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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

(3,520)IMDb 7.31 h 58 min2004X-RayR

An oceanographer sets out after the shark that killed his partner.

Directors: Wes Anderson

Starring: Bill Murray Owen Wilson Cate Blanchett

Genres: Adventure Comedy Action Drama Romance

Subtitles: English [CC]Español

Audio languages: English

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Supporting actors: Anjelica Huston Willen Dafoe Jeff Goldblum Michael Gambon Bud Cort

Producers: Wes Anderson Barry Mendel

Studio: Touchstone Pictures

Rating: R (Restricted)

Content advisory: Drug usefoul languagenuditysexual contentviolence

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Format: Prime Video (streaming online video)

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$791.76

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$33.99

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5 star		83%
4 star		9%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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What Was That I Just Watched?

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2020

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I wouldn't say that this is the damndest movie I ever saw, because I've seen damnder and I don't know whether that's a compliment or a criticism.

Wes Anderson, who wrote and directed this movie, lives in his own special world. It's not one in which I could live long and stay sane, but it's a curious place to visit for two hours. That's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." As you can see from the product description and other reviews, it has a dynamite cast. While Bill Murray, who in my book can do no wrong, is clearly its leader, this is very much an ensemble piece. it's a comedy that made me laugh out loud about three times, though I wasn't counting, rose an occasional chuckle and a sustained smile. It's whimsy committed to celluloid, without a mean bone in its body or a strong bone in its plot. In fact, it moves from one curious episode to the next, with almost no story at all so. If you've just finished "The Collected Works of Raymond Chandler," this would be a nice warm toddy to calm you down. It's a character piece with some very strange characters, set in a production design that may remind boomers of their high-school chemistry classrooms. Its last thirty minutes are "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" if Walt Disney had ingested his Kingdom's Magic Mushrooms. Visually, it's a lot of fun. The stop-motion animation is charming: Ray Harryhausen on Uncle Walt's mushrooms.

I struggled between three and four stars on this one but leaned leniently. For a Criterion Collection item, it was dirt-cheap: about six bucks. I'll watch it again to convince myself that it's just what I thought I saw the first time. It may grow on me. If it doesn't, I'll let you know. If it does, I hope there's a mild disinfectant that will clean it off.

18 people found this helpful

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Real Heart on a Watery Journey

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2020

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A whimsical nautical adventure into fatherhood.

Wes Anderson’s indie adventure, comedy-drama The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) is a wonderful little odyssey about journeying into your feelings. Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach’s script is full of introspection and self-discovery as they ruminate on what makes a good man. They write hilarious dialogue, quirky characters, shocking twists, and heartfelt interactions, which all culminate in a truly special little movie.

Wes Anderson’s films are all magnificent in their own way, and Life Aquatic is no exception. The whimsical tone meets moving drama about fatherhood, responsibility, friendship, love, loss, and leadership. I appreciate all the hard work and compassion for a broken man even more upon a second viewing of Life Aquatic.

Wes Anderson’s direction is phenomenal and creative as is his standard as a unique American auteur. His symmetrical shots of bright primary colors and warm tone are met with a relaxed vibe during Life Aquatic like we are along for a sea cruise. Robert D. Yeoman’s cinematography is as impressive as ever with long panning shots and extended one takes that pan across the length of the ship’s corridors. The pirate shootout and hotel raid are particularly well shot to me. Wes Anderson balances his silly absurdist humor with grounded family drama that still hits hard for his nautical adventure motion picture. I think Life Aquatic has aged well into a cult classic. It’s a shame it was not more well loved upon release. I believe The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is an absolutely charming film from a masterful director.

Life Aquatic may have Mark Mothersbaugh’s best score of any Wes Anderson feature. I love his entire musical passage for the finale with the shark encounter as it’s hauntingly moving and resonates every theme of Life Aquatic at once. Furthermore, Seu Jorge’s Portugeuse covers of David Bowie classics keeps the momentum and morale up on this aquatic adventure all of its quick 119 minutes. I especially love the “Life on Mars'' ship walk sequence and the “Ziggy Stardust” voyage introduction piece. Jorge is also fun as the musician on Zissou’s crew named Pele dos Santos.

David Moritz’ editing is so smooth and natural for Life Aquatic. His style is full of snappy cuts still, but he eases the pace to a steady one to allow you to enjoy the ride more with these fun characters. Seymour Cassel’s cameo as Zissou’s late best friend Esteban is a wonderful callback to Cassel’s roles within Wes’s former features Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. Wes’ casts never disappoint.

Bill Murray is captivating as a broken, old, homophobe, seafarer named Captain Steve Zissou. Every line Murray breathes a new life of irreverent humor and blunt honesty into like only he could. His chemistry with Anjelica Huston as his estranged wife Eleanor Zissou is fun, but his rapport with a likable Owen Wilson as Ned Plimpton is the highlight of Life Aquatic. Their scenes together are so sincere you just want to cry. Wilson is great alongside his love interest Cate Blanchett and an intriguing character of her own called Jane Winslitt-Richardson. You just want these miserable people to be happy.

Willem Dafoe is fantastic as the overly attached first mate to Zissou named Klaus Daimler. Dafoe’s chaotic energy and enjoyment infects you with joy. Jeff Goldblum is funny as the weird rival to Murray’s Zissou entitled Alistair Hennessey. Michael Gambon’s sponsor for Zissou, Oseary Drakoulias, is a fun addition. Noah Taylor is super funny as the sonar guy Vladimir Wolodarsky. Lastly, Isabella Blow is a fun foil to Zissou’s madness as the dissenter on the crew named Antonia Cook.

Henry Selick’s stop motion animation for the fish, jellyfish, and shark segments are adorable and tenderly fit Wes Anderson’s aesthetic beautifully. Selick’s animation works well alongside Martin Meunier’s visual effects. Mark Friedberg, Stefano Maria, Ortolani Marco Trentini, and Eugenio Ulissi’s production design makes the ship look really lived in and fascinating to stare at in the background no matter what you're looking at in Life Aquatic.

Milena Canonero’s costumes are very cute and playful for Life Aquatic. The red beanie and baby blue sailor uniforms are already iconic Wes Anderson fits.

In short, Life Aquatic is one of Wes Anderson’s most underrated films as it holds up with its heart and humor alike.

7 people found this helpful

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Paul Gross

Some good stuff here...

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2014

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I'm not qualified to have an objective opinion about this film!

I grew up on 16mm science films in grade school, loved the Jacques Cousteau TV documentaries, and later worked on sports-related 16mm documentaries myself. So...cheezy, low budget 16mm docs are in my blood. Frankly, this film nails them perfectly. And it nails the kind of people who are driven to make them as well. Every character in this film resonates with me.

Anderson has a knack for getting characters much older than himself right. (Royal in Tennebaums, the mom in Darjeeling, Steve Zissou here, etc.) I can say that with some confidence because I'm close to the age of these characters. In this film, Steve Zissou has a Don Quixote quality. The sheer force of his illusions carries him forward...while his family and co-workers recoil in horror.

I give it 5 stars, but I can't give this film a blanket recommendation. Anyone who is either too young to understand the 16mm film genre might not relate to the humor or story telling here. It's worth checking out the trailers on youtube to take your own temperature.

40 people found this helpful

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Kamila Z. Miller

I'll be watching this movie over and over

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017

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I watched this years ago with my daughter. It affects me deeply, stirring up feelings about watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries as a young girl. It has comedic moments, but this isn't a laugh-out-loud sort of movie, at least not for me. It frequently wanders into the supremely surreal. This is more of a Groundhog Day sort of movie for Bill Murray. This will be one of those movies I plan on watching over and over.

13 people found this helpful

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Fuficius Fango

Jacques who?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2019

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I was disappointed the first time I watched it, but I was so puzzled by what Anderson wanted to say about Jacques Cousteau that I kept on watching it, and it gets better with every viewing. It basically seems to be either a critique of Cousteau (with a little bit of Moby Dick thrown in) or an encomium of him and a satire on how an American might have been such a man, with comicbook elements. And there's a Cousteau reference in Rushmore, so I think Anderson is probably a genuine fan of his.

But Cousteau was a man with dubious standards. He invented the aqualung and made a fortune and spent it on exploring the oceans - by older standards he was probably a fair conservationist who didn't excite much criticism, but by modern standards he was questionable if not terrible - I remember reading that the animals in his care had a very miserable life (e.g. the seals he kept had a habit of dying of dehydration and getting replaced with others), and his filming was faked some of the time. The Life Aquatic warns that all filming is fake to some extent, Cousteau's, David Attenborough's, Wes Anderson's. A rottentomatoes critic complains of the variety of film stock used by Anderson, missing the point that the more garish stuff very successfully mimics Cousteau's 50s and 60s film stock. But how many of us remember Cousteau's TV programmes enough to get the satire? I see Cousteau DVDs are available, but they are not quite cheap enough for me to want to revisit him.

I'm not a huge Bill Murray fan, but I like him in this.

5 people found this helpful

S. Seliger

Einer der schlechtesten Filme, die ich je gesehen haben - trotz All-Star Cast inkl. Bill Murray

Reviewed in Germany on September 29, 2020

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Ich bin maßlos enttäuscht von diesem Film! Ein wirres Drehbuch mit einer Story, die man kaum kapiert, Witze die nicht zünden, seltsame und meist unsympathische Charaktere und creepy Stop Motion Effekte...

Dabei war der all-star cast so vielsprechend... Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe und sogar Michael Gambon (Dumbledore!!) spielen hier mit. Jedoch erlauben ihnen ihre Rollen und das weirde Drehbuch nicht, ihr Potenzial auszuschöpfen. Lediglich Bill Murray agiert wie immer unverwüstlich.
Zudem hat Jeff Goldblum durch die zufällige Dopplung mit Bill Murray (beide eig. Arne Elsholtz im Deutschen) nicht seine gewohnte Synchronstimme.

Ich bin mitten im Film eingeschlafen, so langweilig war er für mich...

20 people found this helpful

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Jordan

Great bluray of a good film (if not the director's best)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2019

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A spotter, less coherent experience than Tenenbaums or any of Anderson's later works, but definitely not terrible either. I particularly enjoyed Willem Dafoe's character and the wonderful performances of Portuguese musician Seu Jorge (a full set of recordings of him covering Bowie songs is featured in the extras). The Criterion Bluray features a crystal sharp image, rich colours, and a detailed and clear soundtrack. You also get a slew of extras including documentaries, cast and crew interviews, and storyboards and photos.

3 people found this helpful

S. Hughes

delightful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2015

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I don't buy many DVD's at all but since seeing Grand Budapest Hotel ( bought CD on the strength of hearing the score through snippets on Classic FM then the DVD as a consequence) where I found the dry sense of humour absolutely delightful so I bought some more of Wes Anderson's work ..to watch on holiday including this one and I wasn't disappointed.. in fact I have just ordered the rest of them!! ( they will pass some time in a positive way as I broke my ankle on that holiday!!) these are very "different".. quirky, intelligent deadpan humour - will watch over probably several times( something I rarely do) to relive the delicious "jokes" and enjoy those I probably missed! I would recommend starting with Grand Budapest Hotel if you have never seen any of his work.. the best way to see if his earlier work will be for you.

10 people found this helpful

yodabejedi

It's Criterion so you know it's good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2021

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Very nice Criterion Collection release. The 1080p HD Blu-ray is brought to you via a newly restored 4K digital transfer. Looks gorgeous. The 5.1 Surround DTS-HD soundtrack does Seu Jorge justice. Technical aside, it's a fantastic movie and there's an excellent quasi-video diary by Matthew Gray Gubler of Criminal Minds fame who was also part of the cast.