Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The - Criterion Collection (Special Edition)  (2004)

Rating: R

Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Release Date: May 10, 2005
Review posted: May 11, 2005

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

SYNOPSIS

Internationally famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew - Team Zissou - set sail on an expedition to hunt down the mysterious, elusive, possibly non-existent jaguar shark that killed Zissou's partner during the documentary filming of their latest adventure. They are joined on their voyage by a young airline co-pilot who may or may not be Zissou's son (Owen Wilson), a beautiful journalist (Cate Blanchett) assigned to write a profile of Zissou, and his estranged wife and co-producer, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston). They face overwhelming complications including pirates, kidnapping and bankruptcy. Oscar-nominated writer-director Wes Anderson has assembled an all-star cast that includes Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor, and Bud Cort.

CRITIQUE

I highly anticipated the release of Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic last December because the trailer looked good and I'm a fan of the director's previous movies, The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore. Perhaps because of my high expectations I ended up not liking Aquatic as much as I would've liked. Despite a great production (the sets and locations are fantastic) and excellent efforts in terms of filmmaking (cinematography, effects, etc.), the screenplay by Anderson and collaborator Noah Baumbach lacks the enthusiasm for its characters. Bill Murray's performance is very good but Steve Zissou is not an easy man to like. He is a bit reclusive and sad, yet also adventurous. In fact, his latest mission out to sea is out of revenge, but perhaps for other reasons as well that aren't made too clear.

The story of The Life Aquatic is actually interesting. Following the exploits and adventures of an oceanographer and his wacky team members becomes a sight to see, and the script creates enough sequences to make the viewer smile here and think there. The script also handles well the complications and daily struggles that come with such a profession, including the loss of financing and the mood of the crew. However, it's too bad the characters aren't like that. Zissou has some mood swings throughout the movie, so at times he is a likeable and interesting guy.

The supporting characters vary in terms of interest. The Owen Wilson son character should've been more fleshed out so the event in the third act would elicit more dramatic feeling, but there are good scenes between him and the female journalist who accompanies Team Zissou in order to write a profile about the captain. The relationship of Zissou to his wife also lacks dimension but the actors pull it off. Team Zissou is usually in the background as the major characters inhabit the story, though Willem Dafoe comes through nicely.

Overall, The Life Aquatic excels on enough levels to be fairly entertaining and keep the interest of the viewer, at least those viewers who like Anderson's previous works. The ensemble cast is certainly a big plus for the movie and it's interesting to see them together in this movie.

THE VIDEO

Buena Vista presents The Life Aquatic in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors look clean and well saturated. Print quality is quite good except for some specks and grain in more than several scenes. Sharpness and detail are good, however, and overall the presentation is good.

THE AUDIO

Buena Vista presents The Life Aquatic in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, with the front speakers delivering noise free audio. The rear speakers are hardly active as the movie is mostly dialogue-driven, but the few sound effects and Steven Stern's nice score are presented clearly. A Stereo Surround track is also available.

THE EXTRAS

Disc 1:

The audio commentary by Wes Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach is very good. It’s informative and offers stories on the production and writing process, plus much more. The only downside, although small, is that both guys aren’t the most energetic speakers, but they’re passionate about the movie. Also, this track was recorded at the same restaurant where they wrote the script, which means there’s some background noise throughout the commentary.

Next are nine deleted/alternate scenes that run four and half minutes in length. They were rightfully left out but good to watch once. A play all option is available.

Starz on the Set (14:35) offers a variety of interviews with cast and crew and footage from the various sets. While not very in depth, it is nevertheless a good watch.

Lastly, there’s the film’s theatrical trailer (2:23).

Disc 2:

This Is An Adventure (51:23) is a cool documentary on the making of the movie. Made by Albert Maysles, Antonio Ferrera and Matthew Prinzing in 2003 in Italy, this behind-the-scenes look offers great footage of Wes Anderson communicating with the actors and crew, the actors doing their bit, and really just everything that went on during filming. This fly-on-the-wall documentary is very cool, but more importantly it is informative and entertaining.

The Look Aquatic (5:30) is a brief but informative featurette about production design and the look of the movie, specifically the large set of the Belafonte ship which was built in a cross-section so the camera could literally follow  characters walking from one room to another.

Aquatic Life (7:54) examines the little CGI creatures which were all stop-action animated.

Creating a Scene (4:42) gets into the filmmaker's visual style with the director and actors filming a scene. Here we get an idea how Anderson prefers to film his scenes.

Seu Jorge Performs David Bowie (40:01) features ten songs performed by the man who also sings in the movie. I never cared about this character in the movie as he usually distracted from the story. Then again he provided some mood to Team Zissou.

Mark Mothersbaugh (19:04) is an interview piece with the composer who's worked with Anderson on all his films. We learn about the process with which Mothersbaugh approaches the music and more. Actually, the film score is kind of funny in a way, especially the "ping" part of the music.

Mondo Monda (16:23) is an amusing interview piece with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach recorded at an Italian television show.

Intern Video Journal (15:22) is exactly what it says. Matthew Gray Gubler, who played and was credited as Intern #1 in the movie, shot and edited this documentary that shows us more from the making of the movie, but more in the fashion of silly than serious. You'll get the idea.

Next are three "character profile featurettes" that give more insight into the characters and the actors portraying them, They are Jane Winslett-Richardson (3:28), an interview with Cate Blanchett, Esteban (7:09), video of Seymour Cassell in Italy and filming a scene, and Ned (2:54), an interview with Owen Wilson about the character, plus Bill Murray's thoughts.

Costumes (4:37) looks at the dress code of the characters and how Anderson chooses the clothes to fit them. Some of the actors voice their opinions about their wardrobe.

Rounding out the extras on the second disc are two collections of photo stills, Designs includes the art and conceptual designs from the movie, and Photos offers a large selection of behind-the-scene stills

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is not a perfect movie but it entertains fairly well and tells a good story despite the lack of enthusiasm for its characters in the script. Compared to Anderson's previous movies, this one isn't as serious as The Royal Tenenbaums and not as funny as Rushmore, instead it places somewhere in the middle. The production values are great and the cast is a cool ensemble, but in the end this isn't my favorite movie from Anderson. It's good but not great. The extras on the second DVD are generous and very informative, and the video/audio quality is very good, which leads me to highly recommend this two-disc Criterion Collection Special Edition (spine #300).

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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