The Deep

An obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Steven Spielberg's 1975 Jaws, Peter Yates' 1977 The Deep—both films were based on bestselling novels by Peter Benchley—features a memorable performance by Robert Shaw (the doomed shark hunter in Jaws) in one of his last roles. Tanned and healthy-looking Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset star as David Sanders and Gail Berke, a young couple enjoying a tropical vacation, who discover a glass ampoule while scuba diving off the coast of Bermuda. Seasoned treasure hunter Romer Treece (Shaw) identifies 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 the trio against ruthless drug lord Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett Jr.), who will do anything—including resorting to Haitian voodoo—to get what he wants. The Deep is admittedly rather contrived and exploitative (best known for Bisset's wet T-shirt scuba-dive), but as escapist entertainment it offers some exciting highlights, including a moray eel that attacks on cue. Boasting a solid Blu-ray transfer, extras include a vintage behind-the-scenes documentary and select scenes from the 1980 TV-aired two-part miniseries version of the film. Recommended. (J. Shannon)