The Abyss - Page 4

Hopefully the Abyss Blu-Ray is now at the horizon ! Question is, will it be in the old LD format (1.85) or the 2.35 theatrical format ? I feel the DVD in widescreen 2.35 is too cramped, and I wouldn't mind that the new transfert does an "Avatar" on us and is 1.85... The first version on Laserdisc was 1.85 (or 1.95) and the extra room allowed for more immersion.
Edited by dvdvision - 4/25/10 at 11:47am

 So, uh... anything new?

Does the technology to replace Chris Elliott exist yet?

In case Van and Co. are still reading this, I thought of a new possible feature for the Blu-Ray release. 

 

Sometime in the late 90s, the Sci-Fi Channel aired the Special Edition version of the film in a 4-hour time slot (I think). James Cameron himself introduced it and also appeared in various short segments throughout the presentation, usually just before or after the commercials. VFX supervisor John Bruno may have appeared as well.

 

I think these would be a pretty cool addition to whatever we end up getting. And this clip is just kitschy. 

 

 

Wow, that Entertainment Tonight clip, with the footage of the extended ending, reminded me of how bad the shots of the beach goers are!

 

I would not mind if someone reshot those reactions (of people looking at the standing wave).

 

For most of the film, people appear timeless because everyone is in uniform. Could be 2000. Could be 1990. Could be 1980. No way to date the film except perhaps by haircuts (but even then, not really, since most have short hair). It feels like "now"!

 

But then there's that extended ending, with beachgoers wearing huge bathing suits and bad clothes and hair that looks like early 1980s (with some fashion holdouts from the late 1970s) and it ruins everything! Plus that giant camcorder the "tv reporter" is using to record the wave is antique.

 

Shoot some new groups of people for those reaction shots in the extended ending, and the film will improve.

 

Yes, this is revisionist, but, it looks like it was all second unit stuff anyway.

 

Agree? Disagree?

I'd always hoped they get Alan Silvestri back do re-score the extended ending, since now there's some synthesizer track that doesn't gel with the rest of the (underrated) score at all. If they would do that, they could re-shoot the beach scene as well, and of course add some believable CG waves.

Always thought that the Abyss is very underrated especially sandwiched between Aliens and T2

 

 

Disagree.  The movie has major thematic elements that are most definitely NOT timeless - in particular the fact that the Cold War was a driving factor behind the building tension of the entire situation.  The movie was released in '89 - two years before the Cold War ended.

 

The movie is what it is.  I doubt we'll actually have flying cars in the next 5 years, but you don't hear about people wanting to change the "Back to the Future" movies to reflect an accurate depiction of the year 2015 right?

Disagree. As Jason rightly points out, the fact that the plot device driving events in The Abyss are rising nuclear tensions between the US and Russia firmly roots the film in the era of the Cold War. I also feel that it is what it is. There's no need for revisionist tampering here.

We could be adversaries of Russia again. I don't recall if they called the enemy "Russia" or "the USSR", but if "Russia", it doesn't have to be during the Cold War.

 

But the film IS set during the Cold War. The themes, plot devices, and references make that pretty clear. Cameron is directly addressing the issues of the time.

Well ok. But I still think a few thong bikinis would improve the ending. Seriously, because the reaction shots are just poorly done. Most of the people are looking -- for the most part -- in the right direction, and they sort of look concerned. But it is only extras level acting on the part of the extras. And the crowds look a bit too thin for such an epic event. I think that the ending we saw was never completed to satisfaction. They took the footage they had, and they invested time in making the waves -- but maybe shooting better crowds was beyond what they could do at the time.

 

I'd be satisfied even if they reshot the crowds with extras dressed in 1980s bathing suits, if that would change anyone's opinions. Because it isn't just that the clothes date the film, it is that everything about those reaction shots screams "second unit".

All I can say to that is:  We'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

In my opinion the best thing to do with The Abyss is to leave it alone. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the film as it exists, except for the fact that we STILL don't have a proper home video release. BRING ON THE BLU-RAY!

Actually, I thought the extended ending was just hokey and abrupt as if it needed *much* fuller/better resolution, especially considering the seriousness of the subject matter and how heavyhanded it is.  Feels almost like a tacked-on Scooby Doo ending, IMHO, despite the paranormal happenings in certain parts of the movie.

 

I liked the director's cut up until that very ending, which I thought completely ruined it.  Not saying I liked the theatrical version, but the director's cut extended ending was just bunk, IMHO.

 

_Man_

Every filmmaker learns from his mistakes. Abyss mistake is to have the emotional climax two thirds into the film. Once Lindsay is bought back, nothing else can top that scene. What happens next is still a great trip, tought. It's a flawed film, but a flawed Cameron film is better than many well crafted films from other directors.

Well I've thought about it for a few months, and I still feel the same.

 

Indeed, I want more: New, "smaller" water surrounding the Naval vessels so they look less like models, and new water effects around the rise of the alien bathtub toy, and, new beachgoer reaction shots. (Good opportunity for friends and colleagues of Cameron to appear as beachgoers, too.)

 

The firmness of my desire is based on going over the Blade Runner Final Cut again last night, where the revised shot of the pigeon flying up into the sky was such a significant improvement over what had looked cheap before. (And countless other small fixes.) I think as long as a revised version of The Abyss is subtitled appropriately (The Abyss: Final Cut?), it is fine to do.

 

I'm also bearing in mind that the ending of The Abyss was itself completed later as a special edition anyhow, so it is really just continuing with that effort to make a perfect ending to The Abyss.

I dont want any changes, i just want it on Blu-ray

I agree with mike. I dont want any changes either. its fine as is.. except that it would be cool if it was enhanced for widescreen and on blu ray.

 

Jacob

I want an anamorphic transfer released on both DVD and Blu-Ray.  It's an excellent film that deserves a more deluxe treatment.

     Quote:

 

Totally agree. It's like you've cracked open my head and smeared the contents over the internets. The wave ending completely undoes the spell of the dank, dark claustrophobic movie that preceded it.
 

I like the wave scene. What ends the movie a bit off is the final scene, when the characters all go "waouh !" and hit their caps on their tights when Brigmann get back. I think Mr Cameron also feels he didn't get the feeling right on those scenes. But hey, the Abyss was one thought shoot. He pulled it off on other parts, especially the resurrection scene which remains, to this day, the best, most intense, emotional scene he ever put to film. 

I have a couple of questions for van regarding the abyss:

 

1) with cameron new view on the 1.78 on avatar? is it possible that he would change the screen format for the abyss on bluray (hopefully not)

 

2) has there been any talk about a expanded soundtrack for the abyss from companies that specialize in remastered/expanded editon soundtracks? this could also go with other soundtrack from camerons film.

 

thanks

 

Jacob

I would be happy with a 1.78 release, remember, the original widescreen laserdisc was 1.95 or something, essentially it played on a widescreen TV filling up the whole screen. I prefer to watch the 4/3 DVD to the widescreen one, it's much easier on the eyes.

 

The available 2.35 DVD is framed too tight, and feels to cramped. I would settle for a 2.20 version thought.

I guess 1989 was replete with underwater thrillers. I just watched Sean Cunningham's DeepStar Six on Netflix Instant Play and I'll probably watch Leviathan later. DS6 was just a harmless little B-movie from Carolco but it's amazing the difference some like James Cameron can make. Interestingly enough, the story for DS6 was conceived by Lewis Abernathy, one Cameron's Titanic buddies.

 

And, yes... the entire time I was watching, I was reminded of The Abyss and how much we're all looking forward to a Blu-Ray release.

 

Any updates from the front? 

And I just misread that as "I guess 1989 was replete with underwear thrillers."

 

I would love to see a remastered, anamorphic standard DVD of THE ABYSS as well as a Blu-Ray.  The current transfer, as far as I know, dates back to the director's cut laserdisc.  I'ts really time for a remastering!

Look for a remastered version of the Abyss sometime after Cameron completes his Avatar trilogy AND he's done converting Titanic to 3-D, so maybe around 2046 or so. Whether or not you'll care by then is another thing.

Interesting post on the Bits' rumor mill today:

 

Okay... the following should be considered VERY tentative. However, we've now heard it from multiple independent sources, including reliable industry insiders, so.... Sources are telling us that director James Cameron has been (or it about to begin) working on a new high-def transfer and master of The Abyss, presumably for eventual Blu-ray Disc release. As many of you know, The Abyss is a title that doesn't even have an anamorphic widescreen DVD release (neither does True Lies for that matter) so it's LONG overdue. We've been hearing this might soon happen from industry insiders for a couple of months now, but the most recent report on this comes from a longtime Bits reader (thank you, Jon H!) who actually had the chance to meet Cameron a few weeks ago. He asked specifically about the possibility of The Abyss coming to Blu-ray, and Cameron said that he was about to start work on a new transfer using the same process he did with the Aliens Blu-ray. Cameron then proceeded to say that he was really excited about how good Aliens looks on the format. So... fingers crossed... maybe we'll finally see those remaining Cameron titles on Blu-ray in the next 12 months or so...

Nice ! 

Edited by dvdvision - 2/18/11 at 4:00pm

I hope True Lies won't come too long after Aliens and Abyss as that one sorely needs a new release (even more so than the Abyss -- and that's besides the fact I can't stand the extended ending of the Abyss ).

 

_Man_