The Deep (film)
Encyclopedia
The Deep is a 1977 adventure film directed by Peter Yates
and based on Peter Benchley
's novel of the same name. The film stars Robert Shaw
, Jacqueline Bisset
, and Nick Nolte
.
, vacationing couple David Sanders (Nick Nolte
) and Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset
) recover a number of artifacts, including an ampule of amber-colored liquid and a medallion bearing the image of a woman and the letters "O.P.N.S.C" (meaning Ora pro nobis, Santa Clara) and a date, 1714. Sanders and Berke seek the advice of lighthouse-keeper and treasure-hunter Romer Treece (Robert Shaw
) on the origin of the medallion, who identifies the item as Spanish and takes an interest in the young couple. The ampule is noticed by the man who had rented diving equipment to Sanders and Berke, which in turn attracts the attention of Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett, Jr), a local drug kingpin for whom the shop owner works, who wants to buy the ampule with no luck and then begins to terrorize the couple with Haitian black magic. The ampule contains medicinal morphine
from the Goliath, a ship that sank during World War II
with a cargo of munitions and medical supplies. The wreck of the Goliath is considered dangerous and is posted as off-limits to divers due to the danger of explosions. Treece concludes that a recent storm has exposed her cargo of morphine and unearthed a much older wreck containing Spanish treasure.
Treece makes a deal with Cloche, so they can dive in peace making him believe he will get the ampules for a million dollars, while his real plan is to have the chance to find the treasure. Cloche gives him 3 days to recover them. Sanders, Berke, and Treece make several dives to the wrecks, recovering thousands of morphine ampules from Goliath and several additional artifacts from the Spanish wreck. Adam Coffin (Eli Wallach
), the only survivor from Goliath joins to help in the boat but his loyalty is not very clear when they get attacked by sharks and he only says "that he probably fell asleep" without noticing they were in trouble.
Through research in Treece's library, they reconstruct the history of the lost treasure ship, locate a list of valuable items, including a metallic jar with the letters "EF" engraved on it, and learn the identity of the noblewoman (Isabella Farnese) for whom they were made by the king of Spain. Sanders is determined to locate at least one item on the list to establish provenance
; since without it there is no value to the treasure. Treece wishes to destroy the Goliath to put the morphine out of reach of Cloche; and Cloche interferes with their efforts so that he can recover the morphine for himself. During a running series of conflicts Treece's friend Kevin (Robert Tessier
) is murdered by one of Cloche's henchmen and Adam, betrays them and is killed when he triggers a booby-trap while trying to steal the recovered morphine. A climactic battle during the final dive ensues, with Cloche and his divers being killed in the destruction of the Goliath and the recovery of a gold dragon necklace that will provide the needed provenance of the treasure.
Two actors from the Jaws films
(which were also based on a novel
by Peter Benchley) appeared in this film. Robert Shaw
played shark hunter Quint in the first film
while Louis Gossett, Jr.
played SeaWorld
park owner Calvin Bouchard in the third film
.
, the location of the real shipwreck of the RMS Rhone
in the British Virgin Islands
.
, who at the time was most famous for his work on the James Bond film series
. In the same manner of a Bond film, Barry collaborated with a high profiled singer for the film's theme song. American singer Donna Summer
teamed up with Barry for the film's signature song entitled Down Deep Inside (Theme From The Deep)
. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
and a hit on the U.S. Dance Chart
, as well as a top-five singles hit in the UK, and a top-forty hit in the Netherlands.
.
Vincent Canby
of The New York Times
gave the film a negative review, stating that "The story, as well as Peter Yates's direction of it, is juvenile without being in any attractive way innocent, but the underwater sequences are nice enough, alternately beautiful and chilling. The shore-based melodrama is as badly staged as any I've seen since Don Schain
's The Abductors (1972), which is to remember incompetence of stunning degree."
Upon its release, the film was noted for its opening scene of Jacqueline Bisset
swimming underwater while wearing only a thin, white T-shirt
and bikini
bottom. This helped make the film a box office success, leading producer Peter Guber
to say, "That T-shirt made me a rich man."
:
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates was an English director and producer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager...
and based on Peter Benchley
Peter Benchley
Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its subsequent film adaptation, the latter co-written by Benchley and directed by Steven Spielberg...
's novel of the same name. The film stars Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
, Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
, and Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
.
Plot
While scuba-diving near shipwrecks off BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, vacationing couple David Sanders (Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
) and Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
) recover a number of artifacts, including an ampule of amber-colored liquid and a medallion bearing the image of a woman and the letters "O.P.N.S.C" (meaning Ora pro nobis, Santa Clara) and a date, 1714. Sanders and Berke seek the advice of lighthouse-keeper and treasure-hunter Romer Treece (Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
) on the origin of the medallion, who identifies the item as Spanish and takes an interest in the young couple. The ampule is noticed by the man who had rented diving equipment to Sanders and Berke, which in turn attracts the attention of Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett, Jr), a local drug kingpin for whom the shop owner works, who wants to buy the ampule with no luck and then begins to terrorize the couple with Haitian black magic. The ampule contains medicinal morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
from the Goliath, a ship that sank during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with a cargo of munitions and medical supplies. The wreck of the Goliath is considered dangerous and is posted as off-limits to divers due to the danger of explosions. Treece concludes that a recent storm has exposed her cargo of morphine and unearthed a much older wreck containing Spanish treasure.
Treece makes a deal with Cloche, so they can dive in peace making him believe he will get the ampules for a million dollars, while his real plan is to have the chance to find the treasure. Cloche gives him 3 days to recover them. Sanders, Berke, and Treece make several dives to the wrecks, recovering thousands of morphine ampules from Goliath and several additional artifacts from the Spanish wreck. Adam Coffin (Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
), the only survivor from Goliath joins to help in the boat but his loyalty is not very clear when they get attacked by sharks and he only says "that he probably fell asleep" without noticing they were in trouble.
Through research in Treece's library, they reconstruct the history of the lost treasure ship, locate a list of valuable items, including a metallic jar with the letters "EF" engraved on it, and learn the identity of the noblewoman (Isabella Farnese) for whom they were made by the king of Spain. Sanders is determined to locate at least one item on the list to establish provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
; since without it there is no value to the treasure. Treece wishes to destroy the Goliath to put the morphine out of reach of Cloche; and Cloche interferes with their efforts so that he can recover the morphine for himself. During a running series of conflicts Treece's friend Kevin (Robert Tessier
Robert Tessier
Robert W. Tessier was an American actor and stuntman who was best known for playing heavy, menacing characters on film and television.-Early life:...
) is murdered by one of Cloche's henchmen and Adam, betrays them and is killed when he triggers a booby-trap while trying to steal the recovered morphine. A climactic battle during the final dive ensues, with Cloche and his divers being killed in the destruction of the Goliath and the recovery of a gold dragon necklace that will provide the needed provenance of the treasure.
Cast
- Robert ShawRobert Shaw (actor)Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
as Romer Treece - Jacqueline BissetJacqueline BissetJacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
as Gail Berke - Nick NolteNick NolteNicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
as David Sanders - Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
as Henri Cloche - Eli WallachEli WallachEli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
as Adam Coffin - Dick Anthony WilliamsDick Anthony WilliamsDick Anthony Williams is an American actor. Williams is known for his starring performances on Broadway in The Poison Tree, What the Wine-Sellers Buy and Black Picture Show. He is also remembered for playing the character of Pretty Tony in The Mack, which starred Max Julien and Richard Pryor...
as Slake - Earl MaynardEarl MaynardEarl Maynard is a bodybuilder and professional wrestler as well as a film actor, producer and director from Barbados.-Bodybuilding:Maynard won the 1964 Universe - Pro - NABBA bodybuilding competition - part of the Universe Championships, the 1965 Universe - IFBB - now the World Amateur Bodybuilding...
as Ronald - Bob MinorRobert Lee MinorRobert Lee Minor or Bob Lee Minor is an American stunt performer, television and film actor, best known for doubling many celebrities such as: Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Bernie Mac, Danny Glover, Carl Weathers and John Amos...
as Wiley - Teddy Tucker as The Harbor Master
- Robert TessierRobert TessierRobert W. Tessier was an American actor and stuntman who was best known for playing heavy, menacing characters on film and television.-Early life:...
as Kevin - Lee McClain as Johnson
Two actors from the Jaws films
Jaws (film series)
Jaws is an American film franchise that consists of a novel, four films, a theme park ride, and other tie-in merchandise. The franchise primarily focuses on a great white shark, and its attacks on people in specific areas of the United States. The Brody family is featured in all of the films as the...
(which were also based on a novel
Jaws (novel)
Jaws is a 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. It tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon a small resort town, and the voyage of three men to kill it....
by Peter Benchley) appeared in this film. Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (actor)
Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
played shark hunter Quint in the first film
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
while Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
played SeaWorld
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
park owner Calvin Bouchard in the third film
Jaws 3-D
Jaws 3-D is a 1983 thriller film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Lea Thompson and Louis Gossett, Jr...
.
Production
Filming began in July 1976 with open water diving sequences near Peter IslandPeter Island
The 720 hectare Peter Island, is a private island located in the British Virgin Islands , about 5.2 miles south-west from Road Harbour , Tortola...
, the location of the real shipwreck of the RMS Rhone
RMS Rhone
The RMS Rhone was a British packet ship owned by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on 29 October 1867 during a hurricane with the loss of approximately 123 lives...
in the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
.
Music
The film's score was composed by John BarryJohn Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
, who at the time was most famous for his work on the James Bond film series
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
. In the same manner of a Bond film, Barry collaborated with a high profiled singer for the film's theme song. American singer Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
teamed up with Barry for the film's signature song entitled Down Deep Inside (Theme From The Deep)
Down Deep Inside (song)
"Down Deep Inside" is the theme song from the 1977 film The Deep. The film's score was written by British composer John Barry and the lyrics to the main theme were added by disco singer Donna Summer. The track was released as a single and became a hit in some European countries, including the U.K...
. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
and a hit on the U.S. Dance Chart
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
, as well as a top-five singles hit in the UK, and a top-forty hit in the Netherlands.
Reception
The Deep was released on June 17, 1977 and was well-received by the public, making it the seventh highest grossing film of 1977. Critics reviews, however, were largely mixed to negative. The film currently holds a 33% approval rating at the review aggregation website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the film a negative review, stating that "The story, as well as Peter Yates's direction of it, is juvenile without being in any attractive way innocent, but the underwater sequences are nice enough, alternately beautiful and chilling. The shore-based melodrama is as badly staged as any I've seen since Don Schain
Don Schain
Don Schain is a writer, director, and producer of many films and TV movies, most notably for Disney Channel.Don has been in the movie business since the late 1960s, with him directing The Love Object. In the early to mid 1970s, Schain directed his then-wife, Cheri Caffaro, in a number of...
's The Abductors (1972), which is to remember incompetence of stunning degree."
Upon its release, the film was noted for its opening scene of Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
swimming underwater while wearing only a thin, white T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
and bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
bottom. This helped make the film a box office success, leading producer Peter Guber
Peter Guber
Howard Peter Guber is an American film producer and executive and Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment...
to say, "That T-shirt made me a rich man."
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for one Academy Award and one Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
:
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(1977)
- Nominated: Best Sound (Walter GossWalter GossWalter Goss is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film The Deep.-External links:...
, Tom BeckertTom BeckertTom Beckert is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Sound.-Selected filmography:* The Deep * The Witches of Eastwick -External links:...
, Robin GregoryRobin GregoryRobin Gregory is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Sound.-Selected filmography:* The Deep * Outland -External links:...
, Dick AlexanderDick AlexanderDick Alexander is an American sound engineer. He won two Academy Awards for Best Sound and was nominated for six more in the same category. He has worked on over 170 films and television shows since 1975.-Selected filmography:...
)- Golden Globe Awards (1977)
- Nominated: Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
(Donna SummerDonna SummerLaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
, John BarryJohn Barry (composer)John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
)