Bullitt (1968)

In Chicago, Johnny Ross flees town before mobster hitmen can kill him.  He has embezzled two million dollars and now has a price on his head.  The next day, he's in San Francisco and calls Senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) to arrange for police protection.  He'll be an informant in exchange.  Lt. Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) of the SFPD is assigned to protect Ross for the weekend.  On Monday morning, he'll give testimony.  Bullitt and two other detectives meet Ross at a rundown hotel with inconveniently large windows.  They will work 8 hour shifts.  At 1 in the morning, two hitters gun down both Detective Stanton and Ross.  Both are alive but Ross is critical.  Chalmers can't wait to lay the blame on Bullitt.

Despite having one of the most iconic car chases in all of cinema, the movie is rather slow.  Bullitt is a world-weary veteran cop who is unfazed by the violence he sees.  His girlfriend, Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset), is shocked by this and wonders what the future holds for them if he is so numb to the horror.  The investigation, such as it is, is slow and plodding.  There are scenes that drag with no payoff.  Must we watch as the detectives sort through luggage?  The plot is excellent, a clever switcheroo, but the overall execution is mostly dull.  Take out the 10 minute car chase and this ceases to be a noteworthy film.

Though groundbreaking in its day, the movie is rather pedestrian now.  Later movies did every facet of this one better.  This is the first draft.  Just okay.

The Deep (1977)

David (Nick Nolte) and Gail (Jacqueline Bisset) are scuba diving off the coast of Bermuda.  During their dive, they discover a pair of interesting items.  One appears to be an old coin from 1714.  The other is an ampule, a small bottle with a brownish gold liquid.  Back on shore, the man who collects their empty tanks takes an interest in the ampule.  That evening at dinner, Henri Cloche (Louis Gossett Jr.) sits at their table and offers to buy the ampule.  David brushes him off, claiming to have no such thing.  A foray to the local library gives little idea of what the coin might be, but they do learn of local treasure hunter, Romer Treece (Robert Shaw).  Treece explains that the coin is actually a medallion and might be worth enough to pay their vacation expenses if they don't drink too much.  He pockets the ampule while they aren't paying attention.  David and Gail are kidnapped by Cloche's goons.  Cloche wants the ampule, but quickly deduces that Treece has it.

Based on a novel by Peter Benchley, this is a sunken treasure story with elements of a thriller and a dash of Jaws (his previous novel) added.  A swarm of sharks make an appearance, but it is the moray eel that serves as the monster of the deep.  The movie isn't quite sure what it wants to be.  There is a lot of scuba diving that includes digging for treasure, avoiding sharks or the eel, and fighting Bermudan goons.  To add some horror, there is the inclusion of voodoo on the part of Cloche and his goons.  Despite several serious crimes and events that surely would have drawn the police, no police ever arrive.  Apparently, Bermuda has no police.  David's quest for sunken treasure blinds him to the danger involved.  Gail's inexplicable love for David makes her overlook the obvious danger that she is in.  Hard to accept.  A big draw for the movie at the time of release was Jacqueline Bisset in a wet t-shirt throughout the opening dive.

Despite often being preposterous, it is an entertaining watch.  Director Peter Yates often makes entertaining films that are watchable, but not great.  Among his other films are Krull (1983), Year of the Comet (1992), The Hot Rock (1972), and Bullitt (1968).