Blackfish (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Interviews-Crew-Gabriella Cowperthwaite: Sheffield Doc/Fest Q & A (15:53) Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Madman Propaganda x 4
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	79:23 (Case: 82)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Jeff Beal

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     In February 2010 an experienced animal trainer was killed by a Killer Whale (Orca) named Tilikum at SeaWorld in Florida. SeaWorld maintained that the death was a result of trainer error but when the OH&S authorities took SeaWorld to court it transpired that Tilikum had killed another trainer 20 years previously at a theme park in Canada, that another trainer had been killed in Spain at a theme park with links to SeaWorld and that since 1968 there had around the country been over 70 documented attacks by Killer Whales on trainers. Blackfish takes as a starting point the tragic death of the trainer in 2010 to examine the biology and social interactions of Killer Whales and their treatment in captivity.

     Blackfish was co-written and directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. It uses archival video footage such as video shot by visitors to SeaWorld, advertisements and news bulletins plus recent interviews with a number of former animal trainers at SeaWorld, whale researchers and others to present its conclusions; no-one from SeaWorld agreed to be interviewed so this documentary may have been considered one-sided if the facts and the evidence was not so damming.

     The focus of the program is the history of Tilikum as well as the wider treatment of Killer Whales in captivity. Blackfish includes cruel footage of the hunting of the Killer Whale pods and the trapping and capture of young Killer Whales for theme parks, after which they were kept in small tanks while training commenced. Killer Whale pods have a very close knit society, with calves remaining with their mothers for life; in theme parks whales from different groups are forced to live closely together, resulting in attacks and aggression behaviours which are not seen in the wild. The program also exposes the lies and misinformation put out by parks such as SeaWorld, such as the statement that Killer Whales live longer in captivity; in fact the life span of a captive Killer Whale in captivity is about half of what it could be in the wild. The program also covers the capture of Tilikum as a 2 year old, his treatment in the run down theme park in Canada, his killing of a trainer and how that was hushed up, his purchase by SeaWorld and the subsequent events.

     Blackfish includes some spectacular footage of the performances at SeaWorld filmed from both above and below the water, as well some tender images of the interactions between animals and trainers. There is also some very chilling footage of attacks by Killer Whales upon trainers, attacks that were almost always said by the theme parks to be a result of trainer error. The judge in the court case brought by the OH&S authorities concluded that there is a substantial risk involved in putting trainers into the water with these huge predators so SeaWorld was ordered to place a barrier at all times between the animal and the trainer. SeaWorld is appealing the decision.

     Blackfish is sad and compelling viewing that mostly puts its case without hysteria. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite has said that she was not an activist when she started to make the film; she had taken her children to SeaWorld, believed the media line and was just initially seeking answers as to why an experienced trainer had been killed. However, her view changed during the making of the film, which ended up nothing like she thought it was going to be. Blackfish was nominated for a best documentary BAFTA in 2014 by lost out to The Act of Killing.

Video

     Blackfish is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The IMDb gives the original ratio as 1.78:1.

     The film uses a lot of archival video footage, including video shot by visitors to SeaWorld, advertisements and news footage that evinces interlacing errors, macro-blocking and other artefacts. However the recent interviews and footage is sharp and clear with nice colours.

    English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available in a largish white font that, from the portion sampled, followed the narration and interview material closely. Yellow subtitles automatically translate some Spanish dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary

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Audio

     Audio is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 448 Kbps.

     The interviews and narration were clear and easy to hear. As the film uses a lot of archival footage the rears and surrounds were sparsely used, producing only some water and crowd effects and music. The sub-woofer supported the music.

     The music score by prolific TV and documentary composer Jeff Beal was moving and effective.

     As the film consists only of narration and interviews lip synchronisation is fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Sheffield Doc/Fest Q & A (15:53)

     Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite appears on stage after a screening of the film. She is a genuine and engaging person who discusses how she came to the project, how her perspective changed, legal issues, SeaWorld and how she found some of the footage used in the film.

Theatrical Trailer (2:12)

Madman Propaganda

     Trailers for Chasing Ice (2:24), The Gatekeepers (2:04), The Imposter (2:25) and The Human Scale (3:00).

     The Region 1 US version of Blackfish has an audio commentary with director Gabriella Cowperthwaite and producer Manny Oyteza plus 7 short featurettes, but misses out on the Q&A. The Region 2 UK release is the same as ours. The Q&A is interesting, but I think the commentary would tip the scales in favour of Region 1.

     Blackfish includes some spectacular footage of the performances, tender images of the interactions between animals and trainers as well as chilling footage of attacks by Killer Whales upon trainers to present a compelling case for change.

     The DVD has good video and audio. The extras are good although we miss out on the commentary and other featurettes available in Region 1.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall