The Deep |The 1970s adventure gets some Cinema Retro Blu-ray love

From 101 Films and Cinema Retro comes the 1977 adventure The Deep on Blu-ray.

While scuba diving on the wreck of the World War II freighter Goliath in Bermuda, Gail (Jacqueline Bisset) and David (Nick Nolte) find evidence of 17th-century Spanish gold but also ampules of morphine, both of which could be worth a fortune.

They unlist Adam Coffin (Eli Wallach), the only survivor of the Goliath, to help them locate the gold while trying to convince famed treasure hunter Romer Treece (Robert Shaw) to join them in their search. But hot on their heels is a Haitian drug dealer, Cloche (Louis Gossett), who has his eye on the precious drugs.

The Deep was a MUST-SEE film in 1977 because it was Peter Benchley’s follow-up novel to Jaws (well we all know how phenomenal that was!), but also because of Jacqueline Bisset swimming braless, which helped popularise the wet tee-shirt craze. Aged 13 at the time, I was more interested in scares than breasts but was ultimately left disappointed by the film as the only thrill factor was a huge Moray eel guarding the wreck.

Four decades later, Film 101 have released the 1970s adventure on Blu-ray in conjunction with Cinema Retro magazine. And after reading the informative ‘Film In Focus’ booklet and watching the extras, I now have renewed respect for the film, especially the excellent underwater photography by Al Giddings and Stan Waterman that was all accomplished in the days before CGI. And also the excellent performances from Bisset and Nolte (who did all their own underwater sequences) and veterans Wallach and Shaw. It might not be Jaws, but The Deep is well worth a revisit.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Cinema Retro mini-magazine
• Commentary with film critic Kevin Lyons
• Interview with underwater art director Terry Ackland-Snow
• The Making of The Deep (Robert Shaw hosts the 1977 CBS Special. 48min, unrestored and transferred from video)
• Select Scenes from the 3-hour 1980 US TV Special Edition (this features the unused prologue which involves the sinking of the Goliath in 1943. Playing the young Adam Coffin and Romer Treece are Wallach and Shaw’s sons, Peter and Colin, while Cameron Mitchell plays the captain of the doomed ship).

Filming underwater for The Deep