At nearly 99 years old, Sir David Attenborough has walked through jungles, scaled mountains, and weathered deserts. But as he marks the eve of his hundredth year, the legendary broadcaster and naturalist has turned his gaze to what he now calls the most important place on Earth — not the forests or the savannahs, but the ocean.
“After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea,” Attenborough says in his new film, Ocean. The full-length documentary, released this week across UK cinemas, is more than a sweeping natural history production. It is his most personal and potent message yet — a cinematic call to protect the seas, and, by doing so, to save ourselves.
A Century’s Gaze Beneath the Waves
Ocean is unlike any of Attenborough’s previous works. It’s not just a catalogue of dazzling marine life or curious oceanic behaviors. It’s a story told through time — his time. The film opens with Attenborough reflecting on his very first scuba dive in 1957 off the Great Barrier Reef. “I was so taken aback by the spectacle before me I forgot — momentarily — to breathe,” he recalls.
That wonder never left him. Over the next several decades, he documented everything from coral spawning to deep-sea creatures newly known to science. “My lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery,” he says. “Scientists and explorers have revealed remarkable new species, epic migrations, and dazzling, more complex ecosystems beyond anything I could have imagined as a young man.”
But as his understanding grew, so did his concern.
Since that first breathless dive, humanity has driven the oceans to the brink. Coral reefs bleach into bone-white skeletons. Fisheries collapse. Plastic suffocates the sea. Climate change warms and acidifies the waters. The ocean, Attenborough warns, is at a crossroads. “We are almost out of time.”
The Horror of Bottom Trawling — and a Glimpse of Hope
Ocean does not shy away from showing the full extent of the destruction. In a haunting sequence, viewers watch as industrial bottom trawlers drag chains across the seafloor, gouging scars into once-thriving ecosystems. “It’s hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,” Attenborough says.
These ships often seek a single species to harvest for their commercial business, yet more than 75% of the catch may be discarded. Even worse, the churning of the seabed releases stored carbon — dramatically adding to climate change. And still, governments across the world allow, even encourage, the practice.
“It is completely at odds with the needs of our species to survive the worst impacts of climate change,” Attenborough says.
Yet this is not a film of resignation. It is a film of urgent hope.
Attenborough points to the story of the blue whales — a species nearly extinguished by industrial hunting. By 1986, just 1% of blue whales remained. “I remember thinking that was it. There was no coming back, we had lost the great whales,” he says.
But public outcry spurred lawmakers into action. A global ban on commercial whaling was enacted. Since then, whale populations have begun to recover.
“The ocean can bounce back to life,” Attenborough insists. “If left alone it may not just recover but thrive beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.”
A Message for the Future
The film’s release coincides with a pivotal moment. World Ocean Day is approaching on June 8. The United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice is just weeks away. And countries around the world have recently agreed — at least on paper — to protect one-third of the ocean by 2030.
Attenborough hopes Ocean will galvanize those promises into action. “In front of us is a chance to protect our climate, our food, our home,” he says. “This could be the moment of change.”
The film itself is a product of that urgency. Directed by Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey, and Colin Butfield — longtime collaborators with Attenborough — it was shot over two years across coral reefs, kelp forests, and open seas. The aim was not just to awe, but to awaken.
“This is not about seeing brand new natural history behaviours,” Nowlan says. “It is the greatest message he’s ever told.”
He remembers filming on a cold beach in Sussex, capturing the closing words of the film. “They were the most powerful words I’ve ever heard him say,” Nowlan told Sky News. “If we save the ocean, we save our world.”
Even now, Attenborough continues to inspire those around him. “The man never stops,” says Scholey. “Time is very precious to him, and he certainly never wastes it.”
And perhaps that’s what makes Ocean so compelling. It is not just a documentary. It is a final love letter from a man who has given his life to understanding the planet — and who still believes it can be saved.
“I won’t get to see the ocean’s recovery and restoration,” Attenborough admits, who will turn 99 on May 8. “But the young children seen playing on the beach today very well may.”
