In case anyone is interested, here is the famous documentary "Under Pressure: The Making of The Abyss" which chornicles the notoriously tough movie shoot of "The Abyss." It's well worth watching since no stone is left unturned regarding just how tough the shoot was for cast and crew.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGwhMHNmPpA - Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI5Rxt2aM7Y - Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TAzMZ3-r68 - Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW_hv4otQx8 - Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUYDj2Ge28o - Part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9YKJwobfDI - Part 6

Here's a typical case of quality vs expectations.

I first saw this movie on cable, in the nineties, not remembering it was a Cameron, and I absolutely loved it.
I still do.

I just caught the theatrical version on HBO, and I agree with much of what James said about it. As it stands, I give it a 3.5/5.

I need to check out the Special Edition soon.

Why is this film so badly treated on home video?

There's never even been an anamorphic release in basic DVD, yet alone BluRay

It''s like Fox are saying download me please

Ridiculous
Rob

Cameron is working on a re-mastering of this using the same techniques he used on the recent ALIENS re-release. He's doing it "on the side" while working on early pre-production for AVATAR 2/3 and converting TITANIC to 3-D, so it's anyone's guess how long it will take for us to see the result. The problem with THE ABYSS is that it's widely seen as Cameron's only big-budget failure and there's not a lot of love for it in the industry.

I remember when the trailer for "Avatar" came out how the trailer said "From the director of......" and went down through Cameron's filmography but neglected to mention "The Abyss". I know the film wasn't successful on first release, but it has gotten respect in recent years due to the extended version. Kind of a shame that even with the extended edition that the film still gets shoddy treatment.

Anyway, if Cameron releases it on blu-ray in the same style as "Aliens" then that would be great. I know blu-ray would really do this movie justice.

We'll see it - it's just a question of when. Cameron has a lot on his plate right now.

What's even worse is the slipcase states the transfer is anamorphic widescreen! George Lucas may diss the original versions of the Star Wars trilogy on their DVD release by not properly restoring them, but at least the packaging is honest!

Anyways, I finally watched the special edition. I agree that it's an improvement, but I don't find it enough of one to raise my initial 3.5/5 rating.

Yeah but it's a terrible performance nonetheless. Even Cameron stopped casting Biehn in his films after The Abyss. It's safe to assume he could no longer overlook his weak acting. The Terminator and Aliens succeeded in spite of him. I think Mastrantonio was weak, too.



Ed Harris sells this scene without a doubt. I didn't think she was gone because I knew Cameron's too much of a sentimentalist for that, but he made me believe it was possible. Without Harris this film would have been a true failure. His casting was one of Cameron's best decisions ever.

Ed Harris is great in pretty much everything.