Shark Week is a holiday in my house. No other show exists in primetime during those days that doesn’t feature fins and massive rows of teeth. While I have learned that not every shark is a mindless killing machine, there seem to be quite a few that can’t help chewing on anything that gets too close to their chompers. Deep Blue Sea was a movie that dared to question what would happen to sharks if they weren’t mindless killing machine? What if science could make them smarter? The answer is that you might just want them to be mindless killing machines.
Aquatica is an underwater laboratory off the coast of Mexico where serious research is being done on the brains of sharks to see if their anti-aging trait can be used for humans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Things go bad for the facility when one of their sharks escapes and attacks a boat with teenagers just wanting to party. This leads to the corporation backing Aquatica questioning if they should pull the plug. Dr. Susan McCallister (Troy‘s Saffron Burrows) takes a helicopter to the big city to personally plea for billionaire backer Russell Frankin (Pulp Fiction’s Samuel L. Jackson) to visit Aquatica and see how they are on the cusp of a breakthrough. They fly back and she introduces him to research partner Dr. Jim Whitlock (Breaking The Waves‘ Stellan Skarsgard). They go underneath to the main lab where shark wrangler Carter Blake (Boogie Nights‘ Thomas Jane) brings up their biggest shark. They successfully show off the experiment to Franklin. After it’s over, Jim takes a smoke break and the shark bites off his arm with the cigarette. When they’re lifting up the doctor to a medical helicopter in the middle of a storm, the sharks in the upper pen pounce. They use the doctor on the stretcher as a tool to bust into the submerged sections of the lab. How could a shark do such a thing as us a tool? Turns out the that doctors haven’t been experimenting on captured sharks. They’ve been genetically mutating the sharks to give them bigger brains for the experiments. And the bigger brains are making them smarter. And that’s not good as the toothy creatures attack the crew of Aquatica.
Deep Blue Sea is a perfect popcorn film for shark film fanatics. This isn’t a normal shark attack swimmers flick looking to cash in on Jaws. We get a whole new type of sharks here. They’re vicious and smart. And we don’t have to wonder why the sharks are attacking this community. They’re know exactly who they are going after inside the flooded research facility. The movie has a great cast. Along with the people already mentioned there’s L.L. Cool J (who the ladies love), Jacqueline McKenzie (Romper Stomper), Michael Rapaport (True Romance) and Aida Turturro (The Sopranos). That’s some fine acting talent for a shark to sink its teeth into. The movie plays up the horror aspect of the sharks coming down the flooded hallways looking for people to munch. They know what they’re after instead of merely just looking for seals. And the sharks have a major reason to want to eat these people since they’ve been messing with their brains. A quarter of a century later, Deep Blue Sea still has teeth to scare viewers when the sharks get loose.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer is from a new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films approved by director Renny Harlin. You’ll see the shadows of the sharks in the dark water. The Audio is DTS HD-MA 5.1 and Dolby Atmos to bring the watery nightmare all around your room. The movie is subtitled in English.
From the Frying Pan into the Studio Tanks (25:08) allows production designer William Sandell to discuss making this underwater film. He went to work for Roger Corman when he started New World Pictures. He went from prop master to art director. He also did stunt work. He worked with Ron Howard, Jonathan Demme and Joe Dante during that time. His Corman connection got him working on Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets. He borrowed his parents’ furniture to decorate the Mean Streets. He had also worked on Robocop, Total Recall and Master & Commander. He wasn’t the original production designer on Deep Blue Sea. He was going on a trip with his son when Warners called him. He had to take over since Warners fired the original production designer. He shows off what the other guy designed that he had to finish. Best part is how the preview screening audience chose who got eaten by the shark at the end. Sandell has retired and works on his kinetic sculptures.
Audio commentary by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy has him talk about the spec script he wrote and sold to Warners. He did three rewrites after the sale. Even after he departed the production, the producers kept in touch with him and did get to visit the set. He talks about how the film changed from his original script.
Audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Rebekah McKendry has her excited since she loves shark films. They are her jam. She feared sharks in her swimming pool and bathtub after seeing Jaws. She feels that Deep Blue Sea ranks high in shark films. She points out the wave of shark films that arrived in the late ’90s when filmmakers realized they can CGI sharks to make it a more predictable shoot.
Archive audio commentary by director Renny Harlin and star Samuel L. Jackson has Renny talk about how he was looking for a horror film. He felt it was good for a shark movie since it had been 25 years since Jaws. Samuel L. Jackson was originally offered the role of Chef. Jackson wasn’t sure. Then Renny had the script rewritten and offered him the role of the richest man in the world. Jackson also gets into the size of the water tanks at the Mexican studio where they had previously shot Titanic. They’re largest enough that his daughter was able to become a certified SCUBA diver during the shoot.
Beneath the Surface (19:30) is a new visual essay by film critic Trace Thurman. He sees it as a major aquatic horror film. Thurman sees the film as being more than cheesy. He sees the real monster in the movie is Dr. Susan McCallister (Saffron Burrows). He gets into Freud in relationship with the doctor and her sharks. He gets into the various writers who worked on the script.
When Sharks Attack: The Making of Deep Blue Sea (15:07) is an archival featurette from the original release back in 1999. Samuel L. Jackson talks about this role and being around a lot of water. Renny Harlin talks about the mix of real sharks, robot sharks and CGI sharks.
The Sharks of the Deep Blue Sea (8:19) is an archive featurette about the animatronic sharks. Renny Harlin declares that he wasn’t going to hide his sharks. You were going to see them attack. It took 8 months for Walt Conti to build the sharks. He had previously done Free Willy. Conti talks about making the teeth look realistic.
Deleted scenes (8:02) has five snipped moments with an optional audio commentary by director Renny Harlin. He took out a birthday party moment.
Theatrical trailer (2:22) lets us know that science went too far with sharks.
Image gallery has 2 posters, 2 shots of the artwork and 24 stills. There’s also 16 pieces of production art & design.
60-page perfect bound collector’s book with essays by film critics Josh Hurtado, Jennie Kermode, and Murray Leeder, plus previously unseen production art and designs
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece that is suitable for framing.
Postcards from Aquatica are also suitable for framing.
Arrow Video presents Deep Blue Sea: Limited Edition. Directed by Renny Harlin. Screenplay by Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers and Wayne Powers. Starring Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Aida Turturro, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson. Running Time: 105 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: March 18, 2025.
