The Deep Blu-ray - Jacqueline Bisset

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Peter Yates
USA 1977

Released on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, The Deep (1977) is a lavish, suspense-filled adventure, adapted from Peter Benchley's (Jaws) best-selling novel. Gail Berke (Jacqueline Bisset) and David Sanders (Nick Nolte) are on a romantic holiday in Bermuda when they come upon the sunken wreck of a WWII freighter. Near it, they find an ampule of morphine, one of tens of thousands still aboard the wrecked ship. Their discovery leads them to a Haitian drug dealer, Cloche (Louis Gossett), and an old treasure hunter, Romer Treece (Robert Shaw). With Cloche in pursuit, Gail, David and Treece try to recover the sunken treasure.

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This visually stunning action-adventure film, based on the best-selling novel by 'Jaws' author Peter Benchley, stars Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset as a couple on a romantic holiday in Bermuda. New Yorkers, David Sanders (Nolte) and Gail Berke (Bissett) are enjoying a much-needed vacation; while diving one day they discover the sunken wreck of a WWII freighter and unearth a gold coin as well as a mysterious glass ampule. Excited, they believe their discovery could be a long lost treasure, but they soon learn that their most valuable discovery is actually an ampule of morphine, one of thousands left behind on the medical supply ship. This discovery leads them into the hands of Henry Cloche (Louis Gossett Jr.), an extremely dangerous and powerful Haitian drug dealer who will stop at nothing to unearth the dangerous treasure. With the help of Romer Treece (Robert Shaw), an old treasure hunter, David and Gail soon realize that they have made a much more important discovery than the morphine and set out to keep their actual treasure a secret. Suspenseful death-defying dives and exquisite underwater photography. The poster of Bisset underwater in a T-shirt adorned many a dorm wall in the late 1970s.

Excerpt from B+N located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: June 17th, 1977

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Comparison:

Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. 101 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover
		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray	101 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	2:04:30.463	2:04:27.626
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,829,039,888 bytes Feature: 32,952,483,840 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.07 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,999,228,470 bytes Feature: 29,817,077,760 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Sony Blu-ray:
Bitrate 101 Films Blu-ray:
Audio	Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1367 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1367 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps) DUBs: Dolby TrueHD Audio French 1313 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1313 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps) Dolby TrueHD Audio Portuguese 1300 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1300 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps) Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps	LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit DTS-HD Master Audio English 1756 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1756 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) Commentary: LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Subtitles	English, English (SDH), French, Portuguese, Spanish, none	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Sony 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 45,829,039,888 bytes Feature: 32,952,483,840 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.07 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • The Making of 'The Deep' (48:40 in SD) • 6 Selected Scenes From the 3 Hour Special Edition (22:14 in HD) • 7 HD trailers - Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Secret Window, The Dark Crystal, The Da Vinci Code, and Rocky Balboa • BD-Live (profile 2.0) Blu-ray Release Date: July 7th, 2009 (Re-released December 7th, 2010) Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 33	Release Information: Studio: 101 Films 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 47,999,228,470 bytes Feature: 29,817,077,760 bytes Video Bitrate: 25.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Commentary with film critic Kevin Lyons • The Making of the Deep (48:45) • Select Scenes from the three-hour Special Edition (21:16) • Cinema Retro mini magazine • Interview with Underwater Art Director Terry Ackland-Snow (15:07) Blu-ray Release Date: September 14th, 2020 Standard Blu-ray Case inside slipcase Chapters 8

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: 101 Films Blu-ray (September 2020): 101 Films have transferred Peter Yates' The Deep to Blu-ray. Firstly, the Sony Blu-ray we are comparing this to is the original 2009 release - not any of the subsequent re-releases - which, we don't know if the quality is the exact same as the 2009 edition.

The new 101 HD transfer easily bests the 11-year old Sony Blu-ray. It is less saturated and crisper - colors are more realistic - with the embellishment that appears to be part of the early Sony 1080P. The 101 Films transfer also shows more information in the frame. It looks quite pleasing in-motion and is a definite step-up.

NOTE: We have added 62 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 101 Films offer both a linear PCM stereo track or the option of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (both 16-bit) in the original English language. This is superior to the Sony TrueHD and supports the effects well - but also doesn't carry dynamic depth. The score is by the great John Barry (The Lion in Winter, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, Deadfall, The Chase, Midnight Cowboy, Dances With Wolves and the Bond themes among his many credits) that evokes Thunderball with serene strings and occasional intensity. 101 Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The 101 Films Blu-ray offers a new commentary by critic Kevin Lyons, editor of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television. He tells plenty of interesting stories - many from Producer Peter Guber's book "Inside the Deep" - including information on Jacqueline Bisset's feelings about the wet t-shirt appeal, her initial fear of water, Nolte's career as well as Shaw and the latter's open criticism of the script's weaknesses. He talks about Eli Wallach and much more. I thought it was excellent. 101 Films also include the 48-minute The Making of 'The Deep' narrated by Robert Shaw that gives evidence on how this was groundbreaking for its time. Also repeated from the older Sony BD is the 6 scenes of the 3 Hour version of The Deep - about 20-minutes worth. There is a 1/4 hour interview with underwater art director Terry Ackland-Snow entitled "Snow Underwater". The package (see below) also includes a Cinema Retro mini magazine - that I have no seen.

Peter Yates' The Deep is a good adventure thriller with the cast adding much of the value - Bisset, Nolte, Shaw, Gossett Jr., Wallach. A John Barry score. Robert Shaw you say? Benchley? sharks? I'm glad this received a video upgrade with the commentary and additional interview which certainly add more value - as I presume the mini-magazine to be a nice keepsake inclusion. I think I saw The Deep in the theater - I might have been 15 and it was a big deal for me. I really enjoyed seeing the new Blu-ray with the tropical British Virgin Islands and Bermuda in a superior HD presentation... among other appealing visuals. This is absolutely recommended - great job 101 Films!