The Deep (1977)

Directed by Peter Yates. Starring Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, Louis Gossett Jr., Eli Wallach, Dick Anthony Williams, Robert Tessier. [PG]

A couple (Nolte, Bisset) vacationing in Bermuda make an unexpected discovery while scuba diving off the coast, putting them at odds with some vicious drug dealers led by Gossett Jr. Shaw plays a salty treasure hunter who helps the couple in order to get his mitts on some old Spanish booty. Long, sluggish, unfocused thriller throws lots of ingredients into the pot—morphine ampoules, giant moray eels, black magic, etc.—but hardly any of them stick beyond the level of cheap, fleeting gimmick. Underwater photography is sharp and scenic, but as it so often goes, the pace flows like molasses down there, resulting in visual confusion and lukewarm excitement during scenes that go on and on (director Yates’ inept staging doesn’t help). Taken from a Peter Benchley story and co-starring Shaw, audiences were suckered into lining up for another water-based thrill ride in the vein of Jaws, but more discriminating moviegoers could smell something fishy almost immediately. Best remembered in the years since for Bisset wearing a wet T-shirt in the opening scene—a trend-setter, for better or worse. Benchley scripted with Tracy Keenan Wynn.

44/100