Jacques-Yves Cousteau is that cliché, the "living legend". Strangers walk up to shake him by the hand and accept his autograph signed on any scrap of paper they can find. His superstar status might well be the envy of many an aspiring entertainer.

Each of his television films is seen by something like 120 million people; in Britain alone his audience can exceed 10 million. He has made 65 films for the cinema and television, he has written more than 30 books, and his articles appear in mass circulation magazines. His success gives him authority: the man who has mastered the media is obeyed. His films are edited only under his personal supervision, although he does permit the original commentary, written for the US market, to be rewritten for Britain. All the same, it is his story that is told, and in his way.

The films are pure entertainment, of course, and...