While not a classic or meaningful, I found myself enjoying director Peter Yates project, "The Deep". I'd put the level of entertainment and feel very close to a 70s James Bond movie. Without a doubt, Robert Shaw strikes again. He commands every scene he's in an helps lift the movie out of mediocrity with his presence, energy, and wit. Along for the ride is Actors Nolte, Bissett, and Gossett, who all are satisfactory or even adequate. Not being an experienced diver, I cannot critique the diving scenes properly, however, they were also enjoyable to watch. Lastly, the story was better than average with a shade of mystery. The action sequences were passable. Settings and 70s peek were fun. Recommended.
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pc9531 December 2012
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NewEnglandPat11 June 2009This film didn't quite make the splash that "Jaws" did two years earlier but remains a fine picture with tense moments and fine underwater photography. The stars, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset, a vacationing couple, find a different kind of treasure in a wreck off the Bermuda shore and soon have the island thugs around to pay them a visit. Seems as though a cache of morphine could be profitable in the drug market, which a Haitian dealer desires to exploit. The latter uses intimidation and voodoo to get his point across to the couple, who later get help from a seaman and treasure expert to keep the villains at bay. Bisset is nice to look at in her wet t-shirts and shorts but Robert Shaw and Lou Gossett supply the key moments of drama in the film more than do Nolte or Bisset. The picture does drift off course in spots but Shaw and Gossett stay on a collision course that results in an exciting undersea climax. The film never received its due as an adventure worthy of critical acclaim.
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Nazi_Fighter_David5 February 2000The film opens with Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset diving in the waters off Bermuda, exploring a sunken wreck... They soon find themselves drawn into a sea of jeopardy and intrigue involving a cargo of dangerous drugs, a fortune in Spanish treasure, ocean predators and ruthless drug smugglers accompanied by black magic voodoo...
The adventure begins when they discover a strange ampule containing liquid, and a coral-encrusted Spanish medallion near the wreck of a World War II freighter..
Henry Cloche (Lou Gossett), a local underworld figure with a hand of menace, offers to buy the ampule, then changes to unrefined tactics, for he knows that the small glass vessel holds the clue to a rumored cargo of morphine, convertible into a fortune...
As Nolte and Bisset try to discover some light to the mystery, they unite in an alliance with Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), a strong ocean-expert recluse, who wants to punish Cloche whom he believes responsible for the death of his wife...
Motivated by their own personal welfare, the trio dive depths, racing against the ticking time bomb of Cloche's vicious and relentless pressure in an effort to recover the Spanish treasure and to prevent the morphine from falling into his hand... The dramatic events culminate in a final explosion beneath the sea...
If you love to see our quiet photogenic Bisset swimming around half-naked in a breathtaking wet-T-shirt, well, don't hesitate to join our innocent heroes in their efforts to wrest the treasure from the bottom of the ocean in their dangerous underwater battle in the deep... -
Freddy_Levit28 November 2004Peter Yates directed this beautiful escape from reality adventure in which our protagonists Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bissete team up with the silver screen legend Robert Shaw to find a sunken treasure off the beaches of Bermuda. Unfortunately they encounter competition who would go at great lengths to get what they want - even if it means murder - unless our protagonists' intrepid assistant (Robert Shaw) uses his valuable knowledge to keep the tables turned and remain one step ahead.
This film is a delight from start to finish. From the opening sequences of clearing clouds and Bermuda coming into focus and the astonishing underwater photograpy to the action packed adventurous finally, you simply can not take your eyes off the screen. The music from the one and only John Barry (who bought you the unforgettable themes from James Bond and Born Free) is mesmerizing and suits the picture elegantly. The cinematography is beautiful and gives you a lust for the holiday destination. Most importantly, the plot (written by the man who bought you 'JAWS') is original and riveting and high in adventure - I truly recommend this to all adventure fans.
Cast selection was genius. At the time, Nick Nolte was a new face to the silver screen and brought an unforgettable performance as an obsessed husband clearly hypnotized by the idea of Gold. Jacqueline Bissete is, well, how can I put this? - I would have liked to have been there with her on her holiday (gosh is she beautiful or what?). It was Robert Shaw I believe, who brought the most to the film. He is witty, ignorant, a know-it-all and a man who isn't afraid of anything and this is what people come to see adventure films for. I can't imagine anybody else nailing the role like he has. Pure brilliance from a great British actor.
Now how does a film with an interesting, ORIGINAL plot, great cast (including a legend), calm and mesmerizing music, golden cinematography and a great 'quotable' screenplay come to such underrated status is beyond Bermuda's Triangle. The current rating that IMDb gives to this film will never do it justice. I only hope for those who haven't seen it to overlook the score it has been given and take some time to sit back and escape to the fantastic world of "The Deep" - an experience I will be taking for many years to come. For me, a classic adventure of pure escapism! -
gchoa13 September 2006In spite of its many shortcomings (lazy direction, over-the-top acting, gratuitous violence, to name a few), you really HAVE to love this movie! Two years removed from the sensational release of JAWS, THE DEEP in many ways had some very big shoes to fill. For me, THE DEEP is JAWS-lite -- a kind of melodramatic, soap-opery version of JAWS. For all its flaws, allow me to wax poetic about the many virtues of this sublime cinematic guilty pleasure:
1) That amazing opening aerial montage of Bermuda - maybe the greatest opening establishing shot in the history of cinema. All the Bermuda based location work in this movie is top notch, adding a rich and handsome texture to the otherwise middling narrative.
2) Robert Shaw. While his performance is slightly overbaked (while also channeling and lazily riffing on Quint), his performance still manages to be larger than life - the delightful glue that keeps this movie together. What an amazing run he had over the last five years of his life, highlighted by THE STING in '73, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 in '74, JAWS in '75, BLACK Sunday in '76 and THE DEEP in '77. Amazing.
3) A 32 year old Jacqueline Bisset. As a 13 year old boy, I can assure you that she made a pretty indelible impression on me.
4) The great supporting turns from Eli Wallach and Lou Gossett, Jr.
I could go on but suffice it to say that watching this movie from time to time is sorta like taking a warm bath in the dead of winter. It's one of those movies that somehow never gets stale and always manages to entertain despite its shortcomings. -
smatysia13 August 2011I remember seeing this film on cable long ago, and it is largely as I recall it. Pretty good action-adventure film in exotic location. (Bermuda) It seems like this was Nick Nolte's first big leading role, and he was fine. Jacqueline Bissett was rather more established at the time, and was wonderful (and beautiful) But the supporting cast really made this film. Eli Wallach didn't have a lot of screen time, but nailed the role of the old, alcoholic sailor. Louis Gossett, Jr., who was mostly in TV back then (I remember him from "The Rockford Files") was excellent as the creepy and malicious Haitian gangster. Best of all was Robert Shaw, who will be mostly remembered for "Jaws" but probably did his best work in "The Sting". I also remember his turn as a Nazi officer in "The Battle of the Bulge".
I understand that there was a longer version of this film which provided a lot more character exposition. That would have been cool to see, but you have to make choices for time when making a movie from a novel. Peter Benchley's novels were good middle-brow writing.
Anyway, this is a film worth seeing, with lots of underwater scenes -
merklekranz26 January 2020Reason number one is of course the opening wet t shirt sequence. Jacqueline Bisset's famous breasts are on ample display, but cannot maintain interest for 123 minutes of "The Deep". I would hate to see the extended 176 minute version, because scenes, especially underwater, are stretched way too long as is. Reason number two is the fight on the beach cliff elevator. This is certainly a unique contraption, and makes for an exciting and well photographed confrontation. Reason number three is Robert Tessier's battle with one of Lou Gossett's thugs. This is about as intense as it gets. Reason number four is if you ever wanted to see the top blown off a lighthouse, this is your movie. The slow motion explosion is amazingly shot. That's about it for "The Deep". The motives for all the treasure hunting mayhem are murky and the rushed underwater ending is disappointing. - MERK
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Suspenseful , thrilling and well-paced underwater adventure about divers who locate a a shipwrecked treasure and morphine . This is an intense and engrossing movie with agreeable performances and good rendering of maritime action . The hit smash of ¨ Jaws ¨ by Steven Spielberg prompted this screen rendition of another Peter Benchley book . It concerns about an innocent couple ( Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset ) get involved in an underwater search for treasures in the island Bermuda . They descend deep into the big blue without the aid of any kind of breathing apparatus, though sometimes use scubas . The frogmen get excited when they accidentally discover what they believe is a vast sunken treasure. They find a shipwrecked galleon and a crashed WWII vessel plenty of dope . They find a historic wreck, but nearby is a wrecked ship with a large quantity of morphine . Romer and Gail want the treasure; their diving partners also want the drugs . Dangerous criminals realize the ship and dope are submerged somewhere in the area . When the bad guys learn that the couple has located the drugs, Romer and Gail find themselves in mortal peril . Exciting and well-paced underwater adventure about a marriage that in the process they are threatened and then must thwart the enemies. The team of divers faces danger when they attempt to retrieve goods from a Spanish ship , as they spend time in shark-infested water and are helped by a treasure-seeker ( Robert Shaw ) and his underling ( Robert Tessier ) and confront nasty drug-lord ( Louis Gossett Jr ). The four divers set off on a perilous expedition in search of legendary treasure of a mysterious galleon resting in ocean floor and take back drug into the ship .
The pace moves along nicely and production values are on the high scale . This is an amusing seagoing adventure in which the ocean deep figure prominently , though this time guarding sunken treasure . The action is plentiful with undersea excitement with terrifying underwater sequences. The film is spirited, lively and at times rather frightening light amusing . Made mainly as vehicle for Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset , they show particularly in the technical excellence of the underwater scenes . They show off their considerable screen presence, both attractive and slender . Lightweight entertainment notable for sunny outdoors and underwater photography as well as Bisset in a bathing suit, a glamorous bikini and of course her famous wet T-shirt. Jacqueline Bisset fans will ask no more than the sight of their star in a swimsuit involved in this fast-moving sunken treasure yarn.
This waterlogged story is packed with gorgeous cinematography by Christopher Challis who manage to keep this afloat with fab footage maritime as expert cameraman ; furthermore pulsating musical score by the classic John Barry . The movie was spectacularly shot in Bermuda , Australia and British Virgin Islands . The motion picture is professionally directed by Peter Yates ( Bullit ) though drags in some places and is overlong . In the 2000s was realized a special remake of this story with Paul Walker and Jessica Alba in similar roles to Nolte and Bisset titled ¨ Into the blue ¨. -
preppy-322 July 2006A young couple (Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset) find some unusual coins and ampules while diving underwater. Soon they have a sadistic drug dealer (Louis Gossett Jr.) after them but are helped by an island expert (Robert Shaw) on what they might have.
There are so many things wrong with this it's hard to know where to begin. For starters the story is unbelievable to a large degree. Bisset's body is also horribly exploited--she's introduced for the first 10 minutes in a wet T shirt, is later forced to go topless and then is sexually molested in a sick voodoo ritual. Bisset was (and is) a beautiful woman with great acting talent--she deserves better than this. Nolte is terrible in his role--but he didn't like doing the film anyways. It is interesting to see him so young and pumped up. Shaw is just great in his role. Gossett has the evil villain part--he does what he can. Also this film has some pretty extreme violence--some of the scenes even made me flinch. How this got by with a PG rating is beyond me. Also it's so slow! The underwater scenes, beautiful as they are, weigh the movie down and the plot gets needlessly convoluted. I was fast-forwarding to get through some parts.
Beautiful underwater photography, a lush score, stunning locations and good acting from Bisset and Shaw can't save this. The sexual material, violence and ridiculous slow story really destroy this. Read the book instead. I give it a 5. -
claudio_carvalho13 January 2005In Bermudas, while diving for pleasure, David Sanders (Nick Nolte) and Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset) find a submerged vessel, and they bring a couple of objects withdrawn from the ship. They look for the advice of Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), an expert in treasures and old ships, and they realize that indeed there were two vessels in the same location: a French one, from the Eighteenth Century, with a treasure in jewels, and another one, from the war, with a load of morphine. David and Gail associate to Treece, trying to recover part of the underwater wealth. Meanwhile, the powerful Haitian drug dealer Henri Cloche (as Louis Gossett Jr.) menaces the group, trying to get the drugs. "The Deep" is a very linear adventure, without any plot point or surprises. The wonderful locations, the magnificent photography, the good cast and the amazing beauty of Jacqueline Bisset support this movie, which is recommended for killing time only. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "O Fundo do Mar" ("The Bottom of the Sea") -
SnoopyStyle31 May 2021Couple Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset) and David Sanders (Nick Nolte) is scuba diving in Bermuda. They come across a shipwreck and may have uncovered a treasure trove. This attracts others and some are less than scrupulous.
The start has sexy Bisset in a wet T-shirt and a good underwater sequence. It's a good start. I don't remember this movie but I do remember the scene where Bisset is forced to strip. What can I say? It's a memorable scene with a memorable lady. The movie then declines in tension over time. The underwater filming loses intensity. They go on too long and lose action thrills. The story loses tension. The film starts with its best shots and runs out of bullets. -
weblynx-119 October 2013I don't know why IMDb is carrying such a negative review of this classic film on the front page. But I'm happy to note a lot of very positive reviews thereafter. Not much more I can add, but this is one of the classics of the golden era of film-making, without the CGI, hyped-up violence, obsessive sexuality and general lack of any kind of emotional depth of current popular cinema. While being in that category (popular cinema), this film is still great entertainment, often going pretty "deep". And there are of course the bonuses of the legendary Robert Shaw, the unforgettable beauty of Jacqueline Bisset, a young Nick Nolte full of promise, a wonderful score by John Barry, and plenty of evocative scenery, both below and above sea level.
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guswhovian29 August 2020When two amateur divers discover the cargo of a sunken World War II ship in Bermuda, they become involved with a group of criminals intent on getting the cargo.
Based on a novel by Peter Benchley (of Jaws fame), The Deep is a pleasant time waster. The underwater scenes are well shot, and there's some exciting action sequences. Robert Shaw has a terrible Irish accent, while Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte are pretty bland leads. Eli Wallach plays the oddly named "Adam Coffin". The musical score by John Barry sounds exactly like one of his James Bond scores.
There's some gratuitous violence and some silly voodoo stuff thrown in for no apparent reason. The scenes with Jackie Bisset in a wet t-shirt are justly famous. Overall, it's good entertainment. -
This movie has it all. I remember seeing this movie when it came out on TV.At the time I didn't know why I liked it so much, but now I know it was the ocean, the adventure, mystery, and intrigue. I just loved this movie. And I can't help it, I still do. I love the ocean scenes, and Nick Nolte's acting (not to mention Jacqueline's). I just ran across the DVD at Wally World for $5.50 and I had to buy it. I got a lot of enjoyment out of this movie and I have to give it a 10/10. I felt that all the acting was just fine including Robert Shaw's. I think that anyone who likes islands, adventure, scuba diving for gold, and beautiful woman will enjoy this movie.
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rmax30482329 September 2008I kind of enjoy seeing this movie every few years, for a number of reasons. The first reason is Jacqueline Bisset, She is stunning, all sun tan, big blue eyes that look in slightly different direction, impressively bebosomed, nice legs -- and we are introduced to her while she's scuba diving at Bermuda with her boyfriend Nick Nolte. She wears only her soaking wet T-shirt and a teeny bikini bottom. Later we are treated to her being felt up and undressed by bad guy Louis Gosset, Jr., and his gang of black thugs. Still later, a bunch of hoodoo priests hold her down on a bed, cut open her nightie, and paint her belly button with a severed chicken foot dipped in fresh blood. The thrills never end.
The second reason is the colorful and evocative location photography. Bermuda looks terribly appealing here. The palms, the brushy cliffs, the finely grained sand of the beaches, the salt-encrusted cottages, the eternal sunshine, the soaking T-shirts. After they find a bit of treasure and a bit of morphine in the rotting iron hulk of a sunken warship, Nolte and Bisset consult the local know-it-all and sociometric hub, Robert Shaw for advice. He lives in a cozy two-story white lighthouse atop a hill. The lovely couple also rent a pair of the motor scooters that are ubiquitous on Bermuda and are forced off the road in an arousing chase. The underwater photography is strikingly convincing, though much of it was shot in a tank. The Caribbean has never been so aquamarine. It's like reading Shakespeare's song from "The Tempest" -- "Full fathom five thy father lies" -- only on mescaline.
I guess the third is my admiration for the writer, Peter Benchley. This was his follow-up to the blockbusting "Jaws" a year earlier. Benchley takes these vacations, you see, to Martha's Vineyard or, as here, Bermuda or, as later, elsewhere around the Caribbean, learns a little bit about some features of the local culture, builds a commercial story around it, and then gets to deduct all his vacations from his income taxes. (Research.)
There must have been a fourth reason too, but I'm getting a little foggy. Maybe it's the bends! Oh, no. I know what it was -- the story. It's -- well, it's FAST. And violently expectable. There are three or four dives to the old shipwreck in the movie and there's not a one of them that doesn't involve multiple hazards. On the very first, mainly recreational dive, Jacqueline Bisset, who can be identified because she's the one wearing the soaking wet T-shirt, is poking her stick around in a hole in the rocks and the stick is grabbed by some unseen varmit that yanks her repeatedly against the hole, leaving her positively breathless although not at all breastless.
I mean it. You just KNOW that in the course of these dives a crate of ammunition is going to be shaken loose by a quivering of the feckless wreck and dumped down on Nolte, trapping him in a compartment below. You know this just as you know that sharks will appear at some point and do something that endangers the lives of the divers. For bonus points, a vicious moray eel appears suddenly, its many-toothed mouth wide enough to encompass a human head (which it does). There will be spear guns too, and they will be used in the course of an underwater fight in which dark gurgling figures tumble slowly around one another while grappling -- and simultaneously a fuze sputters nearer to the dynamite planted beneath them. And knives, naturally. Oh, and an exploding fireball above that lighthouse, and another under the hulk.
Then there are scenes in which we find out about treasure, establishing provenance (meaning authenticating the treasure), and things like that. Very educational.
Should you watch it? Why not? We all need a vacation of the mind. -
Chase_Witherspoon26 May 2011Couple (Bisset and Nolte) holidaying in the Caribbean run afoul a drug kingpin (Gossett) after they inadvertently discover ampules of heroin amongst a treasure trove of rare antiquities whilst scuba diving near a notorious wreck. Local treasure hunter and reclusive identity (Shaw) is approached by the couple to identify the discovery which revives an old rivalry between Gossett and himself, who he attributes for the death of his wife several years earlier. Black magic and violence intimidate the couple, but it's a large moray eel protecting the treasure that proves to be a bigger obstacle as interests converge on the sunken treasure.
Diverse supporting cast includes Eli Wallach as a crusty mariner, the sole survivor of the shipwreck's crew, Robert Tessier as Shaw's faithful assistant, and noted stage actor Dick Anthony Williams in a rather frivolous minor role as one of Gossett's hoods. Bisset is dedicated as the innocent victim of Nolte's greed, but it's her wet T-shirt scene for which she's best remembered in this film. Former Mr Universe c.1965 Earl Maynard is also on hand as a beefy standover man.
Often criticised for being overlong, the two hour edit contains all the salient plot details without the soporific underwater faunalogue of the three hour version and is, in my opinion, the recommended option. Tropical locales, taut action sequences, calypso music and a spot of cricket thrown in for good measure, "The Deep" has all the components of a competent treasure thriller and is easily Peter Benchley's next best novel-to-film conversion. -
namashi_122 August 2009Peter Yates made terrific cinema in 'The Deep'.
The novel, I am sure, it's readers would've surely given them chills down their spine... in the underwater chapters....
Happily, 1977 brought in a classic hit... 'The Deep', did justice to it's novel {I haven't read, but I am confident it has, cause this film is just rocking}.... It's a pleasure to see a film like this, which makes you smile when you watch cinema of old times, or in other words cinema of yore.
The noted filmmaker does justice to it's viewer, he fills up the adventure, exploits the heroine's goodies with gusto, and packs in thrilling & highly commendable sequences. Everything works here, let's not forget for a second, this film was made 32 years ago... these films are the reason how cinema changed time by time. A winner all the way!
Performance-wise: Nick Nolte is slender, but it's Jacqueline Bisset who steals the show. She looks gorgeous and flaunts her body with ease, she's THE hotty of the 70's. Late Actor Robert Shaw is excellent.
on the whole, Take a dive into this! -
Tweekums11 October 2012While wreck diving off the coast of Bermuda tourists David Sanders and his girlfriend Gail Berke explore a ship not in the guide book; it is the Goliath; a second world war era ship that was carrying a large quantity of explosives; it was also carrying several thousand ampoules of morphine and finding one of these is the beginning of all their troubles. Haitian Henri Cloche wants the ampoules because of the drugs they contain and is willing to do what it takes to get them David and Gail aren't that interested in the morphine though; they are more interested in a medallion they found on the site; it is much older than anything on that ship should be. They take it to local treasure hunter Romer Treece and eventually they determine that there are two wrecks there; The Goliath and a French vessel called the Griffin which was transporting treasure as well as her declared cargo. Further dives produce more treasure but if they are to prove it is the lost Spanish treasure they will have to find an item from the list of lost pieces... they will also have to avoid sharks, Cloche's henchmen and a particularly mean moray eel!
I expected this to be another dangerous underwater animal film being rushed out to cash in on the success of 'Jaws' but thankfully it was much better than that; it is really a decent treasure hunting adventure with some drug dealers thrown in to increase the danger. Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset are officially the stars of the film, and they aren't bad, but it is Robert Shaw who steals the show as Treece; a character that isn't dissimilar to the role he played in 'Jaws'. There are also notable appearances from Eli Wallach and Louis Gossett Jr. The underwater scenes are well shot and when there is action it looks confused enough to feel real. Above water there are some nice shots of Bermuda but it never feels like it is trying to act as a tourist brochure by showing all the best sites. The story is fairly simple but it is told well and there is a good amount of action... including a rather scary scene where somebody is attacked with an outboard motor! There are also a couple of references to real Bermuda treasure; the gold and ruby cross is a clear reference to the gold and emerald 'Tucker's Cross', which was found by Teddy Tucker who had a cameo as the harbour master. -
mossgrymk9 October 2022That this dull as desalinated water, lifeless, mindless action adventure movie made money is testimony to Americans loyalty to trusted brands even when they go south on them. Talking, of course, of the Benchley brand that produced "Jaws", the mindless action adventure of two summers previous that was anything but lifeless. I think that's why Robert Shaw is in the film, playing a crusty diver/treasure hunter. It's Peter Benchley telling the audience "Don't worry. This one may not have sharks but it's got Quint, plus it has something 'Jaws' didn't have; namely eye candy." And if audience members didn't stop to think, "If a movie is truly suspenseful and thrilling and scary then it doesn't need Jackie Bisset's bod" it's only because they were too busy saying to themselves "It's no 'Jaws' but what the hell? It's a Benchley and it's fun". Sic transit Barnum. C minus.
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paul_haakonsen28 August 2020Right, well I found this movie by random luck, and seeing the movie's cover, I thought that it might be a horror movie of some sort, especially with the line "Is anything worth the terror of The Deep?".
So I sat down to watch this 1977 movie, and was surprised to see that the movie actually had quite some good names on the cast list, with the likes of Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset and Louis Gossett Jr..
However, this was not a horror movie, much to my disappointment. Now, with that being said, I am not saying that "The Deep" is not a good movie, because it was enjoyable enough for what it turned out to be. I had just hoped for something quite else honestly.
The storyline in "The Deep" is pretty straight forward, perhaps so much so to the point where writers Peter Benchley and Tracy Keenan Wynn were just playing it safe and followed a sure-win formula. It was a shame, because the movie was a bit too linear and predictable.
The acting performances in the movie were good. I just feel, however, that Robert Shaw wasn't given enough room to fully unfold his talent and show off. He could have brought so much more to "The Deep".
I had not even heard about "The Deep" before now in 2020, when I had the chance to sit down and watch it. Better late than never, eh?
My rating of this 1977 movie is a six out of ten stars. It is a movie that proves fairly entertaining and enjoyable, even now in 2020. The movie have withstood the test of time quite remarkably. -
No doubting that The Deep was a film hoping to cash in on the monster success of Jaws two summers previously. Written by Jaws author Peter Benchley, The Deep on the page is never fully realised here on the screen, and sadly the film never lifts itself out of standard adventure territory.
From the onset it looked to be heading in the right direction, a great first hour of genuine intrigue and tension keeps the viewer interested, where we have ship wrecks, treasure, voodoo, a gorgeous locale, a gruff Robert Shaw and Jacqueline Bisset's wet t-shirt! but the film drifts onto formulaic sand and peters out like a damp squib (or should that be squid?).
Lovely to look at (the underwater sequences are gorgeous), and the acting is fine enough from all of the leads, yet a meandering drug plot only has one wishing that a big shark would come and swallow the whole bloody picture and regurgitate it with a bit more oomph and passion. 5/10 -
TruPretender5 January 2006Films like 'The Deep' are few, sporadic, and are usually not accepted by many audience members, but are usually the films that end up meaning the most in the end. I found that this film had a charm that I could not put my finger on, upon viewing it for the first time. The book, written by well known Peter Benchley (of 'Jaws' fame) was released on the heels of 'Jaws' success, so the film was released a year later, in '77, and was easily brandished as being a 'money film' but I assure you it is much more.
Loosely taken from the book, the film captures the essence of the title. When David Sanders(well played by newcomer Nick Nolte) is on Holiday with his lover(the ALWAYS beautiful and aesthetic Jacqueline Bisset, of whom the film rests well on) Gail Berke, the two uncover items while diving: a small bottle of some sort, sufficient with morphine, and an unrecognizable piece of jewelry, worn by sea and time. Naive to Bermuda, the two continue their holiday, with many people after what is in the bottle, and just who wants it, who should get it, and what ELSE is down in the deep. Genuinely frightening, and appropriately paced, this film not only relies on the situation to keep interest, but psychological undertones to further tell the story.
One of the biggest things this film has going is the underwater photography, shot with beautiful landscapes of coral, fish, and dedication to what the actors explorations achieve. Filmed in Panavision widescreen, this film delivers the whole underwater experience, as each scene is carefully timed and arranged photographically. The fact that filming was done creatively without CGI is all the more fascinating, and you feel like you are actually there, underwater, experiencing. This is buttressed by John Barry's positively breathtaking score. Each note whispers a feeling under and above water, springing in the air, and whooshing through the water, like an animal. The theme is gorgeous and reflects not only the characters attitudes, but the theme of the sea and the deep itself. It is at times violent, and at other times soft and peaceful. The writing can be said something for as well, as the scenes are like a ballet, with carefully choreographed actions, and dialog through the special masks they wear, that a whole scene could take place under water, and does. Benchley adapted from his book, and the story works well.
The acting of the film could not be better. Nick Nolte is very believable as the rambunctious and adventurous David Sanders, and he is played with such prowess and eagerness, something that could be found in all of us, toward the ocean. We really learn to feel why David feels so much about the ocean, more so in the extended television version. Jacqueline Bisset is hauntingly gorgeous as Gail Berke, the conscience and voice of reason of the film. Gail is torn by morality midway through the film, something else we all can relate to. And as the danger caresses, so to does Gail toward what she believes in, and her love for David. Romber Treece is played out with spunk and passion by the late great Robert Shaw, fresh off the celluloid of Jaws, and makes the role his own. Treece, being an islander, knows the bad, and goods of the material they have found under sea, and acts more or less as a guide to keep the two out of danger, while achieving his own satisfaction to the sense of desire he has to the call of the sea. The supporting cast is really great as well. Louis Gosset is daring and intimidating as the main villain Henri Bondourant, one who kills at will, and who provides the three main characters with plenty of conflict, and Eli Wallach is sleazy and perfect as the only survivor of a wreck, that later became the site of the treasure and drugs. The main three do their best to help with the psychological undertones of the film, part of the real charm.
'The Deep' is more than just a deep sea adventure, but a psychological study of three human beings: One, an adventurous, intrepid young man, fascinated by what is dangerous and unknown to him; The other, his lover, a woman of strong passion, strength, and beauty on the inside and out, who is drawn to those she cannot access or comprehend; The third, a man who has been to hell and back, who still feels obliged to his place of comfort, the ocean. The chemistry between these characters, is what builds the undertone. Gail, is fascinated by Treece, because he has been through so much, and feels drawn to his reclusiveness and relevance. David is drawn to danger, and cannot be denied his goal, needs the pleasure of experience, and Treece, fascinated by both their innocent drives, can only help them thusly. The actually deep, a character itself, is the combination of their lively psyches coming together. When they are deep inside, they face danger in the form deadly animals, explosions rigged in the wreck, and most appropriately, themselves. They are forced to look inside themselves, further explored in the book and television version, and the resolution to the film is felicitous.
So when you look at it, 'The Deep' is a clever look into the deep of our minds, as well as our dreams, our fantasies, and our weaknesses as humans. If there is any way to uncover any of it, this film more or less shows the way, and all the more with the entertainment it delivers, gives us a true experience of what any 'Deep' is like. -
Ham_and_Egger10 June 2005This movie is the filmic equivalent of a novel you buy at the airport bookshop, so why have I watched it a half-dozen times? Simply put, it's a vacation on DVD: The cinematography, especially the underwater scenes, is engrossing. The story is crisp and entertaining. Nolte, Bisset, and Shaw are all good in their parts, though they've all had better roles. Louis Gosset, Jr. is great as the villain, Eli Wallach is good but underused.
There is an element of racism in 'The Deep'. The good guys are all white and the bad guys are all black (and drugs figure in as well). In today's more politically correct atmosphere the movie might not be made this way, but it is a fact that there are black-skinned criminals in Caribbean nations. The movie has to be taken with it's grain of salt.
Oh, yeah, and there are Jaqueline Bisset's nipples poking through that wet t-shirt, you wouldn't want to miss that. -
moonspinner5517 March 2001Deep sea adventure from Peter Benchley's bestseller, with pretty locales and a masochistic edge. Scuba-diving sweethearts near Bermuda find a stash of morphine underwater that is guarded by a killer eel, but that's nothing compared to the trouble Louis Gossett gives them on land (he kidnaps Jacqueline Bisset and makes her strip, but we've already seen her in a wet T-shirt so that puts us one up on the villain). It's an unpleasant time-killer, made even more painful when TBS shows a special version with EXTRA underwater footage (to pad the running time to 3 hours). Robert Shaw is always magnetic, and director Peter Yates is usually a fairly snappy filmmaker, but neither talent can get this thing moving. It's waterlogged. ** from ****