8mm Forum: The Deep

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Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on July 08, 2005, 06:49 PM:

This review is for the 400 foot digest, released by Columbia Super 8 in the late 70's.

The Deep was also released by either UFA or Piccollo in Germany. There, it was released as 2 x 400 foot version, and in scope!

Well, on with the review-

This digest opens with the beautiful Jaqueline Bisset scuba diving under water looking for something. She is violently pulled into some rocks by something unknown, until her husband (Nick Nolte) rescues her. Later, we see Nick Nolte and Robert Shaw searching an old reckage under water, when they are attacked by a very large eel. Nolte drops the camera, and it starts snapping pictures as the flash continually lights up, scaring the eel away. Meanwhile, Bisset is in a hotel room or something, and is attacked in a voodoo-type ritual (??). Then we see an elevator crash (???) Nolte comforts bisset. The next day, Shaw and Nolte dive back down to the wreckage to look for treasure. There are some bad guys down there too, looking for morphine or something. They are led by Louis Gosset Jr. A battle ensues and the giant eel returns just in turn to bite Louis Gosset's head off and save the day! Shaw and Nolte find some valuable looking medalian and blow up the wreckage and make it back to the surface, where Bisset is waiting for them. As they throw the medalian to her and the dramatic score plays, the picture just freezes and the music stops very abruptly.

As with most of the Columbia digests during that time, there is no credits or "The End", just an abrupt ending and then the notorious FBI warning.

The editing was O.K., but the story was very hard to follow. Some good underwater scenes.

I purchased this digest the first month it was released, and the picure and sound were terrible (dark picture, way too much bass). I sent it back and my replacement print was much better. Great picture, sound was better, but still not quite up to the standards of that time.

All in all, not a bad digest (a B or C).

I ran this for various audiences back then, but for some reason, nobody seemed to like this digest, while other digests got great responses.

NOTE: The first minute or so (during the credits, and a little past), this digest is actually in scope. It would be neat to use the American titles on the Columbia release with the German
2 x 400 scope digest.

If anyone owns the German digest, please add a thread onto this review. [Smile]

Nick.

Posted by Andreas Eggeling (Member # 105) on July 09, 2005, 05:58 PM:

Hi Nick,

you don´t need the american digest to replace the titles on the german digests, because they show also the original english titles.

Piccolos first release in 1978 was made as a 2 x 400 widescreen (letterbox) version with mono sound. Order Numbers 7539 and 7540.

This widescreen double album was also released with stereo sound but distributed as REVUE films. Ordernumbers 8785, 8786
(all Piccolo films which were labled as Revue titels
have 8-thousander order numbers).

In 1980 Piccolo offered the same edited version in CinemaScope.
Order No. 9401, 9402. The scope prints were not offered with stereo sound, but the two prints I have are with stereo sound.

Scan of the Scope-version at the beginning of part 1

All boxes are very similar.

The colors of the the widescreen version are very good. Full range of color if AGFA filmstock was used, but also the Eastman prints are looking good.

The color of the scope prints are slightly palely instead of the widescreen prints.

The first reel starts with the piccolo-logo and the following edited columbia logo. The editor cuted in a lot of the original titles. David Sanders (Nick Nolte) and Gail Berke (Jaqueline Bisset) diving. Suddenly she is violently pulled into some rocks by something unknown, until David rescues her. She escapes to their boat. He comes also to the boat and ask her what happens. The next scene shows them, when they are visiting Romer Treece (Robert Shaw). They show them a medalian and a very small bottle and ask him what these things are. When they drive back with their little motorcyles they are attacked by an truck and they are kidnapped. Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett Jr.)wants to know where the little bottle is. He let them go but he said that they have to leave the island soon.
The next seen shows Romer Treece when he is asking Adam Coffin (Eli Wallach) about the bottle .... which is morphine. The next scenes shows David Sanders and Romer Treece diving. David makes photos under water. At the moment as he wants to make a photo from a fish, a big muraene snaps the fish. David is shocked and get caught him self in something. Romer Treece helps him in the last moment.

When they are back they see that the lights are out in the house on the beach. They go back to the beach as fast as possible. Gail is listen a noise at the door and want to open it, but there is something wrong when she is asking for David. She closes the window - to late - someone evil is behind her. David is back on the beach. He is attacked by mens. He is fighting in the elevator.
Gail is attacked in a vodoo-ritual. David wins the fight and goes back to the house....
End of part 1.

Part 2
David comes into the house. Gail is on the bed and she is crying.
Romer said, that it would be better if they are living in his house. At Romers home they discuss about door lock found in the
sea at last. They think that two ships sank in the same place. One of them a royal old ship. Followed by a sunk ship with ammunition.

Romer, David and Gail diving while Kevin and Adam helps them on the boat. An explosion of an hand grenade in the deep ends nearly in a disaster.... but they find also gold. Later back on land .... Kevin is attacked by a man of Cloche....
fighting scenes with the drive of a motorboat..........

David and Gail find out what they have to search in the sea to proof that a royal ship is in the deep..... Adam Coffin is listening them and it seems that he leads not good in the sign.... Romer is finding Kevin dead and as he is back in his house he tells David, Gail and Adam that he has decided to blow up the ship under the sea......... when David and Romer shifts the cables for the blow up, they are suddenly attacked by Cloche and his men.....
Gail kills one of them in the last moment .... some fighting scenes under the sea...... Cloche is killed by the muraene while he is fighting with Romer .....

David just see the rest golden proofment he is looking for as he decided to free Romer .... At last all three survived and they have the medalian.......Part 2 ends with original music score and "Ende"-Title.

The two parter allows to follow the story easily.

[ July 13, 2005, 06:12 PM: Message edited by: Andreas Eggeling ]

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on July 13, 2005, 11:51 AM:

Thanks for the additional info Andreas! [Smile]

I'll be looking forward to that additional review.

Nick.

Posted by Andreas Eggeling (Member # 105) on July 13, 2005, 03:39 PM:

Hi Nick,

just finished the additional review.

Andreas

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on July 14, 2005, 10:15 AM:

Great review Andreas!

I still haven't seen the full feature of The Deep, but I feel like I understand the story alot better now.

The colors on your clip still look pretty good. My Columbia digest faded pretty badly.

By the way-
How do you produce photos directly from the film like that?

Nick.

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on July 14, 2005, 06:38 PM:

It looks like Andreas is using a flatbed scanner to get these shots. I've done this before and, at my scanner's maximum resolution of 2400dpi, the results are rather neat. [Smile]

Posted by Andreas Eggeling (Member # 105) on July 16, 2005, 06:45 AM:

Jan, YESSSSSS, that´s right .

[ January 09, 2006, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: Andreas Eggeling ]

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