Blood n Bubbles - History of Diving in the Movies

Question

For the past five years or so, Diver Magazine's Blood 'N' Bubbles trivia quiz has looked at movies that are works of fiction. The column has been looking at fictional films because there are few underwater documentaries that get theatrical release. However, with improvements in underwater lighting, housing and cameras, several full-length underwater documentaries have been made and shown in theatres.

Pictured above, a submarine hovers above a shipwreck as it shoots footage for a Walt Disney Pictures' underwater documentary. The submarine is Russian, the camera equipment is Canadian, and the director is Canadian.

Question. The following five shipwrecks have been featured in documentaries. Which of the five is the wreck pictured in this month's quiz?

  • 1. The Andrea Doria
  • 2. The Bismarck
  • 3. The Titanic
  • 4. PT 109
  • 5. Edmund Fitzgerald
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    Answer

     

    The movie is Ghosts of the Abyss, which is currently showing in Imax theatres around the world. The wreck is the Titanic, the Sony equipment was designed by the Canadian film company Imax and the director is Niagara Falls, Ontario native James Cameron. After directing the blockbuster (fictional) Titanic Cameron decided to go back underwater and shoot a 3-D documentary about the deep-water wreck. Pictured, a Russian MIR submarine hovers over the bow of the Titanic.