The Deep  

By Jeff Shannon

An obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Jaws, this 1977 thriller was also based on a bestseller by Peter Benchley, and it features a memorable performance by Robert Shaw (the doomed shark hunter in Jaws) in one of the last roles of his career. Looking very tanned and healthy, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset play a young couple enjoying a tropical vacation who discover a glass ampoule while scuba diving off the coast of Bermuda. It takes a seasoned treasure hunter (Shaw) to identify the ampoule as part of a valuable shipment of World War II morphine lost at sea, coincidentally, atop the even greater treasure of a sunken Spanish galleon. Thus begins a race for drugs and treasure pitting Nolte, Bisset, and Shaw against a ruthless drug lord (Louis Gossett Jr.) who'll do anything--even resort to Haitian voodoo--to get what he wants. It's all rather contrived and exploitative (after all, the movie's best known for Bisset's wet T-shirt scuba-dive), but as escapist entertainment goes it's got some exciting highlights including a moray eel that attacks on cue and... well, uh, Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-shirt.

Academy Awards

The Deep received an Academy Awards nomination for Sound (Walter Goss, Dick Alexander, Tom Beckert, Robin Gregory).

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"The Deep may not be the greatest movie ever, nor indeed even the best movie of 1977 given the exceptional quality of that year. It does, however, appear to improve with time, and the story seems as fresh today as it did nearly 25 years ago. The young holidaying couple (Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset) chance upon treasure, drugs and a whole world of trouble fronted by the iniquitous baddie Cloche (Lou Gosset on good form) and his collection of distinctly unsavoury cohorts. They are helped by the experienced treasure hunter Romer Treece (the much-missed and exceptionally talented Robert Shaw). It is the strong cast, beautiful photography and wonderfully exotic locations rather than the script that hold the main interest for the audience. Take another dip !!" --inlikeflint

"The first time I saw this film I was seven years old, and living in my parents oceanfront home in St. Augustine Florida. I still remember how serene the underwater shots were. Then of course who could forget that scene of Jackie in her wet t shirt.This film although (B) rated. Sparked a lifelong LOVE of underwater archaeology, and treasure hunting. Iv'e even met Mel Fisher. I wish Robert Shaw would do another adventure film." --Twan

"I am a normal 51 year old male looking for a picture of Ms Bisset in her famous T-shirt. Result = frustrated again by the Internet. [Editor's note: If you can't find softporn on the Internet, you're not trying very hard! For those similarly inflicted, check our eBay links to the right and below - those pictures are ALWAYS up for auction.]" --Anonymous

"The first time I saw The Deep I was a bit terrified at that part where Gail (Jacqueline Bisset) was in her hotel room and these guys with paint all over them and hay sneak into her room and paint her whole stomach with a chicken leg, with blood. " --B