Synopsis

In a Night Waves Landmark Matthew Sweet and his guests explore Jacques Cousteau's revolutionary documentary 'The Silent World', one of the first ever films to use underwater cinematography. It launched Cousteau on his rise to international fame, and the career of his young co-director, Louis Malle. The film was shot aboard the ship Calypso and made over two years in the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. 'When you dive you begin to feel that you're an angel' wrote Cousteau about the experiences which won the film an Academy Award and the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1956. Matthew Sweet is joined by film-makers and natural world specialists to discuss how this ground-breaking work shaped the boom in nature documentaries on film and TV which has followed in the decades since.

Producer: Lisa Davis.