In the Heart of the Sea - Blu-ray

Content: In the middle of the 19th. Century, young writer Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) meets with former sailor Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), the last survivor of the legendary Essex. There are quite a few myths surrounding the sinking of the ship. For the research of his next book Moby Dick, Melville wants to learn the truth about the end of the Essex from Nickerson. After initial hesitation, the broken man tells the writer the story, which begins with competition between two men: chief mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), who was actually promised command of the ship, and inexperienced captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), whose wealthy family has given him the post. After some bad decisions by Pollard, a large sperm whale causes the ship to sink - and the survivors must do unimaginable things to avoid also dying at sea like many of their chambermates.

In the Heart of the Sea is admittedly based on true background. However, director Ron Howard took quite a few liberties in adapting the story that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. That's not a big deal, though, as they work well from a dramaturgical point of view. For instance, the fictional meeting between Melville and Thomas Nickerson serves as a perfect parenthesis for the events that will eventually lead to the publication of one of literature's great classics. Certainly, this stylistic device is not new and, especially in the context of a ship disaster, is reminiscent in a sense of James Cameron's Titanic. Still, the inclusion of Melville was a very good idea, as it allows for an even more direct reference to Moby Dick.

The very great strength of the film is its visuals. The underwater shots and the whale attacks are great and extremely stirringly realized. It is true that especially in the 2D version it is noticeable that some scenes have been deliberately staged to fit the 3D effects. Nevertheless, these moments also work brilliantly in the two-dimensional version and transport the viewer right into the middle of the action. You can almost taste the salt water whipping around, and you keep flinching from bursting wood and flapping fins.

As strong as such scenes are, there are also a few moments where the staging takes the pace out almost entirely. Here, unfortunately, the script isn't strong enough, resulting in some longueurs that even the great set, good effects and convincing cast can't make up for. As gripping as the story is, the second half of the movie drags on and on, which dulls the positive overall impression a little bit. But Ron Howard proves to be an accomplished filmmaker, who counteracts the weaknesses of the script with some well-directed moments of suspense and strong images.

In the Heart of the Sea is thus in the end a gripping adventure film and a rousing survival drama, which has become a little lengthy here and there, but never boring. And for that, the bottom line is a clear: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The audiovisual realization of the film for the Blu-ray can convince in almost every respect. The image has a pleasing depth and excellent sharpness of detail. The atmospheric color mixing also supports the very positive overall impression, which is not disturbed by blurring or other weaknesses even in the darker moments. The powerful sound is present in an extremely lively Dolby Atmos mix that really lets it rip in almost every second with minor or major sound effects on all channels. What more could you ask for. Very good!

Extras: The Blu-ray's bonus material kicks off with a somewhat unusual extra. The Captain's Log (approx. 15:50 min.) traces various aspects of the production through director Ron Howard's Twitter and Facebook posts. With Howard commenting on the whole thing himself, it's not as dry and pointless as it might sound at first. It continues with featurettes about the main characters Chase and Pollard (approx. 7:28 min.), about the hard life of the whalers (approx. 8:44 min.), about the story (approx. 9:13 min.) and about the special effects (approx. 10:35 min.). The most interesting extra, however, is a documentary about the true story behind Moby Dick (approx. 28:59 min.), which is a really interesting addition to the main film.

Rounding out the bonus offerings are quite a few unused scenes (approx. 36:02 min.), some extended scenes (approx. 7:11 min.) and an island montage (approx. 3:07 min.), the point of which doesn't really make sense. Alone for the good documentary and the many cut scenes, this one gets a: Absolutely worth seeing!

Conclusion: Visually, In the Heart of the Sea is a real experience. The whale attacks, in particular, are superbly staged. In the second half, the high seas adventure turns into a somewhat plodding fight for survival, but thanks to the convincing cast and good direction, it still manages to grab you. The Blu-ray presents the film in very good picture and sound quality and also the bonus material knows how to convince. For this there is quite clearly a: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp