Directed by Peter Yates
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.
Les Grands Fonds, Die Tiefe, O Tesouro do Fundo do Mar, Abissi, Djupet, Abismo, Бездна, A mélység, 디프, O Fundo do Mar, Dip, Безодня, Drama i dybet, Hlubina, 深深深, Hlbočina, عمیق, Głębia, Dubina, Ο βυθός, ザ・ディープ, Бездната, Dypet, O Abismo, L’abisme, Adâncurile
USAPG 
Japan 
FranceU 
Germany16 
Ireland15 
UK15 
Brazil12 Brazil France Germany Ireland Japan UK USA 
A fun Peter Yates-directed (underwater) adventure flick that has sunken treasure, drug thugs, sharks, an intense performance by Robert Shaw, and, most importantly, a perpetually braless Jacqueline Bisset.
It's a good time.
There’s a scene featuring cricket. I mention that as someone I follow on Letterboxd has been viewing films which have at least one scene containing the sport. It’s background to a scene of two key characters conversating w/ each other; whether or not they’ve interested in a viewing just for that reason…
As for The Deep, it was a movie my late mother enjoyed! She passed away this month 5 years ago; no, not because of COVID but rather due to an illness she had since the start of 2020. As many know this for an infamously gratuitous moment involving Jacqueline Bisset, there may be surprise that she was a fan. While I don’t know for certain, the presumption is…
"You know every ship from the New World passed through these waters? They had to. Kangxi porcelain from China. Japanese silk screens. And those ivory doodads from India. And all that Inca gold that Pizarro took out of Peru. Do you believe all that, boy?"
Anyone can check out The Deep for the promise of Jacqueline Bisset in that famous white t-shirt. Me? I came for Robert Shaw and Louis Gossett Jr. making a deal about long-submerged ampoules of morphine alongside some sweet Bermudian wicket action. (Six months ago, if someone had told me my movie selection criteria would largely amount to "Are there people playing a sport with a little red ball and esoteric terminology?", I'd have advised them…
FUCKIN' HELL. So with all horror October coming up I thought I'd get rid of some of the non horror stuff from my recordings so I put on this 'adventure'. The second the film starts the instrumental version of the song of my childhood nightmares started playing and I was instantly back to a toddler hiding behind the couch (I am told I used to go behind there to poop too instead of using the potty but that's another matter) as my siblings played the song over and over to terrorise me!!! When I started watching horrors at 6 it was a walk in the park after that song. Obviously at the time I didn't know it was filthy but…
English Version below ...
The Deep (1977)
Die Tiefe
Ist irgendetwas den Schrecken von Die Tiefe wert?
Die Tiefe (Originaltitel: The Deep) ist ein Abenteuerfilm von Peter Yates aus dem Jahr 1977 mit Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw, Eli Wallach und Louis Gossett Jr. Er basiert auf dem Roman Das Riff (original The Deep) von Peter Benchley.
Während eines gemeinsamen Tauch-Urlaubes auf den Bermudas entdecken sie einen Schatz besonderer Art: In einem gesunkenen Frachter aus dem 2. Weltkrieg finden sie eine kleine Glasampulle und ein dick verkrustetes Medaillon aus dem Jahre 1714. Damit sind sie sowohl einem gut getarnten Drogenversteck als auch einem Goldschatz aus der Spanierzeit auf der Spur. Ihr Problem: Die Schätze zu bergen und dabei am…
JAWS is one of my mother's favourite films, so when she noticed the year, as well as the revisitation of Peter Benchley and Robert Shaw - this was a lock for the evening. I suggested that it was no JAWS 2, and unless I was misremembering it from decades earlier, The Deep was primarily known for Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-shirt. This warning was dismissed with a look that suggested my assessment was the objectifying priorities of youth.
So I was happy to say "I told you so," a minute later.
Here's the thing - The Deep is known for that outfit. Also, it is used for the first ten minutes. You have two hours to go afterwards.
With…
So this started the wet T-shirt craze…🤿
A diving adventure movie set in Bermuda, written by Peter Benchley, starring Robert Shaw...this was basically a trap that any Jaws fan would find impossible to resist!
After Jaws, Benchley could have gotten his grocery list adapted for the big screen. Thankfully, he decided not to, and his other novels were adapted instead. The Deep was one of them, also set on the sea, which seemed to be his favorite location.
Robert Shaw, at times, seems to be channeling Quint all over again. For me, I didn't mind one bit. He's in his element, just where I want him to be. Nick Nolte in one of his first big major roles is great as always. Jacqeline Bisset, in her wet…
Robert Shaw back on the high seas, grumbling about nautical lore. Youngish Nick Nolte in action hero mode. Louis Gossett Jr. as a Haitian crimelord. Jacqueline Bisset diving in a white t-shirt. These are all good things. Add to them some pretty great undersea treasure hunting adventure.
But not everything works as well as I was hoping it would. The Dynamic between the Nolte/Shaw/Bisset group and the Gossett crew is goofy and contrived to give the good guys a firm timetable to work within while the bad guys let them do their thing. Gotta love those ticking clocks. Eli Wallach plays a drunken old navy vet who sells his friends out for very little motivation. And sadly, the final set…
The poster asks: "Is anything worth the terror of THE DEEP?" The answer: no, not really.
Eager to capitalize on the success of Jaws, Columbia Pictures sought to adapt another Peter Benchley novel taking place in and under treacherous waters, The Deep. Directed by Peter Yates (Bullitt) with a screenplay co-written by Benchley and Tracy Keenan Wynn (son of Keenan Wynn, as you might have guessed), the film takes place in Bermuda and stars Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset as a couple on vacation who discover a rare coin and vials of morphine on the ocean floor near a World War II shipwreck. Word gets out immediately and the pair is targeted by a drug kingpin (Louis Gossett Jr.); only…
This one’s going out for Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset, born September 13, 1944.
The Deep opens with Jackie swimming underwater in a tight, white t-shirt outlining her nipples. This sort of sexist exploitation is, unfortunately, typical of American films in this era.
Well, I guess that’s all I have to say. Good night, folks.
Wait. What about Robert Shaw’s performance? The treasure? The fish? Peter Yates’s direction? Nick Nolte’s ‘stache?
Robert Shaw’s in it? Sorry, I didn’t notice. You see, it opens with Jackie in this t-shirt . . . .
Watched on TCM. First seen in theater in Columbia, SC.
Rum's not drinking, it's surviving.
Between Peter Benchley, Robert Shaw, the ocean setting and the (brief) appearance of sharks, The Deep cannot avoid being compared to Jaws, and it obviously can't live up Jaws. But this isn't trying to be Jaws so its an unfair comparison. This is an underwater treasure hunting movie and there's a variety of threats aside from sharks including a giant moray eel and drugrunners after vials of morphine in the ship wreckage. A lot of the runtime is spent underwater which is good because the diving scenes are the highlight and are beautifully shot. The cast is also great, particularly Robert Shaw. Which brings us back to Jaws - Shaw's good but of course he's not as good as in Jaws - but ignore the Jaws connections and this is a solid underwater adventure.
