It's fair to say that any diver or fan of diving needs to have an understanding of the importance of Jacques Cousteau in the historical landscape of the undersea world. Cousteau, along with French engineer Émile Gagnan, invented the self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) in 1942-1943. They marketed it as the "aqualung" but essentially they were the creators of the diving regulator with its demand valve. Huge. In 1956, Cousteau released his theatrical masterpiece and Academy Award winner, The Silent World, named after a book he'd published back in 1953 chronicling his adventures in the early era of scuba diving. The documentary is a little bit dated and has faced criticism for a scene in which some sharks get killed but we need to keep in mind the relatively poor understanding of the marine ecosystem in 1956. I found a pretty good copy of the film on Youtube and I'll reproduce it here. The link may force you to watch the video on Youtube, but it's well worth it.
Also, I found this amazing photo from an early Cannes Film Festival of Cousteau, his lead diver Albert Falco, and some fans.
For those who may have tried to watch the link I posted earlier, I must apologize. Youtube and their teams of copyright infringement hunters appear to have removed the link I used. The new one should work!
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