History -- Deep Sea Detecties vDeath of The Edmund Fitzgerald

"Deep Sea Detectives: Death of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is an interesting documentary about the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck of all time. Made for the History Channel, it is hosted by divers Richie Kohler and John Chatterton, most famous for their work on the "U-869." I found the account of their trips to the German submarine, "Shadow Divers," (by Robert Kurson) to be one of the most stunning pieces of nonfiction I have ever read, and I have been hooked on their analysis of shipwrecks ever since. With such a buildup as that, I probably expected too much of this 50-minute documentary.The premise of the documentary is to get to the bottom of the mystery and answer the question of what sank the "Fitzgerald" on November 10, 1975. Three main theories are discussed, and all are well known to people literate about the "Fitzgerald" foundering. Kohler and Chatterton discuss all three (breaking apart on the surface, shoaling in shallow water near Caribou Island, and water impingement through hatch covers or seals) in turn. They both discredit the surface breakup theory, which is also widely discredited by most professionals familiar with the sinking (I agree.) Since there are legal protections in place courtesy of the Canadian government (the "Fitz" is barely in Canadian waters,) no further dives on the ship are now permitted at the request of the families of the deceased crewmembers, which puts the two world-famous divers in the weird place of having to review dive footage of the ship from other expeditions. Unsurprisingly, at the end of the day they can't answer the question of what sank the great ship, and it's doubtful that anyone will ever know for sure.The documentary gives a brief background of the ship, and includes some interesting photographs and film of the "Fitzgerald" and her crewmen. Unfortunately this brief retrospective at the beginning of the show is edited together with very quick cuts (Did the editor come from MTV?) which really took away from the final product. The CGI scenarios of the sinking were well done although modest in scope, and the commentary by Chatterton and Kohler is accurate, insightful, and interesting, though will not provide much new information on the sinking if you are even modestly educated on the loss beforehand. I enjoyed the film, and especially liked the interviews with family members and famous "Fitzgerald" historians, notably Frederick Stonehouse, whose book "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is still the best overall account of the loss. While I liked this History Channel production, I greatly prefer and recommend "The Fitzgerald Investigations," which is much more all-encompassing, and is better organized and paced.

Like others have said, they never dive to the wreck because diving is banned, but it was a great documentary nonetheless.For the novice, it's a great first look at the story of the Fitzgerald, and the interviews with family members of the crew really adds a lot of heartbreaking perspective to what happened that November night.It's definitely worth owning and has a high re-watchability factor.I would also recommend that if you get this, get Dive Detectives: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald as this updates facts of what may have happened to the Fitzgerald and offered an opposing view that it did indeed was wrenched apart on the surface, diving on the wreck of the David J. Morell, which snapped in half on the surface before she sank to prove their point and dispelling the "Hatchway cave-in".SIDE NOTE: While performing a concert in Detroit, Gordon Lightfoot was approached by a mother of one and daughter of another man charged with "dogging" (clamping down) the hatches.They told Lightfoot of the new evidence dispelling the hatches coming off by not being properly clamped down, which pointed the finger at the men in charge of that.They told him that the line in his song, "At 7PM a main hatchway caved in, he said fellas it's been good to know ya!" it made them cringe.Out of respect for these women and their families, Lightfoot wrote a new line that night and sang, "At 7PM, it was dark, it was then, he said fellas, it's been good to know ya!"Although not changing the copyrighted version, he now sings the revised song live.You have class, Mr. Lightfoot.

Buying something used is always a risk. This was a hard to find video, but it was a little on the weathered side.It was a gift, but the receiver was pleased except for the condition.

Quite a bit of time was used for the different diving investigations done after the sinking. I had wanted something a little more dramatic, to include the radio conversations with the Fitz in the last hours before it went down. There was a discussion of the wind direction and the route, but I don't believe it was pointed out that the wind changed unexpectedly. There was mention of LIghtfoot's song, but it was not used at all in the film and that was disappointing. Instead there was some eerie sound effects that often masked the dialog. I blame that on poor sound editing. Though much shorter, the film shown at the Shipwreck Museum was more dramatic and summarized it well.

The Deep sea Detecties DVD on edmond Fitzgerald was very interesting programme of the 1975 disaster. 29 Crew lost there lives in a storm on lake suspirer.

It was a good documentary very much worth it.

Fantastic documentary about the Edmund Fitzgerald. Includes great underwater footage from multiple dives to the wreck site. The film also does a great job of taking apart the three theories as to why the ship sank. Highly recommend!

Ordered this after taking our grandchildren to Duluth and a train ride along Lake Superior. Told them about the Edmond Fitzgerald so when we returned I ordered this DVD. Very good information. Well worth the money.