User reviews

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!

Not as exciting as the box cover artwork might suggest, with a painfully stilted characterisation by Ben Gazzara and capable supporting cast trapped in one-dimensional roles. The story concerns militant, officious salvage expert (Gazzara) contracted by an aquatic research team to recover a stricken underwater manned probe that has descended into a deep sea ravine. Gazzara makes it clear from the outset that his goal is only to locate the vessel for insurance purposes, except Mimieux's companion is one of those aboard and she ups the ante in spite of escalating challenges.

Pidgeon and Borgnine have little opportunity to establish any characterisation, while Mimieux simply frets and affects anxiety to demonstrate her 'depth' of character. The friction between her and Gazzara is about the only palpable action in the whole picture. The special effects consist of intense magnification of gold fish and other aquarium species, while endless jolts and turbulence puts you in the environmental context. As far as dialogue goes, the technical spec consists mainly of references to rudder malfunction and oxygen saturation. Riveting stuff.

Disappointingly, the film ends abruptly where it could have developed a more convincing, compelling climax. After waiting 95 minutes, the audience is treated to a Jules Verne moment in which 'giant' eels corral the probe's survivors as they run out of oxygen. But just as the action gains momentum, the film ends. Five more minutes of that encounter might have earned another star, but this underwater adventure is mostly talk and no action.

Oceanlab is an experimental station built atop an undersea mountain in the

North Atlantic somewhere off the coast of Canada. An earthquake strikes,

causing the lab to plunge into an unexplored abyss. Three men are trapped

aboard and they have only seven days of oxygen remaining.

After five days, the Oceanlab team is able to call in a retired naval officer, Commander Blake (Gazzara). Using his deep sea submersible "Neptune II," it

is hoped he can locate and rescue the men before they suffocate. The hope is a slim one; all contact with the lab was lost when the earthquake occurred. The submersible must face the hazards of deep sea travel, aftershocks, and some

very unexpected discoveries on the ocean floor.

The cast is unusually strong with Ernest Borgnine, Donnelly Rhodes, Yvette

Mimieux, and Walter Pigeon all putting in good performances. The special

effects are limited to model work for undersea shots, but the models are decent enough given the year of release. The film starts out well with the opening

score being particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, once the submersible gets in the water, the viewer is taken for a rather dull ride for the bulk of the film. Suspense is largely absent. In lieu of pacing, the filmmakers subject the viewer to a lot of stock fish footage. While this was decent enough, it was overused and probably better suited to a nature documentary. Ultimately, the screenplay

needed some serious work. There is insufficient substance to make this work

even as a one hour Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. "The Neptune

Factor" otherwise possessed all of the elements necessary to make a successful and compelling adventure film.

For a movie about a race against the clock to rescue a group of scientists trapped in an undersea research facility that's been hit by an earthquake, The Neptune Factor is incredibly dull. The problem is that for most of the movie, nothing happens. Ernest Borgnine (who I'll give a little credit as he does his best with this snoozer of a script), Ben Gazzara, and company spend most of the movie on a slow motion tour of the ocean floor looking for their missing colleagues. Garzzara is the worst, showing the same kind of emotion usually reserved for everyday, mundane tasks like doing the laundry or grocery shopping. You'd hardly know from his demeanor that the lives of three people rest in his hands. And when something does finally happen the special effects are so ridiculous looking that the movie losses any credibility it might have had. The "giant" sea creatures the rescuers run into are little more than normal salt water aquarium fish filmed with a zoom lens and a bad looking miniature of the submarine. That's right - The Neptune Factor looks like it was filmed in someone's home aquarium. A giant clown fish - oooooh, how scary! There's nothing much more frightening than the sight of a ludicrously large Nemo.

To say I was disappointed by The Neptune Factor would be a gross understatement. A good cast is put to waste with nothing to do. In the end, I've got to rate this one a 2/10.

Wow, an underwater film shot completely on location - at the bottom of the production designers' fishtank! This action-drama basically involves about 80 minutes of the main characters staring out of their mini-sub's windshield/projection screen with awestruck expressions at... grainily blown up shots of common acquarium fish. The "model shots" (a generous naming) actually DO look to have been shot in a common home aquarium, complete with plastic ferns and oversize gravel. The stretch is so great, the disparity so big, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I think in the end I simply gave up and decided to vomit. Not sure how Walter Pidgeon took a wrong turn into this turkey, but it is worth noting that about half the cast of "The Black Hole" is featured here - doubtless in a dry run for their performances in that later classic...

I was completely unimpressed with THE NEPTUNE FACTOR when I, then all of twelve years old, saw the movie in its original 1973 theatrical release. When I discovered the film available on DVD, I decided to revisit it on the chance that it had simply been over my then-youthful head--and upon seeing it again realized that I was a pretty good judge of films even way back then. Simply put, THE NEPTUNE FACTOR bites a big one.

The plot was hackneyed even in 1973: an earthquake shakes up an undersea lab and a "special submarine" is dispatched to find out what has happened down there. They go down, down, down to the bottom of the sea, they look out the submarine window, and they see... some really big fish. Yep, that's about all there is to it. They look at some really big fish.

Now, the cast itself isn't bad at all. After all, it includes Walter Pigdeon, Ben Gazzara, Ernest Borgnine, Yvette Mimieux--and they are very capable players. And they give it their all, but they just can't get a lot of mileage out of it, particularly when the really big fish are just really big (and pretty grainy) close ups of little fish that you might find in somebody's home aquarium. And then there's the submarine itself, which is clearly a plastic model, and which seems to have filmed at the bottom of a kiddie wading pool with some plastic seaweed stuff thrown in.

If this sounds boring, well, it is. Now and then a really bad film can become accidentally entertaining. It may be so bad that it's astonishing, as in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. It may be so bad that it's endearing, like ATTACK OF THE 50 WOMAN. But most bad films are just dull and boring, and when it comes to dull and boring THE NEPTUNE FACTOR is working hard to lead the pack. Give it a miss.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

The mystery, the excitement, the danger… ah the boredom of getting wet. The Canadian production "The Neptune Factor" is a typical underwater disaster adventure that rarely gets going and when it does it's quite an unremarkable and unimaginative foray… in a cheaply presented magnified fish tank. The problem is like a lot of other reviewers mentioned, is that nothing much happens. A lot of peering and ponderous talking… with little interest to it all. A group of American scientists are conducting an experiment involving underwater living until an earthquake occurs causing a research facility to fall into the abyss. They only have so many hours before they're out of oxygen, so a crew in a mini submarine are sent down to find them despite the risks of more aftershocks. Really the taut situation that unfolds should sell it in a threatening, pressure-induced manner, but instead we get a padded out story with a very limp rhythm. No urgency left it with any sustained suspense lingering only on stolid dramas of a threadbare narrative and static direction. There's a few dazzling glimpses when the crew is exploring the murky abyss, but the model sub and the overblown sea life didn't create any sort of thrills and when it tried it was quite laughable in its execution. The performances don't fair any better, despite the best efforts of Ernest Borgnine and Walter Pidgeon. As for Ben Gazzera and Yvette Mimieux, they come across very bland. Composer Lalo Schifran contributes the score. Established, but too plain to be fun.

An earthquake under the ocean floor hits a lab on the seabed. As a result, it's umbilical cord to the surface ship is severed and the lab tossed over a sheer underwater cliff. Now it is so deep that conventional divers cannot reach it, so the only hope is a deep water submersible, the Neptune.

Despite the film being about an ocean disaster, it's amazing just how static and dull the movie is. I think the main problem is pacing...not acting, as the actors are generally a very accomplished group of professionals. Too often, the director chose to portray the film in the least exciting manner....and I had to really struggle to pay attention or even to care.

By the way, although I don't recommend anyone see this movie, scuba divers might enjoy watching some of the diving sequences...especially when the DIve Master is thrashing about in the water like he just got his certification yesterday!

The Neptune Factor deals with some scientists who live and work out of an undersea lab in the Atlantic Ocean. One fine day while their bosses, Walter Pidgeon, Yvette Mimieux, and Ernest Borgnine are up top, an earthquake occurs and the lab topples over into an underwater crevice.

Though an atomic power submarine could stay down there indefinitely the problem is that crevice is way too small for one of those big boys. A smaller type submarine able to withstand the pressures of the very deep is needed and that's where Ben Gazzara and his ship the Neptune come in.

As disaster films go The Neptune Factor is small potatoes special effects wise. It's a Canadian production and I've seen Hollywood come up with worse films spending a ton more money than was done here.

The special effects such as they are, are merely movie films of some ordinary species of marine life blown up several times their size, because these are the creatures the crew finds down at depths that man hasn't been before. It's beautiful undersea photography just like a trip to Marineland.

It's a no frills production, no subplots of any kind, no social interaction of any kind with the crew, just do the mission and go home. That's why it was given a G rating when first released.

If you love Jacques Cousteau, you'll love this film.

A short budget underwater movie packing cheap FX to make regular-size fish seem like deep-sea giants , little emotion , and being nothing special . The Scientist Project Neptune team is doing oceanographic research under control of commander Dr Andrews (Walter Pidgeon). Then an underwater ocean lab is missing in a earthquake . After the catastrophe they're trapped too deep for divers , the only chance to rescue them is an aquatic research team by means of an advanced submarine . It is sent down to find the remains of the lab on the ocean floor a new US Navy mini-sub . In search for their colleagues the crew is piloted by the demanding Cdr Blake USN. Blake (Ben Gazzarra) , Chief Diver MacKay (Ernest Borgnine) , Diver Cousins (Donnelly Rhodes) , and beautiful Dr. Jansen (Yvette Mimieux) . Along the way they find risks , periculous adventures and outrageous beings of marine wildlife.

Low budget disaster movie with submarine adventures carried out by a brave team of an experimental deep-sea sub , thrills , sea monsters and fantasy . Poor special effects , as the giant monsters result to be simple optically enhanced marine wildlife . Runtime is adequate , the flick is slow moving and a little boring , as well as a bit monotonous and little interesting with a series of dumb plot ideas written by Jack DeWitt . There are suspense , thriller and tension , though the scenario is mostly developed into the mini sub to attempt the rescue . Tense and exciting at times and climatic ending , but lot of minutes are superfluous , though agreeable enough.

Here stands out the thrilling and adequate musical score by the classic composer of the 60s and 70s Lalo Schifrin . As well as colorful cinematography by Harry Makin . The motion picture was midddlingly directed by Daniel Petrie with many holes , flaws and gaps . He was a director and producer, known for The bay boy (1984) , A raisin in the sun (1961) , Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking (1976) , Sybil (1976) , My name is Bill W. (1989) , The Assistant (1997) , Wild Iris (2001) . Daniel explored difficult filmmaking subjects ahead of his time , including A raisin in the sun (1961), which dealt with racism, and The Doll Maker (1984) , which dealt with women as breadwinners . Petrie also served in a number of leadership positions with the Directors Guild of America. Rating The Neptuno Factor : 4/10 . Very mediocre . Only for fans of the famous actors .

I saw this film when I was younger, as an audience member when it premiered in the movie theatres in Ontario in 1973. Having a Canadian production, with a substantial production value, open in major theatres with a talented cast was a breath of fresh air. It was the only film I had ever been to where the audience rose to their feet, cheered, applauded and sang "Oh, Canada" when the Pisces class submarine (built in Vancouver, British Columbia) was hoisted overhead by a crane for launching and the Canadian flag was visible. There were numerous instances where there wasn't an attempt to hide the fact that the location for the story was set in Canada (Air Canada plane at the airport, the Canadian Navy). In a film culture where streets in Toronto are often made to look like downtown New York or other American locales, this was a refreshing change. In 1973 the close up macro-photography was excellent, colourful and detailed for its time. It's also interesting to note that only a few years later, in 1977, the deep sea submersible Alvin found gigantic tube worms, clams and other bizarre organisms 8,000 feet down on the Galapagos Rift surviving alongside hydrothermal vents. I liked that the creatures they found mirrored actual living organisms and not the boring, standard Hollywood deep sea monster fare. A lot of thought was put into detail. The lab scenes (reaching into a fridge full of bottled marine specimens for coffee cream; using a plastic board to pick up a fish to put into a dip net; the gas chromatography) showed what a lab is actually like (instead of the stereotypical Hollywood bubbling test tubes of multi coloured dyed water). It was a fun adventure, nicely written with a hint of realism and genuine dialogue.

Not as terrible as everyone is saying in my eyes. I was interested enough to continue watching just because of all the equipment they use in it is time accurate. The tension is all determined by small scientific problems and therefore comes off as anti-climactic. When the audience doesn't know the science behind the peril you have to explain it in a better and more time-pressing manner. They did not succeed in this. Long and dragged out is definitely how this feels but as I would sit through even a documentary on this subject matter I found myself intrigued the whole time. If you like Ernest borgnine and miss the days of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and the like then this one really isn't all that bad. However if you're easily bored... Give it a pass.

This waterlogged bore is about 100 minutes but feels about 120 minutes too long. A film so dull even the cast can't rouse itself from lethargy. Yvette Mimieux evidently decided her paycheck was only enough to guarantee that she'd show up, because her performance consists of only one half-lost/blank stare throughout. Borgnine, once again in the water (McHale, Poseidon, etc.) can barely rouse himself to his usual level of histrionics. Gazzara tries a southern accent and fails, while Walter Pigeon plods through his role, obviously taking his check to pad his retirement fund (he actually turned in a fine performance the following year in 'Harry in Your Pocket'). This is a Canadian film, thus it's restricted budget-wise, but why bother making a film like this if you haven't got the money for the special effects? We're talking $1.98 here. It looks like the producers bought a little toy submersible and borrowed someone's aquarium and let er rip. Okay, this is pre-Star Wars, effects-wise, but no one could take this seriously even back in 1973. Oh the look of fear and awe on Borgnine's face when he sees a.... giant goldfish! Perhaps the only thing of (minor) interest is whether James Cameron was inspired by this film to create 'The Abyss.' It does have some of the same elements. Of course, unlike 'The Abyss', this film is idiotic (example: Gazzara yelling at Mimieux for putting the sub in danger of exploding from sea pressure, yet the same pressure has no effect on HUMAN BODIES swimming around in EVEN GREATER DEPTHS soon after), and it's dully plotted, acted, directed, written, scored. Well, it IS consistent!

Undersea disaster! Submarine is sent to save explorers from over-sized iridescent catfish! This was an absolutely horrible film, basically filmed by combining actors with normal, harmless tropical fish. The budget must have been incredible -- hire lackluster actors (of course, Ernest Borgnine is an exception) and buy a fish tank! If you give it a title reminiscent of Kubrick maybe people will think it's great! Plus we can tie it in with aquarium sales and pet shops! Lots of nice colors but the film was one of the worst ever...and not "fun" bad like "Manos" or "Plan Nine" -- I mean truly bad, boring, stupid, inept...the list goes on and on.

I think it's safe to state that I never, in my entire life, tried so desperately hard to like a movie; - yet failed. "The Neptune Factor" stood on my must-see since many years because there were several indicators looking positive and promising. I love adventure/disaster movies from the 70s. I worship films with aquatic monsters, regardless of how trashy and cheesy they look. Heck, I'm even on a personal mission to track down every single movie in which Ernest Borgnine starred. Well, if I'll ever achieve something in this lifetime, I sincerely hope it's discouraging other people to watch this piece of dreck! The simple and honest truth is that "The Neptune Factor" is a film of monumental, unsurpassable and indescribable dullness! I still don't fathom how the story of a deep-sea rescue mission, for a manned research lab lost due falling into an ocean floor crack following an earthquake, can possibly be this boring, and yet I just witnessed it with my own eyes. These people are supposedly racing against the clock to save their friends and colleagues' lives, so the very last things I expect are 10,000 scenes moving at sea-snail pace or characters endlessly looking at each other and sipping coffee. After a full hour of infuriating and talkative tedium, the four-headed submarine finally descends into the unexplored abyss and you subconciously develop a tiny bit of hope that the film might improve. Alas, "The Neptune Factor" instead becomes even more pitiable and imbecilic, because director Daniel Petrie begs us to believe that optically enlarged and utterly harmless sea animals (sea horses, anemones and even a god-damn goldfish) are viciously lurking, bloodthirsty monsters. How retarded do they think we are? Not even Walt Disney movies dared to pull this off! And as for you, Mr. Borgnine, I'm sorely disappointed!

An incredibly dull and pointless film that's slower than a tortoise going uphill. The color and photography are good. I always laugh when they show divers that are supposed to be deep underwater and there's plenty of light to see everything that's going on. Where is all of this light coming from?? Answer: Because they are filming five feet under the surface (in a tank most likely). Silly film

A B+ movie that was a very good attempt to do in the ocean what Kubrick did for space. The filming on location and in the well-designed Ocean Lab underwater set reminded me of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's "World Without Sun" (1964). The plot may have been thin, but was clearly well intended and thought out in a somewhat scientific chain of thought that would be worthy of Walt Disney's concept of the "Plausible IMPOSSIBLE". The special effects were non-existent in this film (20th merely distributed it) but with the resources they did use, the film was enjoyable as a little excursion. Special Effects don't make a film; an interesting plot does. The plot here is an old and tried one in the movies: the disaster flick. When I saw this film on the big screen, the story did succeed in capturing my interest. Will they find the missing scientists? Did anyone survive? Do they all make it back? When the story entices the viewer to ask these questions and wondering at what will happen in the next 60 seconds -- as this film actually DOES do! -- then the producer and director succeeded at what they were trying to do. I enjoyed this film so much; I stayed in the theater and sat through it a second time! A good film -- if they ever decide to do a remake, I hope they give it a budget that will include good special effects. After all, when they re-made "IT! The Terror From Beyond Space," they had a hefty budget and retitled it ALIEN. Two and half stars out of five ain't bad.

If I didn't know any better, I would say The Neptune Factor is a subtle parody on the "disaster Genre" movies of the 1970s. It is certainly not "Airplane", a zany take on the disaster genre, but rather an understated satire. The Rear screen projection of aquarium fish, only adds to the surreal, hypnotic affect this movie had on me. To quote Kirk Douglas from the Disney classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, "Why I've seen scarier fish in my Aunt Fannie's gold fish bowl". Amazing what a little imagination and creativity can do for a parody of a low budget movie.

This is a great movie. It is very scary. It has great acting. It also has great specail effects. It also has a great story line. 4.5 is underrating this movie. I give it 9 out of 10. Great movie.

Any episode of the aforementioned TV show is better than this cardboard poster of a movie. Even Walter Pigeon is wasted.