25 Amazing Facts You Need To Know About 'The Deep'
The Deep swims onto Bluray for the first time in the UK on Monday 14 September from 101 Films, it's a disc bursting with extras from a making of hosted by Robert Shaw, selected scenes from the three hour TV presentation and a brand new commentary from film critic Kevin Lyons.
We took a dive into the commentary to see what facts we could plunder about this treasure hunting aqua thriller from the pen of Peter Benchley.
1. The book, The Deep, had its origins in an article Benchley wrote for the National Geographic, the history of Bermuda as told through its shipwrecks.
2. In 1994 Peter Benchley became the host of The Discovery Channel's Shark Week.
The Deep author Peter Benchley
3. Zanuck and Brown were offered first refusal on The Deep after the success of Jaws.
4. It had a price of one million dollars, with $250,000 for a draft of the script and a large percentage of the profits. This was non negotiable, Zanuck and Brown turned it down.
5. The Deep was producer Peter Guber's first film.
6. Guber had 18 months from the contract being signed in November 1975 to get it in cinemas for June 1977, three months after the release of the paperback for maximum impact.
7. The film had a wishlist shortlist of directors: Spielberg, Franklin Shafner, John Frankenheimer and John Boorman.
8. Peter Yates was chosen as the director, his directorial dubut was Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday, which was the second highest grossing film at the UK box office in 1963. Only beaten by From Russia With Love, which of course featured Robert Shaw.
9. Director Peter Yates first worked with The Deep star, Jacqueline Bissett, on Bullitt.
10. The production had a huge controllable set built, called BUS, biggest underwater set, that was an artificial sea. It was 30 feet deep, far safer than the 60 - 100 feet deep of the sea.
11. At one point it kept on losing 200,000 gallons of water a day.
12. The production took 9, 985 dives and 10, 780 man hours spent underwater.
13. The Deep took over $8.1 million at the box office in the first three days of release, Columbia's best ever opening gross.
14. After three weeks, The Deep had taken over 28 million dollars at the US box office.
15. 45% of the film is shot underwater
16. Like Jaws, additional footage was shot in Australia, this was for the shark frenzy scene.
17. Cast and crew had to learn how to scuba dive for the film.
18. The score was by John Barry, perhaps best known for his work on the James Bond films, Midnight Cowboy, Out of Africa and Dances With Wolves.
19. Peter Benchley wrote the screenplay, with additional dialogue tweeks by both Nick Nolte and Robert Shaw.
20. The stuntwoman dislocated her shoulder in the opening scene of The Deep. Video below (skip to 2 minutes).
21. Nick Nolte's regulator was kicked out of his mouth by Bisset, meaning Nolte had no oxygen - luckily the crew got oxygen to him in time.
22. Jaqueline Bisset had a fear of the water but built her confidence up and was diving to 60 feet deep by the end of filming.
Bisset, Shaw and Nolte film ‘The Deep’ (1977)
23. Nick Nolte got very close to Robert Shaw,, they both shared a love for film and on one occasion got so drunk on set that Shaw stood up, walked along the plank, fell flat in his face, rolled into the water and made an escape in a little dinghy.
Nolte was elected to get him. Nolte went to the house Shaw was staying in and saw Shaw had opened another bottle and Shaw said ‘what took you so long?”
24. Robert Shaw openly criticised The Deep’s script.
25. The moray eel that attacks Nick Nolte was a special effect. 12 feet long, there were three of them and they were collectively known as Percy.
Written by Dean Newman
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‘The Deep’ is released on blu-ray by 101 Films on 14th September 2020 - link below:
