{"id":9181,"date":"2009-08-21T16:08:10","date_gmt":"2009-08-21T23:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9181"},"modified":"2021-01-29T20:38:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T03:38:11","slug":"silent-world-the-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9181","title":{"rendered":"Silent World, The (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;No instrument can replace man. Divers are indispensable in a modern study of the sea.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster-221x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster-221x300.png 221w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster-753x1024.png 753w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster-94x128.png 94w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster-768x1044.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster-199x270.png 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Silent-World-Poster.png 823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nJacques Cousteau and his crew explore the ocean on their diving ship, the Calypso.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At Sea<\/li>\n<li>Documentary<\/li>\n<li>Explorers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nFans of underwater diving and sea life will be both shocked and disturbed to visit this Oscar-winning documentary by famed diver and explorer Jacques Cousteau (who based the film on his bestselling 1953 book <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Silent_World:_A_Story_of_Undersea_Discovery_and_Adventure\"><em>The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure<\/em><\/a>). Although he&#8217;s known as a pioneering marine conservationist (in 1973, he co-founded the Cousteau Society for the Protection of Ocean Life) this film demonstrates a horrifying level of disrespect towards marine animal life, with various sequences showing Cousteau and\/or his crew &#8220;riding&#8221; on the backs of sea turtles trying to swim to the surface for air; attempting half-heartedly to harpoon a whale; viciously attacking a school of sharks simply because they &#8220;dare&#8221; to circle around a dead whale and eat its flesh; dynamiting a coral reef; and gleefully showing off a frightened puffer fish as it releases water. <\/p>\n<p>With that said, those who are able to stomach these scenes of blatant violence should at least appreciate Cousteau&#8217;s groundbreaking work in the field of underwater cinematography. Assisted by a young Louis Malle, Cousteau captured haunting footage of life under water &#8212; the type of imagery we take for granted now, but which was remarkably innovative at the time. A sequence in which a crew member slowly swims through a sunken wreck is particularly haunting. In 1964, Cousteau directed and produced another Oscar-winning documentary, <em>Le Monde Sans Soleil<\/em> (&#8220;A World Without Sun&#8221;), which documented a team of divers living in an underwater research vessel; while it still shows evidence of laughable human hubris, it&#8217;s at least free from scenes of blatant disrespect towards sea life. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note: <\/strong>It&#8217;s revealing that, upon its release in theaters, <em>The New York Times<\/em> praised <em>The Silent World<\/em> unreservedly, without mentioning any of the above &#8220;issues&#8221; &#8212; which says something profound about the era in which it was made.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some truly beautiful early footage of underwater life<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/silent-world-underworld.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/silent-world-underworld.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9185\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/silent-world-underworld2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/silent-world-underworld2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9186\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The crew exploring an old wreck<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/silent-world-wreck.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/silent-world-wreck.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9187\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical relevance &#8212; but be forewarned that you WILL be disturbed by much of what you see. It&#8217;s inexplicably labeled a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book (what was he thinking?). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049518\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1956\/09\/25\/archives\/screen-beautiful-sea-silent-world-opens-at-the-paris-here.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/le-monde-du-silence\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;No instrument can replace man. Divers are indispensable in a modern study of the sea.&#8221; Synopsis: Jacques Cousteau and his crew explore the ocean on their diving ship, the Calypso. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: At Sea Documentary Explorers Review: Fans of underwater diving and sea life will be both shocked and disturbed to visit this Oscar-winning documentary by famed diver and explorer Jacques Cousteau (who based the film on his bestselling 1953 book The Silent World: A Story of&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9181\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9181"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66945,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9181\/revisions\/66945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}