Aquatic with Steve
Zissou : Comedy
Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is sort of a Jacque Cousteau
character, but grief stricken and on a quest to avenge his best friend’s death
by killing a fluorescent shark. It
has its funny moments. Also
starring in this film are Angelica Houston, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum and
Willem Dafoe. This movie inspired
the Team Manta tuque. I am still
looking for the right speedo, though!
The Deep Blue Sea : Science fiction without aliens.
(clip about the making of this film)
This movie can’t miss with the like of Samuel L. Jackson, LLCool J, Saffron Burrows and Michael Rappaport. In this film, a group of scientists are working on a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, using shark brains. The bad thing is that in the process, they made the sharks smarter, and are they teed off that someone’s been fooling with their brains! Lots of great special effects, but it is fun to look for mistakes.
See if you can spot these!
Lady in Cement: Campy detective movie
This is a great one with Frank Sinatra, Rachel Welch and DAN
BLOCKER (Jeeze, he looks huge next to Sinatra!). I love these movies from the day when scuba was new and the sea
so dangerous and full of mystery.
Back then, scuba was for only those interested in an early death.
Everyone wore shiny black neoprene and giant coffee can size masks. Sharks were everywhere: impossible to
avoid, but no worries. The diver
need only stab him with his knife and that shark is history! This is a fun one for it’s classic
detective vibe.
What are your favorite scuba movies? 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Into the
Blue with Jessica Alba? The deep with Nick Nolte? Finding Nemo?
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