La collection Cousteau N°43-1 - Cavernes englouties

Jacques Cousteau's 1942 plunge into the Mediterranean sea

Fascinating underwater documentary filmed with hand-held cameras by frogmen and mostly filmed in deep-water seas from within a special designed batiscaff, by the Cousteau family of sea explorers.

The Silent World is noted as one of the first films to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color. Its title derives from Cousteau's 1953 book The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure. The film was shot aboard the ship Calypso. A team of divers shot 25 kilometers of film over two years in the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, of which 2.5 kilometers were included in the finished documentary.

Oscar nominated short film from 1951