Abismo

Reason 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

This 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.

Peter 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!

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.

I 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