The Abyss [WS Special Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The crew of an experimental, high-tech submersible is called into action to investigate a mysterious nuclear submarine crash. A series of strange encounters leads the crew to suspect the accident was caused by an extraterrestrial craft, and that they may be participating in an encounter with an alien species. However, in order to make contact, they must not only brave the abyss, an exceedingly deep underwater canyon, but also deal with the violent actions of one of their own crew members, an increasingly paranoid Navy SEAL officer. Approved by director James Cameron, The Abyss: Special Edition is an extended director's cut of the 1989 underwater science fiction epic, reinstating nearly a half hour of footage removed from the original release under studio pressure. Much of the restored footage places the film's events in a grander political context, as the crew's mission becomes a factor in the dangerous escalation of nuclear tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The largest change involves the film's ending, which provides further information on the aliens' mission on Earth, bringing the film to closer to Cameron's intention: a modern remake of Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Audio: THX
• Features:
  • Includes both the special edition, with 28 minutes of additional footage, plus the original theatrical version
  • Widescreen format (aspect ratio 2.35:1) for both theatrical and special edition versions
  • Commentary option for both versions (text only)
  • Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround, English Dolby Surround
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • DVD-ROM script & storyboard-to-screen comparison

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Visual Effects - 1989 (Dennis Muren, Dennis Skotak, Hoyt Yeatman)
•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1989 (Anne Kuljian, Leslie Dilley)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1989 (Mikael Salomon)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 1989 (Richard Overton, Don Bassman, Lee Orloff, Kevin F. Cleary)
•     Nominated Best Visual Effects - 1989 (John Bruno)

• American Society of Cinematographers

•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1989 (Mikael Salomon)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Ed Harris - Bud Brigman
       Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - Lindsey Brigman
       Michael Biehn - Lt. Coffey
       Leo Burmeister - Catfish De Vries
       Todd Graff - Alan "Hippy" Carnes
       John Bedford Lloyd - "Jammer" Willis
       Kimberly Scott - Lisa "One Night" Standing
       J.C. Quinn - "Sonny" Dawson
       Capt. Kidd Brewer, Jr. - Lew Finier
       George Robert Klek - Wilhite
       Chris Murphy - Seal Schoenick
       Adam Nelson - Ensign Monk
       Richard Warlock - Dwight Perry
       Jimmie Ray Weeks - Leland McBride
       J. Kenneth Campbell - DeMarco
       Ken Jenkins - Gerard Kirkhill
       Joseph C. Nemec III - Crew Member
       Phillip Darlington - Crew Member
       Brad Sullivan - Executive
       Frank Lloyd - Navigator
       William Wisher - Bill Tyler
       Chris Elliott - Bendix
       Peter Ratray - Captain
       Joe Farago - Anchorman
       Michael Beach - Barnes

• Director:

  James Cameron

• Producer:

  Gale Anne Hurd

• Screenwriter:

  James Cameron, Chris Columbus

• Cinematographer:

  Mikael Salomon, Dennis Skotak

• Composer (Music Score):

  Alan Silvestri

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Lee Orloff

• Editor:

  Conrad Buff, Joel Goodman, Howard E. Smith

• Production Designer:

  Leslie Dilley, Charles Skouras III

• Art Director:

  Peter Childs, Russell Christian, Joseph C. Nemec III

• Set Designer:

  Gershon Ginsburg, Anne Kuljian, Andrew Precht, Thomas D. Wilkins

• Costume Designer:

  Deborah Everton

• Makeup:

  Kathryn Miles Kelly

• Special Effects:

  David Kirk, Robert Olmstead, Joe Unsinn, Gene Warren, Jr., Matthew Yuricich, Roberto Viskin, Scott E. Anderson

• Stunts:

  Michael Cassidy, Brett Jones, Billy Oliver, Denney Pierce, Loren Janes, Alan Oliney, Kerry Rossall, Richard Warlock, Marcia Holley, Richard Washington, Clay Boss, Patrick Romano

• Production Manager:

  Charles Skouras III

• Casting:

  Howard Feuer

• Foley Artist:

  Kevin Bartnof

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Bob Beemer

• Visual Effects Supervisor:

  Alex Funke

• Visual Effects:

  Philip Barberio

REVIEW:

• Turning away from the dystopias of The Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986), James Cameron marshaled innovative special effects (and a motley crew of oil drillers) to assert that love is the answer in The Abyss (1989). Reportedly inspired by underwater footage of the recently located Titanic wreckage, Cameron decided to transfer his science-fiction-spectacle expertise to the deep sea. Shot underwater in a seven million gallon nuclear reactor tank, this extended yarn about nuclear subs, oil rig divers, and the interpersonal relations between the oddball Deepcore crew, their fearless leader Bud, his prickly almost ex-wife Lindsey, and gung-ho Navy SEALS feels authentically claustrophobic and other-worldly. The seraphic NTIs complete the sub-terrestrial wonder. Praised for its visual splendor and strong performances from Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, if not always for its plot, The Abyss was not quite the blockbuster it needed to be. But the ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special effects -- particularly the exploratory water node -- set the stage for the 1990s' explosion in CGI effects, beginning with Cameron's molten-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Despite The Abyss's warm message about marital bonds, Cameron and producer-wife Gale Anne Hurd split during production. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi