In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Decent enough aquatic disaster-type thriller wears its Canadian content right on its sleeve. It stars Ben Gazzara, Ernest Borgnine, Yvette Mimieux, and Donnelly Rhodes as a quartet of people using an experimental diving craft to search for an ocean floor laboratory. The lab wasn't located in the wisest of places, and an undersea earthquake sweeps it a great distance away. Naturally, the "Neptune" is going to have to search far and wide to find this lab, as the time rapidly runs out.Overall, a mild adventure that only starts getting interesting toward the end. If one is hoping for more thrills, or more "monsters", they'll be disappointed, because the menacing fauna consists of ordinary marine life made to look huge through photographic trickery. Directed by Canadian born Hollywood veteran Daniel Petrie ("A Raisin in the Sun", "Fort Apache the Bronx", it could have been a pretty brief movie if it had more "get up and go" in its favor. As it is, it IS slowly paced, and its characters are not well defined by screenwriter Jack DeWitt ("Canadian Pacific", "A Man Called Horse").Still, the cast (mostly comprised of veteran Canadian character actors, with a few token American names in place) treats the material with as much gravity as they can muster. Gazzara is actually kind of annoying in the top billed hero role, what with his mannered style of delivery. But Borgnine is particularly good, and Mimieux looks just gorgeous. People may recognize guys like Chris Wiggins ('Friday the 13th: The Series') and Leslie Carlson ("Videodrome") in supporting roles. Cast member Stuart Gillard later became a director himself, beginning his career with 1982s' "Paradise".Producer Sanford "Sandy" Howard ("Man in the Wilderness", "Circle of Iron") apparently spent quite some time researching, supposedly to make it as accurate as possible, but it's lot of effort spent on a film that does entertain but doesn't reach its full potential. At least it has a fine soundtrack, both in terms of score and sound design.It may remind viewers of the later James Cameron film "The Abyss" to some extent.Seven out of 10.

Not a bad effort, really, given that the film was made during the age of Cousteau. Underwater filming of deep ocean life had not been accomplished. Now we know what it looks like way down there, so the fish tank 'special effects' really ruin the story. The first sight of a clown fish is like a slap in the face! The film becomes a comedy after that! But really, this is only because science education (as miserable as it may be) has advanced SO MUCH on television. Now we can sit on our sofa and watch animal planet to get a better seminar on deep ocean life than marine biologists of the day received! So, if you're looking for a top-notch special effects masterpiece, the toy sub floating in the Monterey Bay aquarium's fish tanks probably won't cut it. Nevertheless, it's an entertaining few minutes, anyway. I say, watch it and try to forget about reality for a while. Pretend you're TEN!

Produced during the early swell of the 1970's disaster movie cycle, this Canadian-made adventure film combines elements from that genre along with a little sci-fi. An undersea research lab investigating the cause of earthquakes gets some firsthand data when a tremor rocks the ocean floor, sending the lab careening into a deep crevice. On the surface, doctors Pidgeon and Mimieux, along with divers Borgnine and Rhodes, attempt to locate the lab along with its three inhabitants, one of whom is Mimieux's boyfriend. With time running out (the lab only has seven days worth of life support) and with no clues to the lab's whereabouts, they call in Gazzara, who operates a special deep water sub called Neptune. With considerable difficulty and conflict, they discover that the lab has slipped far beneath the normal realm of exploration, meaning the Neptune must go to places heretofore never witnessed by man. Once there, they find that the deepest recesses of the ocean contain massive, over-sized fish and sea life thanks to the warmth emitted from volcanic fissures, creatures which severely obstruct the crew's chances of retrieving the men they're searching for! Pidgeon is far beyond the peak of his talents here, often seeming befuddled and dispassionate, despite his inherent likability from decades of prior screen triumphs. Borgnine is markedly heavier than he was just one year earlier in "The Poseidon Adventure", though his stunt double is notably more slender. His performance is almost reserved in contrast to some of his more bombastic portrayals and he doesn't embarrass himself (even if he is not the first person who comes to mind as a deep sea diver!) Mimieux is attractive, but hasn't got much to do besides look worried, stunned and dazed. Gazzara is horribly miscast and gives a stoic, wooden performance topped off with an atrocious Atlanta, GA accent. Rhodes is another one without a lot to do, but he retains his likable persona. The film has been roundly criticized from its release to the present for its effects concerning the "giant" fish (actually regular sea life projected UP CLOSE against the portals of the Neptune) and that aspect of the film is definitely preposterous and poorly handled. However, there is still considerable tension and some otherwise fine miniature work and underwater photography. Another issue is the amount of light and clarity of the water at these murky depths and the premise that men can simply emerge from their vessels and scuba dive in pressures that intense. One thing that robs the film of emotional impact is the fact that the audience barely gets to meet the trapped technicians before they disappear and their plight is never shown through the duration of the film. Also, the finale is rushed and rather poorly handled. Continuity is an issue as well. Mimieux appears in a different wash and wear outfit nearly every time she appears, even in the same day. It's a miracle her clothes don't change within scenes. (Note the way she and Pidgeon seem to wear the same outfits whenever they're on deck, no matter which day it is.) More unbelievable than the giant fish is the presumption that Borgnine can shimmy in and out of his (oddly ragged considering how new everything else is!) scuba suit in the time allotted. A scene between Mimieux and Borgnine, which may have illuminated her relationship with the missing doctor and added a little more emotional depth to the story, was cut prior to release. Still, there's something endearing about the clean, bright sets, the earnest performers, the mysterious and unusual aspects of the storyline and the mostly effective effects. Though it can be a bit tedious at times, it should be a reasonably pleasant viewing for fans of the stars or for fans of 70's disaster flicks. Mimieux and Borgnine would reunite a few years later in "The Black Hole."

This is an adorable little kids movie from the '70's. 5 stars is pushin it for this one, though. It's not bad but its by no means good. It's just really endearing, in its own out-dated way. So, OK, you've got Ben Gazarra, Ernest Borgnine, and superhuge seahorses in an undersea adventure/race-against-time-kind of thing. I wonder if the guys and 'bots over at MST3K ever got a hold on this one? It would be perfect material for them. It's lame in a wonderful way. If you like Benny Gazzarra, and/or Ernest Borgnine, and would possibly be interested in seeing them marvel at superhuge seahorses when they're in this superdeep sea rift, then I think you should see this movie. No. I urge you to see it.