In the Heart of the Sea on DVD/Blu Ray

Chris Hemsworth in, In the Heart of the Sea

If you missed In the Heart of the Sea when it played in the theater, don't fret. The action-packed adventure is now available on DVD and Blu Ray to enjoy in the comfort of your home.

In the Heart of the Sea stars Chris Hemsworth ("Marvel's The Avengers," "Rush") as the vessel's veteran first mate Owen Chase; Benjamin Walker ("Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") as its inexperienced Captain, George Pollard; Cillian Murphy ("The Dark Knight Rises") as second mate Matthew Joy; and Ben Whishaw ("Skyfall") as novelist Herman Melville, whose inquiries into the event 30 years later helped bring the story to light.

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. "In the Heart of the Sea" reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving  is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their  as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down

The film also stars Tom Holland ("The Impossible") as young seaman Tom Nickerson, and Brendan Gleeson ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1") as the same man, 30 years later. Spanish actor Jordi Mollà ("Riddick") is the captain of another ship, the Archimedes, who tries to warn the Essex of what may lie ahead.

Extras:

The extras are found on 2D Blu-ray disc, and it is filled with featurettes. While there is not a commentary track, Ron Howard does contribute a Captain's Log. Broken up into ten segments, it chronicles the filming of the movie though Howard's personal photos and the Tweets that he sent while filming. Luckily he narrates these so it's not just a reproduction of his Twitter feed.

Next up is Chase & Pollard: A Man of Means and A Man of Courage, a 7-minute featurette that compares and contrasts the two main characters, most of which you'll know if you've seen the movie. Whale's Tales: Melville's Untold Story is a 9-minute short that has the cast and crew of the film talk about their connection to the book Moby Dick.

A number featurettes discuss the real-life events that were portrayed in the film. The Hard Life of a Whaler (8 minutes) looks at what it was like to live on a whaling ship and hunt the giant mammals. It is very interesting and informative. Lightning Strikes Twice: The Real-Life Sequel to Moby Dick is a documentary that runs just shy of half an hour that looks at what happened to Captain Pollard after the Essex disaster. He became the Captain of another ship, the Two Brothers, which he ran aground near Hawaii. That wreck has recently been discovered. Finding and identifying the underwater wreck along with Pollard's history are examined and it's a story worth watching.

Commanding the Heart of the Sea takes a 10-minute look at how the special effects were created, which is followed by the rather odd Island Montage. It is a three-  collection of the scenes from the movie that take place while the survivors are on a deserted island.

The extras are wrapped up with 20 scenes that were either deleted or truncated from the film

I had the opportunity of speaking with Ron Howard and the cast of In the Heart of the Sea prior to the theatrical release of the film. Please click on the link below to check out those interviews.