The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Criterion Collection (2004)

Details: By Loron Hays; 29 May 2014

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The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - Blu-ray Review

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The late period in Bill Murray’s career gets more deadpan and eccentric in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The film, which received mixed reviews upon its release, is an elaborately constructed presentation of Anderson’s film reality that is, at times, hard to recommend and, and at other times, so incredibly hard to turn away from due to its sheer brilliance. The film (and its thoughtful construction) is not unlike an LP, opening up on a wondrous double-gatefold of exciting concept art that pops up in 3D intensity. Everything – including the performances – is meticulous and minutely detailed so much so that the comedy suffers from being underplayed as the dysfunctional Team Zissou tracks down the rare jaguar shark.

After the loss of Team Zissou's much-loved cinematographer Esteban (Seymour Cassel), Zissou (Murray) plans a revenge mission. Steve Zissou, red beanie and all, is patterned after Jacques Cousteau, the most famous undersea explorer of the 20th century, and Steve’s self-produced calmly-narrated marine documentaries are the stuff of legend. But something is amiss in his latest project and the public knows it. Zissou going out exploring solely for revenge? Say it ain’t so! The naturalists are up in arms. Zissou’s career is stalling out in the wake of Esteban’s death and the whole team - now joined by British magazine writer Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) and Steve’s illegitimate son, Ned (Owen Wilson). – knows it, but remains fiercely protective. Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum), Zissou’s hated rival, taunts him with his technology and with his money at every chance along the voyage and Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), Zissou’s estranged wife, is bitten by her own disinterest and one too many affairs over the course of their relationship.

Team Zissou, in spite of its glock-carrying failures at family, is his only support and Steve needs it. The film is comically detached from all sense of the real world and this space makes it difficult to watch. There is beauty in the breakdown, though. What Anderson’s camera records is all about wild eccentricities as comic dialogue – unbeknownst due to the subdued performances – zips by at lightning speed.

Murray’s performance wins over this whimsical film with a weight that is often deceitfully heavy. He’s there in the moments when his expression says otherwise; a man at odds with lingering nostalgia. The film then – or whenever Anderson decides to drop in another weird creature of interesting design – becomes a voyage-themed children’s picture book full of exotic fish and tropical locations complete with marauding pirates. Anderson’s answer to the action is to slow it down, presenting heroic moments in a relative comical amalgamation of slow motion theatrics.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, if allowed to wash over a person’s soul, is an oddly spiritual experience, complete with its own baptism by fire. It’s an eccentric film for sure but it certainly isn’t a flawed attempt at filmmaking; it’s damn near perfect in its portrayal of subdued wonder. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is now available on blu-ray courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

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MPAA Rating: R for language, some drug use, violence and partial nudity.
Runtime: 119 mins
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston
Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Drama
Tagline: The deeper you go, the weirder life gets.
Memorable Movie Quote: "They made soup out of my research turtles."
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: December 25, 2004
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 27, 2014
Synopsis: With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.

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The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - May 27, 2014
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: Locked to region A

This New, restored 4K digital film transfer is simply amazing. It has been approved by director Wes Anderson and the colors look so ripe they could almost burst through the screen. Black levels are intense and the blues are the clearest ever seen. Flesh tones are saturated and the stop-motion effects are flawless. With a 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack providing the sound, this upgrade is worth the porting over of everything else.

Supplements:

Commentary:

Criterion’s new Blu-ray edition has a commentary from Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach which is both revealing and insightful into Anderson’s moviemaking process. Definitely something for fans of Anderson to check out, especially if the previous release is all they have.

Special Features:

The release of the film on Criterion Collection is celebrated with a making-of documentary, an Italian talk show appearance by both Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach, an interview with composer Mark Mothersbaugh, and other featurettes. Unfortunately, there is nothing new added to the mix. A leaflet featuring a cutaway view of The Belafonte, the ship from the film, Eric Anderson's original illustrations, and a conversation between Wes Anderson and Eric Anderson conducted in 2005 is also included.