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eskimo3883
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Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:14 pm

Happened to see this youtube clip from the Cousteau bio film THE ODYSSEY. Sorry if this was already posted. Only place I could find the DVD was from Amazon France. This clip shows a short scene with the family diving. Really nice underwater filming and props.


Clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UODyh2M2dMg

Amazon France page to order DVD or Blu-ray (Shipping will be about $10 USD):
https://www.amazon.fr/LOdyss%C3%A9e-Blu ... vd&sr=1-15
“A skin diver is a fellow who pulls on a pair of fancy swimming trunks, some rubber fins, a diving mask and canvas gloves, then fills his lungs with air and noses down into the ocean looking for two fisted trouble.”

BigSwell
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Tue Sep 08, 2020 4:32 pm

It was on one of the streaming channels a while ago, Netflix or The Zon, can't remember. If you haven't read The Sea King yet you should, it paints a very different picture of the REEL Life Aquatic than was portrayed by his movies and celebrity personality on camera... and one which was filled with not-so-rosey glasses. It's a great read, I enjoyed it.

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SurfLung
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:00 pm

That clip gives some close-ups of the equipment used to simulate the original equipment... Pretty quick views but I could make out a brass colored modern tank valve. I think I saw an original Mistral and maybe a Royal Mistral? I heard that Ryan Spence provided equipment and technical support.
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

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eskimo3883
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:26 pm

I agree Sea King is a good read. Also "Cousteau: An Unauthorized Biography" has some stuff he was not proud of. My understanding is Cousteau does not get the reverence in France as he gets in the USA. Lots of stuff not talked about much (brother died in prison for his collaboration with germans, anti-semitic letters released, films released by the germans, dove under German supervision, war medal was awarded by Vichy and not free france, etc.). He lived next door to the Vichey Admiral Darlan so maybe he had little choice in some of his decisions. I have zero right to comment on who did what and why in Vichy France as if I would be brave enough to be working for the french underground. Still, I grew up and loved his series of TV films, Falco, and the Calypso. My beef with Cousteau is what he tried to do to the reputation of Commeinhes, a true war hero of France who died in battle. This continued when the war was over. That was for greed.
“A skin diver is a fellow who pulls on a pair of fancy swimming trunks, some rubber fins, a diving mask and canvas gloves, then fills his lungs with air and noses down into the ocean looking for two fisted trouble.”

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SurfLung
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Tue Sep 22, 2020 10:48 am

I think there are two stories to tell about Cousteau: The first is technological achievements. The second is the carefully crafted media personality that hid a lot of lies and hypocracy. I don't think that movie really did either story justice.

I got a copy of Cousteau's first book The Silent World... And it is truly amazing what they did in the many years before they got the Calypso. Surviving lethal mistakes in filling tanks near a carbon monoxide source, cave diving, wreck diving, deep diving, photography. Much of it during the NAZI occupation of France. Then the miraculous donation of the Calypso from a benefactor. And then an equally miraculous sponsorship by the oil industry in return for supplying geological date to the oil companies in the middle east. This is where the money came from to develop DPVs, the minisub saucer, and Conshelf I, II, III, and IV. Combined with our own US Navy George Bond's saturation diving techniques, these were HUGE technical achievements that the oil industry benefited from and evolved into the deep diving methods used today. The oil based prosperity we enjoy today can be partially credited to Cousteau's contributions to finding oil and developing diving technology.

But then Cousteau got into this "Ambassador to the Oceans" phase. Where it was all about making pretty TV shows, National Geopgraphic articles, and saving the oceans. I think it was Rachel Carson or Eugenie Clark who stated, "Cousteau is not a scientist"... But that's what the public thought he was... a research scientist. He completely abandoned and even slandered his former sponsors, the oil companies. And he forced his family to conspire with him to hide his extramarital affairs... What a cruel thing to do to your family. What we saw on TV in the '70s was a carefully crafted media personality... Not the truth.

But who am I to judge? Great men throughout history have been less than perfect family men. Maybe that's not what they were put here for. Personally, I am so thankful for the AquaLung... It continues to bring joy to my life everyday. And I appreciate the wealth and prosperity that came from Cousteaus contributions to deep water diving technology. And yes, I enjoyed the TV shows, too.

Maybe the personal story would have been better left untold.
SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

BigSwell
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:57 pm

you can stream L'Odyssey (The Odyssey) for free on PlutoTV and the Roku Channel. Other channels may also have it, do search on whichever device/service you have.

davidthornburgh
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Sun Oct 11, 2020 10:05 am

Awesome film with stunning uw footage and cool vintage shots. I think it’s available on Prime video as well.

davidthornburgh
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Re: Short clip from Cousteau bio film "THE ODYSSEY"

Sun Oct 11, 2020 10:06 am

Awesome film with stunning uw footage and cool vintage shots. I think it’s available on Prime video as well.

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