Several of these stories have been adapted to the big screen. In 1996, Benchley’s Beast was transformed into a two-part movie. The setting is moved from Bermuda to the Puget Sound region of Washington. In the classic film version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, a squid almost eats Captain Nemo before a prisoner saves him. An octopus is featured in the James Bond movie Octopussy. The film involves a poisonous octopus kept in an aquarium. Cannery Row, adapted from two novels by John Steinbeck including Sweet Thursday, features an octopus motif throughout. The protagonist collects octopuses from La Jolla and brings them back to Monterey, where he sets them up in a large aquarium.
Many video documentaries focus on cephalopods, some of which can be found for free on YouTube. “Squids & Octopuses – Mysterious Hunters of the Deep,” available on YouTube, visits three locations where cephalopods can be found: Portugal, the west coast of Mexico, and Vancouver Island. The video shows the preserved body of an Architeuthis from the Vasco de Gama aquarium and a giant Pacific octopus. The PBS show Nature has an episode titled “Octopus: Making Contact,” in which marine biologist David Scheel buys a huge aquarium, in-stalls it in his front room, and stocks it with a giant Pacific octopus. The episode shows the interaction between the members of the Scheel family, particularly the daughter, and the octopus. Finally, My Octopus Teacher, a Netflix documentary, details the activities of a South African photographer. Weary of photographing animals of the veld, he returns to his home along the South African coast. As he snorkels in the ocean, he befriends an octopus, and the film focuses on his relationship with the creature.