The Deep (1977)

An obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Jaws, this 1977 thriller was also based on a bestseller by Peter Benchley, and it features a memorable performance by Robert Shaw (the doomed shark hunter in Jaws) in one of the last roles of his career. Looking very tanned and healthy, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset play a young couple enjoying a tropical vacation who discover a glass ampoule while scuba diving off the coast of Bermuda. It takes a seasoned treasure hunter (Shaw) to identify the ampoule as part of a valuable shipment of World War II morphine lost at sea, coincidentally, atop the even greater treasure of a sunken Spanish galleon. Thus begins a race for drugs and treasure pitting Nolte, Bisset, and Shaw against a ruthless drug lord (Louis Gossett Jr.) who'll do anything--even resort to Haitian voodoo--to get what he wants. It's all rather contrived and exploitative (after all, the movie's best known for Bisset's wet T-shirt scuba-dive), but as escapist entertainment goes it's got some exciting highlights including a moray eel that attacks on cue and... well, uh, Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-shirt. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com essential video

old one but a good one

she's an older one, but a good movie, good story line, enjoyed it, actually saw it when it came out and wanted to see it again... February 11, 2008

Drug Drama in Bermuda

1977's "The Deep" is a very serviceable movie drama, featuring a solid cast (Robert Shaw, Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset, and Lou Gossett), an exotic location (Bermuda), and a thrilling premise (a hunt for underwater treasure).

The movie opens with an underwater dive by David and Gail (Nolte and Bisset) while on a romantic holiday in Bermuda. Those not distracted by Gail's wet t-shirt will watch the couple discover a ship wreck and various artifacts, including a mysterious glass ampoule. The dive is interupted by Gail's scary encounter with an unknown underwater creature under the wreck.

Back on shore, the couple's effort to trace their small collection of artifacts leads them to two encounters. The first, with legendary Bermudian diver Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), leads to the discovery that they have found a long-sought World War II freighter loaded with glass ampoules of morphine, and that the freighter may be sitting on top of an even older Spanish treasure ship. The second encounter, with Haitain drug dealer Cloche (Lou Gossett) leads to the discovery that Cloche and his gang are prepared to kill to get to the morphine.

The rest of the movie is a suspense-filled chase on land and underwater, as Treece, David, and Gail try to recover the Spanish treasure while staying one step ahead of the Haitians in a complicated game of cross and double-cross. The tension lasts to the final scene, a dramatic fight to the death inside the wreck of the freighter.

This movie is well-recommended as a entertaining underwater thriller, featuring Robert Shaw in one of the last roles of his long career. August 5, 2007

Thank you Ms. Bisset, you made this kids heart jump in this movie

OK sure it's not the greatest movie made but it is one fun underwater adventure and as stated my first crush started with Ms. Bisset's wet tee-shirt dive over the opening credits. The memories this one brings back. The underwater photograph is still stunning and the tale of treasure hunters and drug dealers is still very well done.
The copy I have features both the full and wide screen version of the film but little else, but who cares lets go diving! July 31, 2007

The Deep

I had seen this movie on TV many years ago, and wanted to watch the whole thing. It's not available in video stores. I enjoyed it very much as did my husband, who had never seen it. The movie is based on the book by Peter Benchley who wrote "Jaws". I recall an intro from the TV showing that appears to be missing from the video. It shows the submarine being wrecked off of the coast of Bermuda and a young Romer Treece finding Adam Coffin on the beach. Whatever the movie lacks in substance is made up for in the fine talents of Robert Shaw, Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bissett, and Louis Gossett, Jr. This was one of the last movies that Robert Shaw made. His early death was a great loss to the movie industry.

June 2, 2007

A beauty named Bisset...

The 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...

December 25, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...