Shark Week: Restless Fury (Blu-ray Review)
Shark Week may have come and gone, but these magical beasts will always live on in the silver linings of this Blu-ray disc. Discovery Channel hosts a yearly week of programming in tribute to these majestic predators of the deep. Shark Week: Restless Fury is one such compilation of recent Discovery Channel programming devoted to sharks collected in one volume. How will the these oceanic wonders stack up to the scrutiny of the Blu-ray format? Get your snorkel and dive right in.
Film 
It’s about time that sharks got into the groove of things on Blu-ray. Discovery Channel has released Shark Week: Restless Fury in celebration of their themed “shark week” cable television programming. What better way to relive the shark frenzy than on the Blu-ray format.
Shark Week: Restless Fury is split off into sections for your viewing pleasure. You can play them all, one right after the other, or play them individually. I played them one at a time.
Into the Shark Bite: Shark expert Mark Addison and underwater cameraman Andy Casagrande develop several mini-HD cameras and rigs to literally stick them into the mouths of live sharks and film them from the inside out. This one was pretty fun an unique, and extremely fascinating. The mechanics of the shark and how it works is great.
Ultimate Air Jaws: Shark photographer Chris Fallows tracks down the most feared shark in the world: The Great White shark. What’s scarier than a Great White shark in the water? How about a Great White shark jumping OUT of the water! Not only is this amazing, but it’s very scary and makes you glad that you were not born a seal. These Great White wonders jump out of the water (breach) and snag prey in a blink of an eye.
Day of the Shark III: Six shark attack survivors discuss their ordeal. It’s all told in dramatizations, but they went all out on the special effects make-up and gore. You’d think that the these actor were actually munched on while filming the dramatization. Be warned.
Shark Attack Survival Guide: Host Terry Schappert is an ex-special forces soldier who will take you on a journey of survival. Mainly on how to survive a shark attack. I didn’t really care for this one early on, because I found Terry to be a bit of a condescending meat head, but as the show progressed he lightened up. I did get a chuckle out of the “don’t try this at home” disclaimer at the beginning. If you see the size and scope of the stunts Terry does, you’ll know what I mean.
Sharkbite Beach: In 2008 there were several major shark attacks along several stretches of beach along the Mexico-California coast. This one is a bit redundant, because Day of the Shark III kind of covered it all. The one exception being that this particular one takes place in the U.S. The other took place all over the world.
Shark Week’s Best Bites: They saved the best for last which is why this one’s last. Late, Late Show Host Craig Ferguson loses his ever-loving mind and goes shark diving! Craig is awesome and it was a lot of fun watching him get “coerced” by the crew to get into shark cage and feed the sharks with his bare hands. The hijinx were severe!
Video
Shark Week:Restless Fury is presented in 1080i utilizing various aspect ratios. I don’t have cable television, so I assume that if you do have cable, the digital image pumped through by your provider is also in 1080i. Judging the sole video content of this Blu-ray I’d have to say that sharks have never looked this sharp and deadly before. The ocean footage is clean and crisp. There may be some occasional banding, but they do film out in the day time mostly, so it could be a sun flare or water getting into the lens. It almost makes me want to jump in for a swim. Almost.
Audio
Shark Week: Restless Fury is presented in standard Dolby Digital 5.1. (448 kbps). Yes, we don’t have a lossless audio track, but all things considered, what we got is just as good. Lots of the programming contains narration and voice-over which sound great. Once submerged in the deep the thumping and pulsing of the ocean sounds also come through with great clarity. During some of the more dramatic dramatizations some of the special effects used really work the sound stage. Yes, this is a simple 5.1 track, but it is of high quality. Sharks never sounded so scary!
Special Features
Shark Week: Restless Fury contains a prime helping of special features in these extra FULL LENGTH featurettes. The first featurette is an upconverted feature, but the last two are in nativeHD. The specials touch on the subject of shark attacks as if the sharks were attacking humans on purpose and why. It’s a bit self-serving, because, DUH, you’re in their habitat, so you do risk the chance of getting eaten. Common sense dictates otherwise. The last two programs focus on tagging a tiger and a mako shark while studying their habits. These are very cool. This is a very comprehensive special features package that greatly compliments the main portion of the show.
- Bonus – Are They Hunting Us?
- Bonus – Man Vs. Fish: Tiger Shark
- Bonus – Man Vs. Fish: Mako Shark
Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of these magical beasts, nature lover, or just want to add more “real” programming to your Blu-ray collection then what better way to do that than with Shark Week: Restless. Make it a shark week every week in the comfort of your own home on the ultimate home video format that is Blu-ray.
Order Shark Week: Restless Fury on Blu-ray!
Buying it! This isn’t a partial rehash of what’s on the “Best of Shark Week” Blu-ray, is it?
Don’t know, Gregg. Never seen that Blu-ray.
Yeah, this is actually Discovery’s second Shark Week Blu-ray. The first was a ‘Best of’ released last year. Hmmm…I’m going to hold off just to be sure. I hope it’s not some old footage from previous release mixed with some new.