Return of Dream of a Big, Huge Turtle – The Interview

By Bert Ehrmann
May 18, 2007

Bert Ehrmann – Ok, you wrote "Dream of a Big, Huge Turtle" going on ten years ago and yet it's STILL one of the most read articles on my site. Why do you think the article still resonates with people?
Michael Summers – To me, it just seems like a classic internet story. You’ve got this obscure, half-remembered movie from childhood that people recall two things from: a giant turtle and a girl with glowing green eyes. Type “giant turtle” or whatever in to any search engine, and you just might come up with some information. Someone out there has seen this flick that you’ve been thinking about for years. It’s what we’re all supposed to like so much about the internet. It’s just a great research tool.

Bert – A very rough guess would be that something like 20,000+ people have read this article. Does this surprise you?
Michael – Yes. I’m very surprised. Like you said, it’s been up there since 1999 or something, so that’s enough time for plenty of people to stumble across it, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, but still… I think what I’m most surprised about is that the responses never seem to let up. In fact, I probably get more responses now than when the article was new.

Bert – Why do you think the movie still resonates with people? Is it because it was only shown a few times and then not again? Is it a case of the memory being better than the actual movie?
Michael – I think you’re right about all of these points. People don’t remember the movie; they remember bits and pieces of the flick, and some very haunting images. They remember it as having this sort of romantic, dream-like quality. Part of that could have been due to childhood, part of it could have been due to the fact that the movie really is very rare and doesn’t pop up much (which is strange, considering it was shown on a national network in prime time, in the days before cable was commonplace, and also stars Carl Weathers, who was right in the middle of the “Rocky” movies at the time). And, to give “Bermuda Depths” its due, for some brief moments the movie does attain the tone it seems to be striving for. Of course, those are very brief moments in what is a feature length movie, but they just happen to be the parts that would make an impression on a young kid watching it.

Bert – What are your thoughts about the people who write you about the article? Do you have any updates you'd like to make to the article today?
Michael – I love the responses, because they sound just like my sister and me about 10 years ago — “this movie has haunted me forever. Everyone I asked thought I was crazy.” It’s hilarious to think that for years there have been thousands of people walking around the world asking “do you remember this made for TV movie about a giant turtle and a girl with glowing green eyes?” And people responding: “You mean ‘Gamera?’” Updates? Well, since I’ve written the piece, I’ve had the opportunity to see the movie. In fact, I own a copy. I’ll just say some things are better left to childhood. But I’m still hoping for the big-budget remake.

Bert – What's the most common question you receive about the article?
Michael –  “Do you have a copy?” If I were in the bootleg video business, I probably could have made a tidy sum selling copies of “The Bermuda Depths.” But I’m too honest and morally upright. Actually, as anyone who knows me can tell you, the real reason is that I’m technically incompetent. As far as user-friendly, consumer technology goes, I’m about at 2001. Seriously. I just got an iPOD, but I’m scared to play videos on it.

Bert – Before you saw the movie again, what were your memories of the movie?
Michael –  Like I said above, I remember it being very atmospheric, very haunting and mysterious. There was a scene where this big mansion on a cliff above the sea falls down during a storm, and I remember that as being frightening.

Bert – Did these memories hold true after you saw the movie?
Michael –  Let’s put it this way: this was a late 70s Rankin-Bass made-for-TV movie about a giant turtle and a girl with glowing green eyes. Besides Carl Weathers and Connie Selleca, it also starred Burl Ives. So, seeing it again, I suppose I could say it was about as good as you might expect after reading that description.

Bert – Do you have any regrets about seeing the movie?
Michael –  Not at all. I saw the movie twice on TV in the late 70s. After that, it was 1998 or 99 before I even discovered the title, and 2000 before I got a copy of the flick. 20+ years. There was NO WAY I was going to pass up seeing that movie again. The thing is, it wasn’t so much bad as just… blah. There was nothing remarkable about it at all. That was probably the most disappointing thing, not only that it wasn't very good, but that “The Bermuda Depths” probably wouldn’t even make anyone’s list of “all time worst made-for-TV movies starring Burl Ives.”