The Deep (1977)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Peter Yates

Writers:

Peter Benchley (novel)
Peter Benchley (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Is the treasure worth the terror? [Video Australia]

Plot:

A pair of young vacationers are involved in a dangerous conflict with treasure hunters when they discover a way into a deadly wreck in Bermuda waters...

Plot Keywords:

Treasure | Bermuda | Water | Underwater | Explosion

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Robert Shaw	...	Romer Treece
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Gail Berke
Nick Nolte	...	David Sanders
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Henri Cloche (as Louis Gossett)
Eli Wallach	...	Adam Coffin
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Slake
Earl Maynard	...	Ronald
Bob Minor	...	Wiley
Teddy Tucker	...	The Harbor Master
Robert Tessier	...	Kevin
Lee McClain	...	Johnson

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo | Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1977) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | UK:A (cut)

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Casablanca Filmworks

Trivia:

Author Peter Benchley can be briefly glimpsed as one of the U-boat shipmates in the prologue of the longer version of the film. The roles of the young Treece and Coffin were played by the sons of Robert Shaw and Eli Wallach.

Quotes:

Gail Berke: Do you think this is it?
[Treece appears]
Romer Treece: Well, it isn't a bloody tourist trap! What do you want?
David Sanders: Mr. Treece?
Romer Treece: Indeed.
David Sanders: Ah. Well, Mr. Treece, a friend of ours was doing some diving around here about a month ago, and he found a Spanish coin, that was dated 1714, and he told us to talk to you.
Romer Treece: Look it up in the Hamilton Library.
David Sanders: Yeah, we did, we looked it up in the library and we talked to the librarian, and she said for us to come out here and talk to you 'cause you'd help us.
Romer Treece: Yes, well she's a stupid woman! But she's kind you know, quite kind. She still growing a moustache?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

Soundtrack:

CALYPSO DISCO

Cinematic Guilty Pleasure

In 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.