Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Deep Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 9, 2021

Peter Yates' "The Deep" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by Illeana Douglas; extended and deleted scenes; and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The outsiders

In the old days, Peter Yates’ The Deep functioned a lot like a big promotional piece for adventurous tourists. Bermuda was not exactly difficult to find on a map, but this film did a lot to sell a very particular, super-attractive image of it that I am convinced inspired a lot of people to book a vacation there. Of course, the internet changed everything and now it takes only a few minutes to discover even bigger stunners like Bora Bora, so these days films like The Deep probably seem a bit strange.

Or maybe not.

I had not revisited The Deep since Sony Pictures released it on Blu-ray more than a decade ago, so when a couple of nights ago I played this recent Australian release my immediate impression was that the film is actually becoming more attractive. How so? Well, because there is pure, old-fashioned organic beauty in it that is extremely rare in modern films. (By the way, this is one of the main reasons why I thought that Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a much more impressive film than Winged Migration). To be perfectly clear, some of the magic emerges from Yates’ ability to make the area’s natural beauty appear entirely ordinary, but at the same time it feels like he isn’t trying too hard to get the right visuals either. Whether under or above water, they are just there, and it is awfully difficult for the camera to ignore them. More recent adventure films lack this particular type of beauty. For example, the Norwegian blockbuster Kon-Tiki produces some absolutely astonishing visuals that make it a feast for the eyes, but you can tell from the get-go that it was conceived to overwhelm with beauty. Indeed, it knows precisely where it needs to go to ‘discover’ the beauty and has a crystal-clear idea how to deliver it to the audience for maximum effect. It is just a very big and very nicely polished film, and like all such films from time to time it can appear slightly artificial. (The ability of cutting-edge cameras, like the ARRI, to produce astonishingly clear visuals only exacerbates the effect).

In The Deep the natural beauty of Bermuda is the foundation of the story, which frankly isn’t that great. While vacationing in the area, lovers David Sanders (Nick Nolte) and Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset), both experienced divers, uncover some precious objects and a tiny ampule that might be from a long-lost treasure. However, local archeologist and diver Romer Treece (Robert Shaw) confirms to them that the ampule contains morphine, and then warns that it is only a matter of time before local drug dealer Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett Jr.) and his thugs become interested in their ‘treasure’. Nevertheless, David and Gail make plans to dive again and see if there are more precious objects on the bottom of the ocean, but just as Romer has predicted the drug dealer comes looking for his share. So, as you can tell, the story is fairly straightforward and once the drug dealer becomes involved the film spends all of its energy preparing for the inevitable clash that would determine the fate of the ‘treasure’.

But it is precisely the simplicity of the story that allows the film to shine as nicely as it does. Indeed, Yates does not attempt to do more with the original material from Peter Benchley’s novel and as a result the film remains coherent. Also, the more time the audience spends with the main characters, the clearer it becomes that the film is sincere about the type of entertainment it wants to offer -- it is just exotic fun of the type that can relax the mind at the end of a long and exhausting day.

The cast is good, but every single actor has done better work in other films. The only possible exception is Eli Wallach, who struggles with his lines and completely mishandles a fairly ordinary character.

A typically great score by John Barry compliments the terrific visuals. However, somewhat surprisingly the film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Sound.

*Not all of the underwater footage that is seen in The Deep is authentic. Some of it was actually staged, but it still looks quite incredible.

The Deep Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Deep arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The only other release of this film that I have in my library is the one Sony Pictures produced in 2009. (You can see our listing and review of this release here). I think that the master that was used to produce this release is the same because I could spot only one minor discrepancy. So, this is a very, very nice master with very strong organic qualities. It has a few areas with minor density fluctuations, but they are part of the original cinematography. Depth and clarity usually range from very good to excellent. The entire film is graded convincingly as well. In fact, I like the grading job so much that I am unsure if there any room for improvement. There are no traces of problematic digital work. So, what is the discrepancy that I mentioned above? Well, the U.S. release is encoded a little bit better, which is why some of the underwater footage for instance tends to look slightly better. The rest looked more or less identical on my system. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Deep Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

I viewed most of the film with the LPCM 2.0 track, which isn't available on the U.S. release. It is excellent, but this does not surprise me because when the folks at Sony Pictures finalize their masters they usually ensure that the audio and video are done right. This film has a great music score as well as some interesting sound effects, so a solid lossless audio track is definitely needed. Can the audio be improved if the film ever transitions to 4K Blu-ray? At the moment, I don't think so.

The Deep Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - vintage trailer for The Deep. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, actress, director, and producer Illeana Douglas (To Die For) explains why The Deep became a huge box office hit during the '70s, Peter Benchley's novel, Jacqueline Bisset's sex symbol image and how it impacted the film's reputation, the shooting of the underwater footage, the Jaws hints that pop up throughout the film, etc. The commentary was recorded in 2020.

• The Making of The Deep - this vintage documentary takes a closer look at the production of The Deep and is narrated by Robert Shaw. In English, not subtitled. (49 min, 1080i).

• Selected Scenes From the 3-Hour Special Edition - in English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Prologue: The Goliath Sinks (3 min, 1080p).
  2. Romer Treece's Disposition (1 min, 1080p).
  3. Treece and David Harassed by Cloche's Goons (3 min, 1080p).
  4. Pillow Talk (7 min, 1080p).
  5. Extended Conversation Between Cloche and Treece (4 min, 1080p).
  6. Treece's Past Revealed (6 min, 1080p).

The Deep Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I would recommend this release only to folks who really, really like The Deep and wish to hear the exclusive new audio commentary Illeana Douglas recorded for it. If you have the North American release that Sony Pictures produced more than a decade ago, however, you already have a very nice release in your library with a solid technical presentation of the film. RECOMMENDED.