A look at the 1968 race in which 9 sailors tried to become the first man to sail around the world nonstop, alone, without aid.

CRITIQUE

Deep Water is a documentary that focuses on a 1968 race involving nine individual yachtsmen, who were each trying to not only be the first to sail around the world nonstop solo, but also to be the fastest at it (which isn’t necessarily the same thing; the racers didn’t all set off from England together, but at varying times over the course of several months).  The story takes a compelling dark turn, though I won’t spoil it by talking about where it’s all headed; the result is fascinating, and is worth seeking out a copy.

Directors Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell are fortunate in that they have a lot of footage shot at the time to pull from, both from coverage of the race as it was about to begin, as well as film shot by various sailors during the journey and modern-day interviews with the main characters’ families.  Though attention is paid to several sailors, the main focus here is on Englishman Donald Crowhurst, the only real amateur and the last to depart, barely beating the deadline though his trimaran really wasn’t ready to go yet.

It’s not giving too much away to state that Crowhurst finds himself in trouble fairly early, as his boat proves unlikely to survive in the heavy southern seas.  His basic dilemma drives a lot of the action here:  if he drops out of the race, he will go bankrupt, but if he stays in long enough to satisfy his backers, he is risking death.

Though Crowhurst’s tale is a solid spine to the script, the filmmakers also mine a lot from the question of if these sailors’ mental stability can survive the nine or ten months they must spend absolutely alone.  The progress of the race is also intriguing, as racers drop out along the way.  The fact that these events all happened 40 years ago – and the fact that the main sailors aren’t being interviewed in present-day – also helps set up a mystery, as we wonder if these men succumbed during the race, or simply passed away in the intervening years.  Ultimately this is surprisingly solid, a piece of little-known recent history that is brought vividly to life.

THE VIDEO

Deep Water is presented in widescreen.  Despite it being a documentary, the picture quality is generally very good.

THE AUDIO

Deep Water is presented in English 5.1 Dolby.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are English and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

The Sailors’ Stories consists of brief profiles of all nine racers, as well as extended interviews/features on five of the racers (Chay Blyth, Bill King, Robin Knox-Johnson, Bernard Moitessier and Nigel Tetley) totaling over 35 minutes.  The pieces are all very solid, and supplement the film material well; a lot of it was likely just cut for time.

The Journalists’ Story is an 11-minute piece made up with some of the journalists involved talking about the London Times’ promotion of the race, and how in many aspects it was sort of like reality television, with the newspaper creating the story, and the big prize really the fame that the winner would find himself with.

The Family’s Story is a 7-minute piece in which Crowhurst’s family talks about the aftermath of the race.

The Abandoned Boat is an interactive feature that allows one to click on areas of Crowhurst’s boat, and hear audio tapes that he made while on his journey.

There is also a Trailer for the movie.

FINAL THOUGHT

Deep Water is well worth checking out.