- Actors: Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau
- Directors: Blanchard Ryan
- Format: PAL
- Language English, French
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Whv
- DVD Release Date: 27 Dec 2004
- Run Time: 81 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000679PXA
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 42,959 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Shot on digital video with a pair of unknown actors (Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis) who tread water for most of the film's brisk 79-minute running time, Open Water is a fact-based exercise in primal fear that will scare the socks off anyone who dreads death from the deep, but it's familiar stuff if you've ever watched "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel (which is mentioned in writer-director Chris Kentis's economical screenplay). If you can't accept that a trendy young couple could be accidentally abandoned during an open-sea diving excursion (but hey, it really happened!), then you'll surely be hooked by the intense what's-gonna-happen anxiety that escalates when the horrified vacationers realize they've got unwanted company. It's too easy to call Open Water a poor man's Jaws, and the movie's too realistically frightening to be compared to the popcorn thrills of Deep Blue Sea, so what you've got here is a shark movie that creates its own little low-budget niche. Before placing his actors in actual proximity to sharks, Kentis betrays them with some silly, bickering dialogue, but with adequate realism in its favour, Open Water offers a perfect excuse to stay on the beach. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Description
Commentary by Cast, Director and Producer. Interviews with Cast & Crew. Behind the scenes 'making of' documentary On the High Seas: The unexpected journey from small film concept to big cinema success Deleted scenes Shark and diving safety facts
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Take it for what it is,
By Wheatgerm (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Open Water [DVD] (DVD)
Having read through some of the (frankly shocking) number of negative reviews, I have to quote this from one of them which says it all really:
"The only thing which kept me watching it until the end was the hope that it would conclude with an action packed shark attack and fight with a load of sharks or something like that." This type of person is NOT going to enjoy this film. This is not a Hollywood big budget, brainless movie. It's filmmaking, stripped to the bare bones, where empathy and allowing yourself to be drawn in is necessary. Based loosely on a real story (Google for the true story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan), the events and plight of this poor couple is truly too awful to contemplate. One cannot begin to imagine the fear and desolation of being stranded in the middle of the Ocean with almost zero chance of being discovered. The way the film is shot draws you in, shakes you about and should you allow yourself to be immersed in, almost as if you're out there with them, you will find this one of the most terrifying films you've ever seen. It is also very disturbing. The acting is strong from two unknowns with the female role being played particularly well. At certain points later in the film, putting yourself in her shoes will haunt you. My only criticism is that the film is a bit too short - the water sequence is fine but we needed more time to get to know and connect with the characters before they embarked on that fateful boat trip. If however, you are one of those people (no offence) who relies on a film to create all your stimulation without allowing yourself to use your own imagination and ability to empathise or involve yourself with it, then you will probably not enjoy Open Water. For those who do drift away with them for 80 mins, you'll be thankful you're safe on your sofa in your nice dry living room when the credits roll.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you only like Hollywood blockbusters, please do not watch this one.,
This review is from: Open Water [DVD] (DVD)
I have just seen this film and read the reviews thinking there would be lots of positive comments.
However, I was baffled by the so many negative comments towards this film; I really don't get what this people expected from this film. It was simply enthralling. The most terrifying moment is when the couple realized that they were left adrift in the middle of the sea and probably there was no way back. IMHO many people are misinterpreting this film; it has nothing to do with sharks, or how to put up a fist fight against them. It's all about survival in the middle of nowhere, in this instance in open sea water, when all hope of a rescue has vanished. This is certainly nothing like Jaws or any other typical Hollywood production, but a real life tragedy. If the shoe was in the other foot you would understand their plight and feeling of hopelessness. Given that this movie is based on a true story, and the two main protagonists never lived to tell the tale we will never know about the real circunstances surrounding their terrible ordeal; all we can do is speculate, and that's preciselly what the producers did. Perhaps sharks played no part whatsoever in their termination, then again we will never find out now, will we? We can only imagine that whichever way they died it was a very horrible, slow and terrifying way to go. Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine. This is not just an horror movie, it's terror. Trust me, this is really a good film. But if you expect this couple to do a Jaws, then this one is definitelly not for you!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wot? No action?,
By
This review is from: Open Water [DVD] (DVD)
Evidently, many of the reviewers here feel a film is only worth watching if it contains 'action'. Fed a diet of too many Hollywood Moovees I suppose. This is a slow film, recorded in a fly-on-the wall, documentary style, rather like Blair Witch. It's all close-ups and odd angles designed to get you into the mood of the characters. You won't find love story, mystery, character arcs, shoot-outs or Jaws-like dramatic music. What you get for most of the film is a sense of isolation. The couple in the water, alone, scared and praying for rescue. It's realistic, believable (based on a true story) and very frightening. You're right there with them in the water, hoping that someone ashore will notice they're missing, as hope turns to despair. Everything happens as it would in real life, they don't see what's underneath them in the water, they just know it's there. If you want Spielberg, look elsewhere, but if you want a psychological thriller that doesn't have a positive, feel-good ending, watch it without preconceptions. It's a disturbing film.
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