What's absolutely nuts is the fact that the oxygen enriched water (which is actually an existing, real thing apparently) that was tested is mind blowing. And that it was really tested as a huge inspiration for the movie is a testimony of mankind in my opinion. The fact that it was the sparking of this idea that made Cameron dive deeper into the abyss (pun intended) of the idea took a real visionary!
People can be so stupid at times. The Abyss is a damn good movie. Seeing the numerous challenges makes me appreciate the movie even more. Wonderful movie Mr. Cameron!!!
The Director's Cut is a damn good movie....the US Theatrical Release is just OK. That Tidal Wave sequence is critical for the end making any real sense.
It has numerous scripting issues - the worst are the false act breaks. With a bit of restructuring it could work because the quality of the performances is pretty damn good.
underrated? I knew that some movies which liked by most in my country could be fail in America. But how it's came that Abyss was disliked by American audience?!
I can't count the number of times I watched this movie.... I love it plus the making of it was absolutely breathtaking....it's a masterpiece...the only thing I would do now is the CGI ...just tweak it, don't replace it
The CPR chest pounding scene still makes me tear up just thinking about it to this day. One of the most emotionally acted scenes I have ever seen. It may just be my favorite of any scene I have ever watched. I loved this movie.
I agree! When I first saw it I didn't expect her to survive! I am glad they made it to where her character did come back. I never really thought about it until seeing this though, about how hard that must've been on her. I feel bad that she was so traumatized she could never even talk about it. Sounds like PTSD, actually. They were all so amazing and should be proud of themselves!
@Cherish God I don't remember them calling her a bitch except when Ed was trying to revive her and said "bitch you've never backed away from anything in your life now FIGHT!". But it's been a long time since I've seen it! I need to watch it again. And as far as her response to him when he was going down the abyss, I just chalk it up to people being different and handling things different. She was freaking out afraid she was going to lose him as she saw he was starting to have trouble typing. The part where he wrote "knew it was a one-way trip from the beginning" or something to that effect and "don't cry...wife" reeeeally got to me! I don't think that her acting ever made me doubt her character 's love for his character, though. But like I said, it's been awhile!
I'm trying NOT to divulge TOO much information but the opening scene was based on actual events, and I would like to know how, and from whom Cameron acquired that information. It was classified. OS-3 US NAVY inactive reserve NAB Little Creek Virginia🇺🇸🫡
Well, it costed 45 million and the world wide boxy office was 90 million. The 54 was just the US income. Never understand why they count only that some times. Amazing movie btw. Specially in their time.
@@kashmirha $90 million on a $45 million budget _is_ barely breaking even, since the box office earnings are split between the cinema and the studio. How much it's split varies - in the US the studio gets around 55% of every ticket sale, in other countries less, so round it out to about 50%. 50% of $90 million is $45 million, so yeah - barely broke even.
That's the best thing about him as a director. His movies hold up. The time put in pays out for decades. This movie was genius, people say it's slow but the pacing was fine.
Exactly but suppose people are running out of ideas on how to be a youtuber so are just finding ways by being negative about movies or whatever just by nitpicking.
Totally true. Ask ANYONE, it's one of those films that you can, not only, enjoy watching COUNTLESS times... but you don't EVER change, when you stumble upon, when channel surfing...
@@jshorto this guy doesn't do vids BASHING these flicks, he just focuses on the history behind films with batshit crazy stories, and incidents, attached to them. This video isn't meant to be negative OR positive. It's a subjective history of the films production, and release, based on old interviews and aricles, that's all!
I really liked the concept of benevolent aliens in this movie, most movies portray aliens as the enemy. It seemed like a lot of people complained about that aspect of the movie but for me it really makes it a winner! Definitely one of my favorite sci-fi movies.
@@michaelsong5555 Extended 🎬📽 Though it does get overlooked, there is no denying that the meticulous work done for this film paved the way for T2. Kudos!
@@mysterious144 I totally agree! I love the aliens! People say the aliens should have been totally left out of the movie but that was my favorite thing in it. Like you I love that they were benevolent.
I had no idea The Abyss was received so poorly when it was released. It is a beautiful, very human, movie It was good even without the cut footage added back in.
It was poorly received because it was poorly crafted and poorly executed. The least they could have done is actually ask a member of the U.S. military how they actually do things and perhaps even check with a real deep sea exploration crew about how that works. Beyond that, they could have sent the main actors to acting lessons . . . basic ones . . . They needed them desperately. --note on edit -- I absolutely hate these programs that "correct" your spelling and do it wrong.
@@bobski8203 To be fair, the actors received months of deep diving training before even getting a chance to actually start filming. The problems arose with the suits that Cameron wanted them to wear. They are very, very different from what your typical SCUBA is like, which is what all of the actors were already used to. Add on top of this the confusing setpieces and I can understand why there were so many complications. They were basically thrown into an entirely alien environment, wearing equipment that they were never given an adequate chance to get familiar with. "Poorly crafted" is probably the most insulting thing I've ever read about this movie. Nearly half of the movie was shot underwater, and it actually managed to work because Cameron didn't want to let the idea go. His obsession also gave ILM a chance to completely revolutionize how CG effects were done back then, giving birth to an entirely new generation of amazing CG for the era. That's dedication to the craft, and when you're dedicated like that, you will make it good no matter what. Every fiber of his being was invested into this movie. The dude was even willing to give up half of his salary just to appease Sony so they would grant a production extension. If you don't think that's dedication to the craft, then I think you might need to re-think what it means. Poorly executed, I can agree with that 100%. But there's also plenty of reasons why it was poorly executed. Hollywood studios do not like when movies go over budget, they also don't like it when movies take longer to make than anticipated. Cameron jumped to shooting prematurely, even before many sets were completely finished, because he knew that sooner or later the corporate overlords would be hounding him big time. Eventually they did, and the movie still wasn't ready yet. If he hadn't made the choice to start shooting earlier, the movie would have never been finished. If James Cameron were given all the money and time in the universe to make a movie, this wouldn't be a problem. This wouldn't be a problem for every film in existence, either. But money and time are finite resources, so sacrifices have to be made somewhere. Not really sure what you mean about "acting lessons", considering all of the major actors in this movie were (and some of them still are, to this day) big name actors. And, for what it's worth, I'm not even that big of a fan of James Cameron. I didn't like Titanic, I didn't like Avatar. And funnily enough, Avatar is his highest grossing movie of all time and it's really not that great. It was awesome the first time, because it features many incredible technological advancements in film. But it's just not that great of a movie. Cameron has always been about pushing the boundaries of film, and Avatar manages to do that, but it's not the same as something like The Abyss. This is a movie that took place in a domain that no other director or film studio wanted to mess with. The guy literally conquered a domain that nobody else wanted to touch, and he made a damn good movie while he was there. This all happening in the late 80's makes it all the more technologically impressive.
@@spartan456 -- Oh, I absolutely loved MOST of the special effects. What I don't appreciate about the move is that none of it happened the way it really would have happened, and the actors, if they had ANY talent at all, must have been horribly distracted. That only happens with an extremely bad director. You talk about pushing the boundaries of film, and my contention is that this was done quite unsuccessfully and with a great deal of inattentiveness (i.e.by a hack).
Bob Ski I don’t see where the acting was bad. I own the director’s cut and watch it several times per year. It still sets me on the edge of my seat and conjures emotions. Maybe you need glasses?
@@bobski8203 You sound like the .00001% who had some technical knowledge. The rest of the audience wouldn't know and wouldn't care. Also, Harris and Mastrantonio are solid actors in everything they do. The "villain" also acted well and the rest of the crew was standard. I think the reason it wasn't well-received was because of the length and pace of the movie. I was 21 when it came out and loved it. When I saw the director's cut, I wished they would have gone with that. It would have pulled more viewers just because of the threat that was portrayed. It still holds up today.
Just saw the movie. Felt like James' version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and I love it. One of my favorite Sci-Fi films being honest. James Cameron is easily deserves to be called one of the best directors of all time.
the abyss is a masterpiece. to micro analyze the sum of the parts of the struggle in making the film is actually to justify the means. story/concept, the screenplay, the storyboards were all done by cameron before he toiled it underwater for a year with the actors. super unique, visually very satisfying, and conceptually genius. great film, not good film.
Shame about the fuck up at the end with the decompression. Oh, sure there's the line 'we should be dead, we didn't decompress!' 'They must have done something to us...' 'oh yes'. Fine, alien woo. They 'did something'. What they DIDN'T do was tell them about it, so the question remains why a crew of the most experienced divers on the planet blundered out of deep core to what, as far as they knew, was certain death? I love the film, especially the extended version, but that still bugs the crap out of me.
"A fox executive barged into the editing room and told Cameron, 'you can either finish this up or personally go to 12,000 theaters and describe the movie for audiences, 4 shows a day." LMAO, that line floored me
Yeah, As a 40 yeah old, I agree, everyone owned the VHS. I never knew it was disliked so much. I also never knew it was a James Cameron film until later.
I think it was poorly marketed and folks didn't get it in the first run, but it did well on video, etc. It's a damn classic and it's a bloody crime that it hasn't been remastered yet for Blu-Ray & 4K... It was great.
Level 99 I was lucky to get it on dvd. As of this date, no online digital download or Blu-ray. They must not like making money, cause I’d buy it in a heartbeat, and tell all my friends to buy it. Some who’ve never heard of this awesome movie.
they updated the Wiki for this; supposedly it was supposed to be out in 2017; and they were doing direct 4k scans of the master using a "wet scan" ?? it's reported to be absolutely amazing but; in true fashion; still not complete. double-edged sword apparently it actually took a very long time for them to approve the BD/4k release; but hey, transfer methods have improved, riiiight?
This film is insane. Just insane. The fact that he even got green light to drain a lake to fill a pool and put actors at the bottom is just beyond me. That would never ever happen today. Then again, the movie is insanely underrated as well. The recut makes it much better and for what it's worth, the film really changed the movie industry.
The Abyss was the second movie I ever saw in the theatres. My parents tell me I sat there, wide-eyed with my lower jaw in my lap the whole time. Groundbreaking.
The scene where Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio says, "I'll drown, and you save me" is still, to this day, the most intense thing that's ever happened to me from just watching a movie. I was on the edge of my seat, freaking out to the sheer genius and terror of it.
I remember doing a report/review on this movie my junior year in high school- even showed clips from a rented VHS copy of the film (cuss words and all). The human aspect of the story is what I personally love about the film. Ed Harris' performance in the Lindsey drowning scene is one of the most emotionally wrenching I have ever seen. So good- yet so underrated.
Not looking good at all. 😡 Disney holds the rights to the film since they bought 20th Century Fox and own their entire catalogue. In August they announced that they will no longer be releasing back-cataloged movies in physical format. They're sticking with digital streaming. Really sucks! Hoping that a third party (Shout! Factory) can pry it away from them.
@@BarrySlisk Slightly flawed in clunky dialogue and too familiar archetyping, but yet told with completely competent craft and conviction - in impeccably realised technical innovation, design, and execution - is a pretty persnickety standard for proclaiming a thing "sucks".
The Abyss is an damn good movie, special edition is definitive version of the film. the original version didn't make sense with the rushed ending but the directors cut shows more scenes and that tidal wave at the end
You'd never get to experience a movie of this calibre in this day and age ever again. Everything is CGI'ed and not to mention, the studios will NEVER allow such high risk for the actors let alone the insurance companies will opt out in a heartbeat. Back then, if you wanted something to look realistic, everything was done with props, not green suits. Actors and actresses back then had more grit and knew what needed to be done to get the shot right. The closest actor I can somewhat relate this to is Tom Cruise in the MI franchise, still staying somewhat true to practical effects and doing his own stunts but still nowhere near what movies like the Abyss was.
You do know the "water tendril" was the first use of that brand new CGI technology in this film.... right? It went on to be one of the stars of T2 as the liquid metal effect for the T1000. I agree film making was different then, but CGI was invented for a reason. It helps great storytellers tell even greater stories.
Tom Cruise or Keanu Reaves are probably the only actors who would do such high risk work today. Only other option would probably have to find TV actors who wanted to make a name for themselves today.
@@leonefurlan137 I agree, theres definately an overusage of CGI nowadays, i mean in many movies they aren't even in the city, but instead get greenscreened into it..., but there are some exceptions, the movie inception for example, the scene where the rooms were rotating and the actors were fighting meanwhile, that was a real huge rotary machine that actually rotated this room with the actors in it.
I remember watching this when I was like 8 years old and it blew me away. The pacing was slow, but it kept my child-like attention because it was just so....cool. I can't explain it. The acting, the mystery, the suspense, those evil marines, the hints of alien life. And that powerful ending that made me wonder about how humanity fits into this world, and if we'll ever be punished for our violent ways.
I thought making the marines evil was a real shtty move, they are on the same side and they turn on their own? Sorry Chew, but the film lost me on that one.
@@chewface In the story and film they did, thus making the marines 'evil'. Very fcked up decision by Cameron to do this, he did a massive about face from being patriotic and supporting of his own countries military (in an allegorical sense) to making them the antagonist. He did so more times afterwards as well with Avatar etc.
@@Retro-Future-Land I mean, it kinda makes sense though. Sure, its a pessimistic view of our military...but its realistic. If we were to ever discover alien life, or an alien planet....our governments first response would either be a hostile takeover, leeching of resources, or utter annihilation if the first two options arent possible.
@@chewface That's more a current age view of things it's only in the recent history that such things in the Post-WW2 sphere have come about. In fact it's only in the past 30 years that shit really got out of hand to be quite honest with you.
I remember watching this movie at the age of 18 in a theatre with my friends and brother when it first came out. I can tell you: It was incredible. We had grown up on Star Trek and Star Wars pushing the limits, but this movie literally told us "They really can do anything with computers now." It's legendary for what it achieved, and the scope of the scenes and all the rest. It certainly deserves its place in the top tier of cinema history.
The Abyss is just a great movie!! How many movies from the 80s hold up so well today? This movie gives a new appreciation to what sailors, mariners, and undersea workers go through day in and day out. As for the extended parts, they made the movie BETTER!!!! They gave it motivation and depth and show the lesson of tolerance for difference.
@ Jurassic Park does not involve as much CGI as it appears to most though, and often not in the places most think it is. The T-rex vs car scene is a great example of that in using the limits of CGI at the time.
@ But what other thing has changed between every new Jurassic Park entry? The amount of dinosaurs. There was not a lot of screen time in the first one even comparing only to the second. Since the "wow-a-dinosaur!"-factor like anything else is a quickly losing novelty, it inevitably becomes a question of ever more quantity over quality. And of course having more of the same at the same (lower preferably) price rarely work. This is not exclusive to dinosaurs of course, it fits anything. Explosions, aliens. That can be true, but it depends greatly on the environment. Kitchen dinosaurs be much simpler than lawn dinosaurs. Usually full CGI is still more expensive than partial though. As much as I like "The Abyss", the real environment CGI that made the final cut does not account for a lot of screen time. And the integration of the "rescue" in the end I'd guess most would think looks very bad today. It can of course be explained by alien physics, but still. It does look very pretty, but believable by any stretch, not so much. Starship Troopers is interesting though. It indeed has a massive amount of integrated complex CGI action. But on the other hand bugs are "simple" to do. And Verhoeven may even have wanted a bit unreal look to it for the surreal or comedic effect. It is a bit similar in his other works really, sometimes the tech even seem scaled back at times intentionally while other things look great even today. Not talking about just CGI but even tried and tested stop motion follow this pattern. Whatever the case, every sequels to ST looked worse. So nothing out of the ordinary really. ;) That is not what I meant though. The question is why you can't tell, and what exactly you can not tell. Spielberg was just more experienced in knowing the rules of illusion. The Jurassic Park example I mentioned illustrates this well. Most viewers are naturally paying full attention to the (very real) dinosaur wrecking a car that they don't notice the car looking very unreal indeed. And really most of the scenes in the film do the same. When the dinosaurs actually are CGI they are in a simple environment, with more predictable lightning (kitchen) or hidden in shadows, rain or other environment effects to add life to them by distracting the eyes. When the first sequel came, we got ten times the dinosaurs, under full daylight, outside, in complex environments. And it just escalated from there of course. Tech has moved forth. Film making..? Stepped back some maybe.
@ ""So you're saying....uh....the amount of dinos make...what? More recent ones better, CGI-wise? That the wow factor is gone, so...CGI has improved? The movies are shittier now, which makes the special effects of the first one not so good? I can't imagine how you meant that would make the CGI better now. "" Very little CGI and practical effects is cheaper and simpler to make then lots of CGI and lots of practical effects. Concise enough of a concept? """At best you seem to be wandering off the reservation of what we were talking about and bringing up something else. At worst you seem to have lost your own point. Ah ha! This I can answer because you're back on point AND you've got an experiment where we have both the control and the variable to compare: The original movie compared with the exact same franchise later on. The very simple fact of the matter is the other movies don't look as good. Comparing JPI to JPIV and it becomes completely evident that the new ones don't look any better. "" I don't think I have argued the later do look better though. Only why they would have a hard time to do so. """That's my whole point, a la Avatar. It STILL doesn't look believable. Ok, it didn't quite look right then. Agreed. Problem is, it's now 2019. Just saw Planet of the Apes. It looks less real by comparison."" Sure. Though I doubt it was even meant to. It's just too much in any way one look at it to ever be believable anyway. Even if discounting the obvious that we would think so because we know it can't be real. It's simply beyond the suspense of disbelieve. Unlike Jurassic Park. We know there are no dinosaurs, but there could be, and we think they would look exactly like that because that is how we already knew dinosaurs would look. There were indications to make more scientifically accurate dinosaurs available to Spielberg well before production started. He chose to ignore those in favour of less realistic animals that we would think more realistic. ""They were on the cusp in 1994. They're still on the cusp. That's my whole point. Progress has been almost zero. Ok so they have more dinos or apes, or blue space hippies in a scene. Woo. Whoopie. Yay. That's not a great advancement. And it's certainly not an argument that they have advanced. "" The cusp is the outset because ambitions are moved. Apes though, speaking of, may actually be more interesting in terms of CGI evolution than dinosaurs or smurfs. Compare "Congo" for example with later monkeys in "Kong" or "Planet of" ""Well again, all movies are taken as a whole and they all have a look. That's just how it works. It looks good or it doesn't. It holds up or it doesn't. JP looked awesome . Raptors per square inch or no raptors per square inch. If Verhoven was looking to shit his movie up, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, it was a goddamned cartoon. I take it back: Hanna Barbara would have thrown it back, saying "Scooby Doo doesn't look this shitty". "" It was obviously meant to be a cartoon. But if one really managed to miss the entire not so subtle fifties B-film parody tonality of it, then I guess it can appear just plain modern B. The point is that the sequels do not have the tone, and just look like B TV productions from the nineties instead. And I guess the last one even is that. So no wonder really. ""There is a possibility, and you can take it or leave it, that Verhoven was just a shitty director who made a "B" movie with an F- grade, don't you think? Here's how bad it was: until you told me, I didn't know Troopers HAD sequels. And I'm a huge sci-fi dude. "" Nah, Verhoven is clearly skilled and versatile. Which is why every attempts to follow up his work resulted in much lesser films, at best. ""Respectfully, that is absolutely wrong. It's 1) How good does it look? and 2) Is it getting better? "" It's right because you are looking at the wrong thing if you want to argue the truth about tech evolution. "Hey, that dino is some amazing CGI!" "Well, that is actually not CGI at all, but never mind. It is the result that counts." :) Otherwise one be just comparing a sack of apples to a banana. What kind sense does that make. ""I swear, sometimes it seems like you're arguing MY position. The beauty of your questions are they all have both controls and the variables. "" Your position that the first Jurassic Park is a better in every way than the all the sequels? It is. Maybe objectively so even. Does it have better CGI in a reasonably fair comparison than any of them? No. ""Ok, so if that's true, then explain "BFG"."" Big Funny Gun..? IDK .. ""See what I mean? We were close to reality in 1994. "" Not really, no. I still think "Final Fantasy" looked a bit more realistic than "The Lawnmower Man". And "Avatar" or "Alita" more so than both, despite all that mentioned inherent unreality. ""We're not much advanced from that now. That's *clear*."" I really think you should to see the "Lawnmower man" though.
@ Sighs.. Even Cameron thought the few minutes of CGI in Abyss looked dated, even before the release of the film. The studio refused more work on it. There are also only 15 minutes of dinosaur effects in "Jurassic Park" in total. And those include the 5 minutes of CGI. Yes, five minutes, partial CGI. If you still can't understand what the scale and level difference that makes to the sequels, or something like "Avatar"s pretty much two hours of full CGI, then you will never understand this "concept" either. Wouldn't take stabs at any linguistic quirks if writing like you do. It's completely indecipherable at most points, and so thoroughly crude and childish at all times it's serves best to illustrate the standard fare troll-out-of-arguments you resort to. Right down to the end. Nice touch there...
@@markhunter954 Agreed. It deserves so much more than a non-anamorphic DVD or Laserdisc as the only way to watch it. I've been hoping James Cameron will remaster this one for 3D. We at least need a blu-ray or HD download.
if i remember right, the extended cut was still cut by British censors to remove the rat scene on grounds of animal cruelty. Just another example of the petty interference they impose on too many movies. I don't know if its been restored for blu ray.
James Cameron has been my favorite director since I was old enough to know what a director is. This has been my favorite movie of his since I first saw it. The drowning/resuscitation scene is one of the most intense and emotional sequences that I've ever seen in a sci-fi/action movie. A true tour de force from everyone involved.
Probably one of the reasons it's underrated, so many other good movies came out then as well. Keaton's Batman, The last crusade, Dead poets society, lethal weapon 2, the list goes on, many moviegoers spent a lot of money that year.
That's why it makes me sick that he is stuck on all these bullshit Avatar sequels that are constantly getting delayed. Does anyone even want these damn things? Avatar might be Cameron's worst movie, besides Piranha II: The Spawning. I would rather watch True Lies than Avatar. He is such a legendary filmmaker and was always creating new worlds and great films. Now, he is stuck on creating endless sequels to an already forgotten movie. I just wish he would continue making great original movies.....or any movie at this point.
my son who has Autism at the time loved this movie( we had it on VHS) he would watch it and his first real sentence was " I Like the biss angels they b good" he is now 27 and has come a long way verbally through alot of hard work, and he still loves this movie.
@Heyward Shepherd well, there is more to the story. A lot more. Basically, he was told to give the studio the movie or he would be required to go.to every single theater and describe the movie to the audiences. The studio was pissed at him. Terminator 2 came out and was only made possible by the new technology he had created to make The Abyss. He had to make it under 3 hours and he had to do it right then. Nowadays, he could pull off a good three hour movie.
That's deep shit.. understanding that you were there and you were scared.. it says alot about what kind of person you are. It probly made him seek enlightenment!
This movie blew me away. Cameron managed to recreate a true sensation of claustrophobia, especially once it was DVD. Those lucky enough to have a home cinema were gasping for air throughout the movie. Cameron is such a LEGEND!!!
@@kamdan2011 I hope i will. For better or for worse ^^ But i sure hope i dont have alzheimers in 30 years. In 40 Maybe. But not in 30. Fingers crossed.
Ed Harris seems or definitely asked for no credit while making this film, yet he deserves a lot of recognition for his work. The fact he got mad at himself for being scared of dying, (in my opinion) shows his dedication to working on the film.
Interesting. You're seem to be talking bullshit :). James Cameron's movies - mostly straightforward, pioneering in many things, but with mostly simple screenplay. Take this Avatar of his - just a Pocahontas for adults. Now, take "modern UNREAL CGI movies" like A:IW. Comprehensive screenplay and characters, parallel story lines, character development and arcs, some thing are pre-planned years ahead. Who cares of CGI when you have the most internally comprehensive, developed, smart, and even humane (in some ways) villains of all times - Thanos, Black Panther Guy (sry, forgot his name), even Ultron has depth. Compare this to stupid and blunt Avatar "baddies", Aliens (although this is ok as they are of different type) and etc. Now wonder JC ranted about modern state of business - he is unable to keep up :)
@@mojeimja that's because those movies (Avengers and other superhero movies) are based on comic book story arcs written in the 80s and 90s, so some of it is actually good because those comic books sometimes had damn good writers who planned years ahead.
I think the title for this video should be 'How the hell did a great film come from this mess on set?!" Though we all know the answer......James Cameron. This is a great film and the fact that the shoot had so many problems that were overcome is a testament to the great Director that Cameron how brilliant his cast and crew were.
100% I watched it on TV a few weeks ago, and all of the alien threat was cut out of the ending, just showed "I love you wife, then the ship rose up. Fuckin boo
@Finn MacCool Yeah. It's not the business of aliens to threaten us all with death in order to change our politics. The theatrical cut shows them as benevolent, the director's cut, tyrannical.
I thought this movie pulled you in from the get go, with Horner's choir and brass pulling you into the deep blue sea. May he rest in peace. The novelization was also great in fleshing out the story and making it more understandable. This movie SHOULD have been 3 hours long. EDIT: My bad, the composer was Alan Silvestri as pointed out below.
@@swahiliranger1022 'But it was the sequence where the aliens manipulate a tendril of water which would prove to be the most signficant to the history of cinema. As Bud and his crew sleep, a column of water rises from Deep Core’s moon pool and explores the rig curiously. When Lindsey and the others wake up, the “pseudopod” - as it was known to the crew - mimics their faces in a magical moment of non-verbal communication.' www.redsharknews.com/production/item/6304-the-abyss-we-look-back-on-james-cameron-s-groundbreaking-thriller
@@swahiliranger1022 'Only one shot of the pseudopod - where it transformed back into ordinary water - was composited digitally. The remainder were done traditionally, with various different render passes of the CG creature recorded onto separate strips of film which were then combined on an optical printer. The 1990 Oscars ceremony saw The Abyss honoured with an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Within a year, ILM were at work on Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which pushed the art of CGI even further. In 1993, Jurassic Park was released, and by the end of the 20th century the cinema was awash with computer generated images, most of them considerably less convincing than their landmark predecessors.'
@@swahiliranger1022 Are you high or what? The "water serpent" was in the theatrical version indeed. At the time it was something never seen before and everybody was talking about it.
That scene is truly amazing. I have to remind myself to breathe during the entire sequence from the voluntary drowning till resuscitation. Elizabeth is fantastic. Ed Harris gives it all. The way he refuses to give up, blowing out his voice in the process...the actors in the background in silent shock and pre-grief...that scene is the product of all that the cast went through in the making. I think Ed deserved an Oscar nod for that scene alone.
Still no Blu-Ray release for this or True Lies. Both are classics and the lack of decent home cinema release is criminal - the DVDs aren't even anamorphic!
Both have been broadcast in HD so to be honest, I might just skip the disk release and proceed directly to illegal digital copy - they obviously don't want my money.
Still waiting for the blu ray, the DVD isn’t even anamorphic so there’s bars on the side in addition to the top and bottom. I wasn’t a fan of the chick flick Titanic, so The Abyss is my James Cameron water epic.
Joe Nesvick not available on netflix, amazon or itunes which is a shame as Id buy in a heartbeat. Its one of those weird movies thats not available anywhere and Ive even tried to email any company involved to find out why.
vasheroo are you sure it wasn’t a DVD? I remember impatiently waiting for the Star Wars Blu Ray release, complete with Luke’s A New Hope intro deleted scenes, and a coworker said it’s already out before it was. James Cameron says he’s too busy with Avatar 2 to release The Abyss and True Lies blu ray. I last saw True Lies on VHS, so I know not if the blu ray to that was any better. My Abyss DVD has an entire box around the screen because it was perfect for my tv at the time that I got it, it was like the year 2000
well even though the movie was a nightmare to produce the abyss was one of the greatest sci fi films ever hands down. where they really did well was with the special effects using CGI which was pretty damn good especially for 1989
I have the full Special Edition on DVD AND the original VHS release. I've seen it at least ten times with different people. My ex-wife saw it first with me and even she was stunned at how powerful and flat-out scary that movie is. During Mastrantonio's "revival" scene, she looked me and said quietly, "How the fuck could she DO that?" I've seen it with real-life engineering students and tech-heads and the looks on their faces was something to behold. One guy who was working on his master's in mechanical engineering said to me: "I don't even know how some of that shit is even POSSIBLE." I've had other science people and even film students tell me that the movie HAD to be mostly CGI because it just wasn't possible to do what was on the screen. When I told them that the ONLY CGI was in the "water snake," the tsunami waves, and Bud's trip down to the City/starship and then proved it by showing them the release date, one of them just shook his head and muttered, "Awesome, dude. Fuckin' awesome." The others simply refused to believe it. Here's a little bit of trivia y'all might like. Cameron hired the author of "Ender's Game," Orson Scott Card, to hang out on the set--where it was dry--and take notes, then retreat to the motel and do a novelization of the screenplay. So Card got an up close and personal look at the storyboards and planning sequences and constructed an incredibly detailed backstory for all the threads and subplots running through the movie. At night, he'd go back to the motel, pound out a couple dozen pages and then bring them back the next day and show them to Cameron and the cast. The cast would read them and incorporate them into their own interpretations of their characters. Case in point: the scene where Coffey is sitting near the Moon Pool, fiddling with the hoist chains and weeping, comes from Card speculating on Coffey's memories of being an abused kid growing up with a single mother, playing video games with no point except a single purpose: to win, and then joining the Navy and finding a real purpose for his existence. He's weeping because he sees himself as being a truly noble figure who TRIED to do everything right but somehow still managed to fuck up the most important mission of his career. Read Card's novelization. It is SO worth it. It explains all of your questions, like why the hell the aliens were there in the first place and how they thought, what THEIR motivations were. It goes deep into the heads of everyone on screen and it's one of the best novels Card has ever written. I'm not real fond of Card because he goes all spiritual and swoony too often, but this particular effort is just as brilliant as the movie itself. www.amazon.com/Abyss-Orson-Scott-Card/dp/0671740776
I had two friends who worked on the FX for The Abyss and both said that Cameron was a lunatic. lol One refused to ever work for him again... the other went forward and did Titanic with him later on. His reputation is quite deserved. Granted, he does make good movies. heh Kubrick was a nightmare to work with, yet made great movies, as well.
Hey there! I loved your review, however it was more dangerous then what you talked about I know because I was there! Yep,that was the second movie I had ever worked on. My first being “ Honey I shrunk the kids”. That was a interesting year,and I was overwhelmed by the site of Jim, and Al Giddings both my heroes at that time. Hours spent underwater were extremely hard,and keeping up with all of the challenges of production doubled the frustration. Over a year of my life was spent working on those models and filming them. We had a saying around the set,”Life’s an Abyss and then you Dive!” I can still taste that icky water! I have to date never been that cold again in my life! And almost every project that I have worked on since has been compared to that show. One of the sayings in my shop, “ at least we aren’t going to be 60 under water,” so no matter how bad a show is,it cannot compare to that! That all said it was a fantastic time,I was but a fledgling SFX GUY and this was my first introduction to this bizarre industry. I’m so proud of the the work that we all did! Cast was awesome, crew was beyond excellent, but a special shout out to the model maker crews! Those of us who were there ( there are few left alive these days) worked so diligently and with such great skills! Our supervisors were men who had worked on such films as 1941, close encounters of the 3rd kind, Star Wars, Star Trek the motion picture and Superman the movie, just to name a few! We where lucky to have been in the presence of such giant talents! We would go out as a team to the drive in on Saturday night ( our only night off) and watch Aliens we were so impressed by Jim’s abilities to tell a great strong story! We couldn’t believe that we as model making geeks had somehow found the good fortune to be on Jim’s next show! It was an education and it was a bitch! But then that’s life! I wouldn’t have traded it for anything,it trained my mind to think beyond the box! A skill that serves me well to this day! Many thanks to all who loved this film,it meant a lot to all of us as well! Cheers!
The scene where ed harris brings mary elizabeth back to life is one of the most powerful scenes I've ever watched, to this day it gives me chills and chokes me up
First off... WTF happened to the movie? It became one of the GREATEST sci-fi classics of th 1980's! The actors & crew spent 9-10+ hours A DAY underwater, and in extremely DANGEROUS situations! And, except for the opening storm & the ending, not including the cut killer wave scene, 95% of the movie is UNDERWATER! The fact is, James Cameron is a master filmmaker! And, throughout his career, he has invented underwater equipment that is now considered industry standard, and still used today! The mini subs used in both "The Abyss" & "Titanic", ALONG WITH THE DEEP WATER SUBMERSIBLE HE USED TO GET TO THE HE TITANIC NEVER EXISTED UNTIL HE DESIGNED THEM! So, just because you don't like the movie, and have absolutely no imagination of your own, using word by word narration from the original making of documentary, HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE MAN WHO HAS CREATED SO OF THE GREATEST MODERN SCI-FI CLASSICS OF ALL TIME!
@tahoemist98 It's interesting that some extremely immature people presume to be able to tell people what to say and what not to say, but no, I am not a troll. The other part, perhaps, but not a troll.
This is such an amazing film. It's EVERYTHING!!!! A super cool SciFi story, good action and suspense, AND a really great, mature love story. it's soooo underrated.
Questionable ending aside, this film is fantastic and holds up well even today. Seeing what they all went through to make it only pushes it even further into 'epic' territory..... ....and if you haven't seen Cameron's doc "Under Pressure" about the making of this movie, its on TH-cam. Go watch it. its amazing.
It is indeed a masterpiece (and I am really picky when it comes to movies) Nowadys really average movies tend to get rave reviews. I wonder if Abyss had come out in 2018, what critics would say about this epic.
I'll always have a soft spot for The Abyss. I saw it during the second or third week. There couldn't have been more than 10 people in the theater but I will never forget it. During Bud's descent, when they cut to that wide shot of him falling into the darkness. It was an incredible feeling of dread. Just an all-around amazing theater experience. I had no idea Leviathan and Deep Star Six came out first. I saw them both years later and they are both a SHELL of what The Abyss is.
Hopefully, before the end of the year. Cameron finally approved the 4K transfer around March of this year and post work and new sound has been going on for a few months. Was hoping for a summer release, but no word on any of the high-end video sites just yet. As of August 2019, it's officially 30 years since the release of the film. Got my pennies saved up.
Harris's drowning rescue and panic is exactly a real world example of a Navy SEAL BUD/s pool comp evolution.. Ironic there were SEALs featured in the movie. As a ex-SEAL I honestly love Michael Biehn.. good man.
I agree that the director's cut is the better version. It was the version I saw first and on laserdisc (I think?). So when I saw the theatrical release I was confused by the abrupt ending. I feel that the D.C. gives more answers and ends the movie better. One of my favorite movies still.
The Abyss contains one of the greatest scene in movie history when the crazy guy falls down the ravine and his pod implodes. That is the shown consequence of the dangers of falling into madness completely and without any possibility of escape. The film is about madness I think.
Ambition fails without expertise, and THAT is what happened to this great idea that could have been a great film (but sadly and infuriatingly was not).
@@bobski8203 Have you seen the 3 hour cut? Of course, if you just do not like the overall film, it won't matter..... No, The Abyss is not perfect, but expertise can never be gained without the ambition to have achieved in the first place.
I liked the fact the military guys weren't necessarily the bad guys. Nitrogen narcosis and pressure sickness does weird shit to a person. One guy literally removed his mask on a deep dive and started swimming deeper. After he was buddy rescued, he started talking about the pretty fish, which weren't there.
In the early 1990s when this movie came to cable, my girlfriend at the time and I watched this movie literally dozens of times. Every time it came on we were glued to the screen. The Abyss was, and will always be, one of the best movies ever made in my book! A true masterpiece!
@@budbrigman I got it of a Chinese seller on amazon.co.uk 8 years ago. I don't know if it's still available on there anymore though. I think there is a Chinese amazon now though so maybe there. It is an official release from 20th Century Fox China.
@@budbrigman Update: I checked with amazon.cn and it's sadly out of stock there. www.amazon.cn/dp/B0058ZOAOO/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_zh_CN=%E4%BA%9A%E9%A9%AC%E9%80%8A%E7%BD%91%E7%AB%99&keywords=The+abyss&qid=1556296923&s=video&sr=1-2-catcorr
Cameron doesn't want actors, he wants soldiers. And while people question whether the risks taken and challenges fought during the production of a movie are worth the result, i firmly believe that, personal experiences put aside, those obstacles enhance the quality of the end product. Sure, no actor should be required to force themselves to go to the lengths often required, but then again, those requirements weren't present by design, and i think that fact justifies them. The Abyss is a masterpiece, regardless of it's production troubles.
I can agree with you on that. Although we cant ask for actors to put themselves in harm's way. The best scenes in cenima came from either the actors not knowing much. And have a quality experience. Or they push themselves through said obstacle and overcome. In shows in the end. Like the original scene from aliens with the chest buster. The director didnt tell the actors. So the scene we get is them genuinely great the f out😱
You're trying to make a good point, but you are overlooking something. The Director is above all ELSE,, the Project Manager. And HR and safety manager. If he let's time constraints get so crazy,, that his actress has to lay topless on a cold metal floor for 4 hours then he is a FAILURE. These excesses could have been anticipated even if earlier on the same day and avoided.
Im so glad my Dad showed me this film! Because no one else really knows this Masterpiece ! Epic in everyway! Great film to study Filming, and Directing along with 2001!
I had a chance to speak with Michael Biehn at a Comicon last year; he was rather surprised that someone wanted to talk to him about The Abyss rather than Aliens or Terminator. We joked about how the movie basically went off the rails when his character was out of the picture. If you haven’t seen The Abyss before, give it a go. It’s fantastic!
Deja vu. I saw him in Allentown, PA at a small con in 2014. I probably asked him more about The Abyss than any other movies. I remember him saying it wasn't as difficult a shoot as people seem to think it was. That seems true to this video, where Biehn seems to be the only one who says he enjoyed the shoot. He definitely mentioned that he thought the movie ended when his character died and the rest of it is just unnecessary. I didn't really agree with him though. I was just saying I liked the whole thing. Shortly after that he basically said, well, nice meeting you, enjoy the con and brushed me off. It was a small con and I don't think there was even anyone behind me waiting to talk to him at that point. He just didn't seem to care for our conversation too much, LOL.
Awesome video, I knew there had been some problems behind the scenes on this film but I hadn’t realised it had been so bad. Still it’s another amazing movie from Cameron, I just wish there was a 4K release of it...
Thanks man! Don't get me started on the 4k thing... Cameron has been teasing that he's working on a 4k version for years, but still nothing. I had to buy a DVD version from some 3rd party seller on Amazon and it wasn't even the edition they listed (and not even true widescreen). Luckily it did include both theatrical and extended that I used for this video.
Ian Michael Jentzsch Yeah that DVD release was terrible! Was it that release that also had the cut version of the rat breathing the liquid scene? The aspect ratio suddenly changes and the picture goes really grainy in that scene.
I've got the Fox DVD with the Special Edition as well as the theatrical release and it looks quite good. I thought the DVD was non-anamorphic but the image is filling my HDTV screen just fine without zooming.
Excellent acting and superior script with one of the best directors in the business. What many don’t acknowledge is the character development was phenomenal, much like most of Cameron’s movies.
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
The fact that this is LEGIT filmed underwater....makes it ground breaking as well as its effects. The actors are top notch...this deserves 4K.
Same as NASA they film under water lol CGI added in ...BAM outer space
@@me3ksdagoat279 Tut Tut Tut, how dense...
@Straya 83 I"m reading the book came after the film, books always adds the extra layer of development.
What's absolutely nuts is the fact that the oxygen enriched water (which is actually an existing, real thing apparently) that was tested is mind blowing. And that it was really tested as a huge inspiration for the movie is a testimony of mankind in my opinion. The fact that it was the sparking of this idea that made Cameron dive deeper into the abyss (pun intended) of the idea took a real visionary!
Watching the Blu-Ray now :) Absolutely fantastic!
My father was a grip for this movie and everyday while filming, he said they were making gold.
He is very proud of it and so am I.
Your dad is a top chap.
Sounds epic
Brilliant film, absolutely gold!
Was their LSD in the water? LOL.
Intramotive Jones : It was great up until the last few minutes. They must have run out of $$$.
People can be so stupid at times.
The Abyss is a damn good movie.
Seeing the numerous challenges makes me appreciate the movie even more.
Wonderful movie Mr. Cameron!!!
Yes! I absolutely 'LOVE' this movie.
It is by far my favorite Cameron film.
right? Now that I know what it took to make it, I want to watch it again. That alone, makes it an amazing movie.
The Director's Cut is a damn good movie....the US Theatrical Release is just OK. That Tidal Wave sequence is critical for the end making any real sense.
@@raythulhu5143 - Both cuts are bad. The original has too little, the DC has too much. There's a lot of stuff he cut out that should have stayed out.
It was a boring film.
I absolutely LOVE The Abyss, why would anyone think it is bad??
Because they're Philistines.
Because uhhhh.... profit margins
That Rotten Tomatoes score they showed is actually quite good. Well above average.
Definitely the directors cut though! The cinema cut suffered with the cuts!
It has numerous scripting issues - the worst are the false act breaks. With a bit of restructuring it could work because the quality of the performances is pretty damn good.
This film is criminally underrated. It's absolutely amazing and not enough people even know about it.
@Johnny Five Next you'll be waxing poetic about the latest comic book adaptation from Disney.
..still under rated in 2019..and this kid who is narrating this video is a clueless moron lol
stars out good, becomes schlock toward the end
underrated? I knew that some movies which liked by most in my country could be fail in America. But how it's came that Abyss was disliked by American audience?!
Leviathan and Proteus are both way better than The Abyss.
30 years later and I still enjoy watching The Abyss.
right I love that movie
Yup, same here!
I enjoy it even more than back then.
I can't count the number of times I watched this movie.... I love it plus the making of it was absolutely breathtaking....it's a masterpiece...the only thing I would do now is the CGI ...just tweak it, don't replace it
30 years later and I should probably watch it.
I was nine in my defense.
THE ABYSS is one of the greatest SCI-FI films ever made. PERIOD.
no. PERIOD.
Well, COMMA, I don't think so. FULL STOP.
Can we utilize the full range of punction when discussing movies please?
Well, in America, The Abyss IS one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. Fuckin PERIOD.
Space balls is the best SciFi film ever made , Space Comma ,
The CPR chest pounding scene still makes me tear up just thinking about it to this day. One of the most emotionally acted scenes I have ever seen. It may just be my favorite of any scene I have ever watched. I loved this movie.
Absolutely. It rips your heart out.
@Cherish God Lol. I felt the same. She was a little much.
I agree! When I first saw it I didn't expect her to survive! I am glad they made it to where her character did come back. I never really thought about it until seeing this though, about how hard that must've been on her. I feel bad that she was so traumatized she could never even talk about it. Sounds like PTSD, actually. They were all so amazing and should be proud of themselves!
@Cherish God I don't remember them calling her a bitch except when Ed was trying to revive her and said "bitch you've never backed away from anything in your life now FIGHT!". But it's been a long time since I've seen it! I need to watch it again. And as far as her response to him when he was going down the abyss, I just chalk it up to people being different and handling things different. She was freaking out afraid she was going to lose him as she saw he was starting to have trouble typing. The part where he wrote "knew it was a one-way trip from the beginning" or something to that effect and "don't cry...wife" reeeeally got to me! I don't think that her acting ever made me doubt her character 's love for his character, though. But like I said, it's been awhile!
I'm trying NOT to divulge TOO much information but the opening scene was based on actual events, and I would like to know how, and from whom Cameron acquired that information. It was classified. OS-3 US NAVY inactive reserve NAB Little Creek Virginia🇺🇸🫡
For a film that “Barely broke even” it was one of the best movies of the late ‘80’s. Way to go.
Well, it costed 45 million and the world wide boxy office was 90 million. The 54 was just the US income. Never understand why they count only that some times. Amazing movie btw. Specially in their time.
This movie blew my mind as a kid... Remains one of my top 3 favorite movies.. (abyss, Jurassic Park, top gun)
cairo because the marketing budget is usually the same cost as the movie so that’s why they refer to that
@@kashmirha $90 million on a $45 million budget _is_ barely breaking even, since the box office earnings are split between the cinema and the studio. How much it's split varies - in the US the studio gets around 55% of every ticket sale, in other countries less, so round it out to about 50%. 50% of $90 million is $45 million, so yeah - barely broke even.
@@Werrf1 home cinema, screening, tv rights - I think overall, the movie did more than just break even
The Abyss is a visual, technical masterpiece!
Absolutely/ It was back then what Avatar is today. Technical masterpiece. Not many directors can pull that off and age well with time.
And....this film is still fucking AWESOME today....so I agree with James Cameron.
One of my favourite films.
I love this film, both the original theatrical version and the special edition director's cut.
That's the best thing about him as a director. His movies hold up. The time put in pays out for decades.
This movie was genius, people say it's slow but the pacing was fine.
I don’t care what the critics say... I love this movie totally captivating. Watched it so many times and never got bored.
Which version do you prefer? The theater version, or the extended version?
I prefer the extended version
Victor ~ me too!
Yes I watched uncut version... Loved it
Yes, the uncut version is the best.
The Abyss (in my opinion of course) is one of the best ever. I've watched in countless times, and it's still entertaining even after 20+ viewings.
Exactly but suppose people are running out of ideas on how to be a youtuber so are just finding ways by being negative about movies or whatever just by nitpicking.
Totally true. Ask ANYONE, it's one of those films that you can, not only, enjoy watching COUNTLESS times... but you don't EVER change, when you stumble upon, when channel surfing...
@@jshorto this guy doesn't do vids BASHING these flicks, he just focuses on the history behind films with batshit crazy stories, and incidents, attached to them. This video isn't meant to be negative OR positive. It's a subjective history of the films production, and release, based on old interviews and aricles, that's all!
My laser disc is pride of place......👏🏼
That's why it's a classic. And a crime that it hasn't been remastered for Blu/4K...
Personally, I LOVE this movie, and I even like the special edition.
Exactly what I'm saying this movie was great this guy's an idiot
Me personally, think JC is an absolute genius and madman. Would explain why he is one of the greatest directors to ever live.
@@mar10ssj1 He's still only human though. Stalker much?!
I loved both but prefer the Special Edition.
Ed Harris delivered an acting masterclass when he's trying to do CPR on Liz.
It's one scene that has made me shed a few tears.
Absolutely
Magnificent to this day ! Take any other actor and you have a disaster
Really Liz was great too. I have never seen two actors being so good and real in a Cameron movie before or since
Couldn't agree more... def one of Harris' best moments. Beihn is also perfect in this movie.
This is my favorite James Cameron film.
It's so underrated that it hurts.
Roger Kincaid ranking?
I really liked the concept of benevolent aliens in this movie, most movies portray aliens as the enemy. It seemed like a lot of people complained about that aspect of the movie but for me it really makes it a winner! Definitely one of my favorite sci-fi movies.
Which version do you prefer? The theater version, or the extended version?
@@michaelsong5555 Extended 🎬📽
Though it does get overlooked, there is no denying that the meticulous work done for this film paved the way for T2. Kudos!
@@mysterious144 I totally agree! I love the aliens! People say the aliens should have been totally left out of the movie but that was my favorite thing in it. Like you I love that they were benevolent.
I had no idea The Abyss was received so poorly when it was released. It is a beautiful, very human, movie It was good even without the cut footage added back in.
It was poorly received because it was poorly crafted and poorly executed. The least they could have done is actually ask a member of the U.S. military how they actually do things and perhaps even check with a real deep sea exploration crew about how that works.
Beyond that, they could have sent the main actors to acting lessons . . . basic ones . . . They needed them desperately.
--note on edit --
I absolutely hate these programs that "correct" your spelling and do it wrong.
@@bobski8203 To be fair, the actors received months of deep diving training before even getting a chance to actually start filming. The problems arose with the suits that Cameron wanted them to wear. They are very, very different from what your typical SCUBA is like, which is what all of the actors were already used to. Add on top of this the confusing setpieces and I can understand why there were so many complications. They were basically thrown into an entirely alien environment, wearing equipment that they were never given an adequate chance to get familiar with.
"Poorly crafted" is probably the most insulting thing I've ever read about this movie. Nearly half of the movie was shot underwater, and it actually managed to work because Cameron didn't want to let the idea go. His obsession also gave ILM a chance to completely revolutionize how CG effects were done back then, giving birth to an entirely new generation of amazing CG for the era. That's dedication to the craft, and when you're dedicated like that, you will make it good no matter what. Every fiber of his being was invested into this movie. The dude was even willing to give up half of his salary just to appease Sony so they would grant a production extension. If you don't think that's dedication to the craft, then I think you might need to re-think what it means.
Poorly executed, I can agree with that 100%. But there's also plenty of reasons why it was poorly executed. Hollywood studios do not like when movies go over budget, they also don't like it when movies take longer to make than anticipated. Cameron jumped to shooting prematurely, even before many sets were completely finished, because he knew that sooner or later the corporate overlords would be hounding him big time. Eventually they did, and the movie still wasn't ready yet. If he hadn't made the choice to start shooting earlier, the movie would have never been finished. If James Cameron were given all the money and time in the universe to make a movie, this wouldn't be a problem. This wouldn't be a problem for every film in existence, either. But money and time are finite resources, so sacrifices have to be made somewhere.
Not really sure what you mean about "acting lessons", considering all of the major actors in this movie were (and some of them still are, to this day) big name actors.
And, for what it's worth, I'm not even that big of a fan of James Cameron. I didn't like Titanic, I didn't like Avatar. And funnily enough, Avatar is his highest grossing movie of all time and it's really not that great. It was awesome the first time, because it features many incredible technological advancements in film. But it's just not that great of a movie. Cameron has always been about pushing the boundaries of film, and Avatar manages to do that, but it's not the same as something like The Abyss. This is a movie that took place in a domain that no other director or film studio wanted to mess with. The guy literally conquered a domain that nobody else wanted to touch, and he made a damn good movie while he was there. This all happening in the late 80's makes it all the more technologically impressive.
@@spartan456 --
Oh, I absolutely loved MOST of the special effects. What I don't appreciate about the move is that none of it happened the way it really would have happened, and the actors, if they had ANY talent at all, must have been horribly distracted. That only happens with an extremely bad director.
You talk about pushing the boundaries of film, and my contention is that this was done quite unsuccessfully and with a great deal of inattentiveness (i.e.by a hack).
Bob Ski I don’t see where the acting was bad. I own the director’s cut and watch it several times per year. It still sets me on the edge of my seat and conjures emotions. Maybe you need glasses?
@@bobski8203 You sound like the .00001% who had some technical knowledge. The rest of the audience wouldn't know and wouldn't care. Also, Harris and Mastrantonio are solid actors in everything they do. The "villain" also acted well and the rest of the crew was standard. I think the reason it wasn't well-received was because of the length and pace of the movie. I was 21 when it came out and loved it. When I saw the director's cut, I wished they would have gone with that. It would have pulled more viewers just because of the threat that was portrayed. It still holds up today.
Just saw the movie. Felt like James' version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and I love it. One of my favorite Sci-Fi films being honest. James Cameron is easily deserves to be called one of the best directors of all time.
I liken it to “The Day the Earth Stood Still” in the ocean. Especially when you compare it to the Director’s cut.
Yes he does!
the abyss is a masterpiece. to micro analyze the sum of the parts of the struggle in making the film is actually to justify the means. story/concept, the screenplay, the storyboards were all done by cameron before he toiled it underwater for a year with the actors. super unique, visually very satisfying, and conceptually genius. great film, not good film.
amen
exactly!
Shame about the fuck up at the end with the decompression. Oh, sure there's the line 'we should be dead, we didn't decompress!' 'They must have done something to us...' 'oh yes'.
Fine, alien woo. They 'did something'. What they DIDN'T do was tell them about it, so the question remains why a crew of the most experienced divers on the planet blundered out of deep core to what, as far as they knew, was certain death?
I love the film, especially the extended version, but that still bugs the crap out of me.
And don't forget.... several copycats were spawned. Whole genre(s) of underwater thriller/horror prevailed in the next 10 years.
"A fox executive barged into the editing room and told Cameron, 'you can either finish this up or personally go to 12,000 theaters and describe the movie for audiences, 4 shows a day." LMAO, that line floored me
Surprised that The Abyss wasn't more successful. As a kid it was a staple of sleepovers. Seemed like everyone owned a copy and everyone liked it.
Know the feeling! THIS was one of those movies that deserved so much more!
Yeah, As a 40 yeah old, I agree, everyone owned the VHS. I never knew it was disliked so much. I also never knew it was a James Cameron film until later.
I think it was poorly marketed and folks didn't get it in the first run, but it did well on video, etc. It's a damn classic and it's a bloody crime that it hasn't been remastered yet for Blu-Ray & 4K... It was great.
The movie was long, had no real big bankable stars, was marketed incorrectly, was hard to describe to moviegoers etc. It's not a surprise it bombed.
@@rustincohle2135 as in this video.. how would you sell 2001 to an unknowing audience?
why this masterpiece hasn't seen a Blu-ray release yet is beyond me. in fact, it is just mindblowing.
Apparently it's ready for Cameron's approval but he needs to sit and watch it and check the colour grading ect. Same for true lies
@@paullynch1246 its been 'ready' for years. studios and cameron are still are being cunts to each other at the cost of the release.
Not to mention True Lies never being re-released after 9/11 (so no bluray format). It's not even AVAILABLE on iTunes.
Level 99 I was lucky to get it on dvd. As of this date, no online digital download or Blu-ray. They must not like making money, cause I’d buy it in a heartbeat, and tell all my friends to buy it. Some who’ve never heard of this awesome movie.
they updated the Wiki for this; supposedly it was supposed to be out in 2017; and they were doing direct 4k scans of the master using a "wet scan" ?? it's reported to be absolutely amazing but; in true fashion; still not complete. double-edged sword apparently it actually took a very long time for them to approve the BD/4k release; but hey, transfer methods have improved, riiiight?
One of the BEST sci-fi movies I've ever seen.
Yes
Which version do you prefer? The theater version, or the extended version?
Check out Sphere. It's basically this film but significantly better in every way.
@@Lord_of_Dread Seen it. Great film too 👍
Book's better, though.
This film is insane. Just insane. The fact that he even got green light to drain a lake to fill a pool and put actors at the bottom is just beyond me. That would never ever happen today. Then again, the movie is insanely underrated as well. The recut makes it much better and for what it's worth, the film really changed the movie industry.
The Abyss was the second movie I ever saw in the theatres.
My parents tell me I sat there, wide-eyed with my lower jaw in my lap the whole time.
Groundbreaking.
I was 12 at the time and saw it 3 times in the theatre. It was amazing watching it on the big screen.
The scene where Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio says, "I'll drown, and you save me" is still, to this day, the most intense thing that's ever happened to me from just watching a movie. I was on the edge of my seat, freaking out to the sheer genius and terror of it.
very true. this is one of my favorite movies but I just can’t watch that scene. it’s terrifying
I agree.. that was an intense scene beyond words
True. But instead of waiting, they should've started swimming together, you know? So she could be a little less dead.
@@SuperScottCrawford Yes! She should have hyperventilated and then started swimming.
Is it just me who holds there breath when watching this, just to see if she might have made it.
I remember doing a report/review on this movie my junior year in high school- even showed clips from a rented VHS copy of the film (cuss words and all).
The human aspect of the story is what I personally love about the film. Ed Harris' performance in the Lindsey drowning scene is one of the most emotionally wrenching I have ever seen.
So good- yet so underrated.
I saw The Abyss on the big screen and adored it. The cast was amazing and the FX was mind-blowing. It still holds up even today.
wish we could get a nice 4k of this movie
other comments here speak of a 4k 30 year anniversary release that was due out in 2019.
I don't know if that actually released or not. Look for it.
I read Cameron hoped to get it (and True Lies) ready for blu ray this year, but obviously that's been delayed.
Not looking good at all. 😡 Disney holds the rights to the film since they bought 20th Century Fox and own their entire catalogue. In August they announced that they will no longer be releasing back-cataloged movies in physical format. They're sticking with digital streaming. Really sucks! Hoping that a third party (Shout! Factory) can pry it away from them.
@@ronaldh8446 that is so depressing :(
I wish we could get The director's cut that we were meant to see
It's a flatout great movie. Thank you James Cameron for your tireless tenacity and vision. Don't muck up the Avatar sequels!
Here here! We don't want to live through another Phantom Menace / Force Awakens
I don't want to live through another Avatar...the best looking shit film I've ever seen.
@@ThePereubu1710
Well you're less than 20 months away. Start gaining a taste for crow.
Avatar sucks!
@@BarrySlisk
Slightly flawed in clunky dialogue and too familiar archetyping, but yet told with completely competent craft and conviction - in impeccably realised technical innovation, design, and execution - is a pretty persnickety standard for proclaiming a thing "sucks".
This movie is absolutely amazing. From start to finish.
This was one movie that blew my mind as a kid, i truly love it for the memories.
The Abyss is an damn good movie, special edition is definitive version of the film. the original version didn't make sense with the rushed ending but the directors cut shows more scenes and that tidal wave at the end
The Abyss is one of my favorite movies. I wish the could rerelease it in IMAX 3D. That would be such a sight to see.
Oh hell yeah. That would be fantastic.
Dana says- Whoa! Incredible. I'd be first in line for that.
You'd never get to experience a movie of this calibre in this day and age ever again. Everything is CGI'ed and not to mention, the studios will NEVER allow such high risk for the actors let alone the insurance companies will opt out in a heartbeat. Back then, if you wanted something to look realistic, everything was done with props, not green suits. Actors and actresses back then had more grit and knew what needed to be done to get the shot right.
The closest actor I can somewhat relate this to is Tom Cruise in the MI franchise, still staying somewhat true to practical effects and doing his own stunts but still nowhere near what movies like the Abyss was.
You do know the "water tendril" was the first use of that brand new CGI technology in this film.... right? It went on to be one of the stars of T2 as the liquid metal effect for the T1000. I agree film making was different then, but CGI was invented for a reason. It helps great storytellers tell even greater stories.
Tom Cruise or Keanu Reaves are probably the only actors who would do such high risk work today. Only other option would probably have to find TV actors who wanted to make a name for themselves today.
You must not have seen the last Mad Max film.
@@leonefurlan137 I agree, theres definately an overusage of CGI nowadays, i mean in many movies they aren't even in the city, but instead get greenscreened into it..., but there are some exceptions, the movie inception for example, the scene where the rooms were rotating and the actors were fighting meanwhile, that was a real huge rotary machine that actually rotated this room with the actors in it.
Practical effects are still used all the time today.
I remember watching this when I was like 8 years old and it blew me away. The pacing was slow, but it kept my child-like attention because it was just so....cool. I can't explain it. The acting, the mystery, the suspense, those evil marines, the hints of alien life. And that powerful ending that made me wonder about how humanity fits into this world, and if we'll ever be punished for our violent ways.
I thought making the marines evil was a real shtty move, they are on the same side and they turn on their own? Sorry Chew, but the film lost me on that one.
@@Retro-Future-Land Haven't seen it in a while, but didn't the marines want to nuke the site the moment they saw indications of intelligent life?
@@chewface In the story and film they did, thus making the marines 'evil'. Very fcked up decision by Cameron to do this, he did a massive about face from being patriotic and supporting of his own countries military (in an allegorical sense) to making them the antagonist. He did so more times afterwards as well with Avatar etc.
@@Retro-Future-Land I mean, it kinda makes sense though. Sure, its a pessimistic view of our military...but its realistic. If we were to ever discover alien life, or an alien planet....our governments first response would either be a hostile takeover, leeching of resources, or utter annihilation if the first two options arent possible.
@@chewface That's more a current age view of things it's only in the recent history that such things in the Post-WW2 sphere have come about. In fact it's only in the past 30 years that shit really got out of hand to be quite honest with you.
I remember watching this movie at the age of 18 in a theatre with my friends and brother when it first came out. I can tell you: It was incredible. We had grown up on Star Trek and Star Wars pushing the limits, but this movie literally told us "They really can do anything with computers now." It's legendary for what it achieved, and the scope of the scenes and all the rest. It certainly deserves its place in the top tier of cinema history.
The Abyss is just a great movie!! How many movies from the 80s hold up so well today? This movie gives a new appreciation to what sailors, mariners, and undersea workers go through day in and day out. As for the extended parts, they made the movie BETTER!!!! They gave it motivation and depth and show the lesson of tolerance for difference.
@ Jurassic Park does not involve as much CGI as it appears to most though, and often not in the places most think it is. The T-rex vs car scene is a great example of that in using the limits of CGI at the time.
@
But what other thing has changed between every new Jurassic Park entry? The amount of dinosaurs. There was not a lot of screen time in the first one even comparing only to the second. Since the "wow-a-dinosaur!"-factor like anything else is a quickly losing novelty, it inevitably becomes a question of ever more quantity over quality. And of course having more of the same at the same (lower preferably) price rarely work. This is not exclusive to dinosaurs of course, it fits anything. Explosions, aliens.
That can be true, but it depends greatly on the environment. Kitchen dinosaurs be much simpler than lawn dinosaurs. Usually full CGI is still more expensive than partial though.
As much as I like "The Abyss", the real environment CGI that made the final cut does not account for a lot of screen time. And the integration of the "rescue" in the end I'd guess most would think looks very bad today. It can of course be explained by alien physics, but still. It does look very pretty, but believable by any stretch, not so much.
Starship Troopers is interesting though. It indeed has a massive amount of integrated complex CGI action. But on the other hand bugs are "simple" to do. And Verhoeven may even have wanted a bit unreal look to it for the surreal or comedic effect. It is a bit similar in his other works really, sometimes the tech even seem scaled back at times intentionally while other things look great even today. Not talking about just CGI but even tried and tested stop motion follow this pattern. Whatever the case, every sequels to ST looked worse. So nothing out of the ordinary really. ;)
That is not what I meant though. The question is why you can't tell, and what exactly you can not tell. Spielberg was just more experienced in knowing the rules of illusion. The Jurassic Park example I mentioned illustrates this well. Most viewers are naturally paying full attention to the (very real) dinosaur wrecking a car that they don't notice the car looking very unreal indeed. And really most of the scenes in the film do the same. When the dinosaurs actually are CGI they are in a simple environment, with more predictable lightning (kitchen) or hidden in shadows, rain or other environment effects to add life to them by distracting the eyes. When the first sequel came, we got ten times the dinosaurs, under full daylight, outside, in complex environments. And it just escalated from there of course.
Tech has moved forth. Film making..? Stepped back some maybe.
@ ""So you're saying....uh....the amount of dinos make...what? More recent ones better, CGI-wise? That the wow factor is gone, so...CGI has improved? The movies are shittier now, which makes the special effects of the first one not so good? I can't imagine how you meant that would make the CGI better now. ""
Very little CGI and practical effects is cheaper and simpler to make then lots of CGI and lots of practical effects. Concise enough of a concept?
"""At best you seem to be wandering off the reservation of what we were talking about and bringing up something else. At worst you seem to have lost your own point. Ah ha! This I can answer because you're back on point AND you've got an experiment where we have both the control and the variable to compare: The original movie compared with the exact same franchise later on. The very simple fact of the matter is the other movies don't look as good. Comparing JPI to JPIV and it becomes completely evident that the new ones don't look any better. ""
I don't think I have argued the later do look better though. Only why they would have a hard time to do so.
"""That's my whole point, a la Avatar. It STILL doesn't look believable. Ok, it didn't quite look right then. Agreed. Problem is, it's now 2019. Just saw Planet of the Apes. It looks less real by comparison.""
Sure. Though I doubt it was even meant to. It's just too much in any way one look at it to ever be believable anyway. Even if discounting the obvious that we would think so because we know it can't be real. It's simply beyond the suspense of disbelieve. Unlike Jurassic Park. We know there are no dinosaurs, but there could be, and we think they would look exactly like that because that is how we already knew dinosaurs would look. There were indications to make more scientifically accurate dinosaurs available to Spielberg well before production started. He chose to ignore those in favour of less realistic animals that we would think more realistic.
""They were on the cusp in 1994. They're still on the cusp. That's my whole point. Progress has been almost zero. Ok so they have more dinos or apes, or blue space hippies in a scene. Woo. Whoopie. Yay. That's not a great advancement. And it's certainly not an argument that they have advanced. ""
The cusp is the outset because ambitions are moved. Apes though, speaking of, may actually be more interesting in terms of CGI evolution than dinosaurs or smurfs. Compare "Congo" for example with later monkeys in "Kong" or "Planet of"
""Well again, all movies are taken as a whole and they all have a look. That's just how it works. It looks good or it doesn't. It holds up or it doesn't. JP looked awesome . Raptors per square inch or no raptors per square inch. If Verhoven was looking to shit his movie up, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, it was a goddamned cartoon. I take it back: Hanna Barbara would have thrown it back, saying "Scooby Doo doesn't look this shitty". ""
It was obviously meant to be a cartoon. But if one really managed to miss the entire not so subtle fifties B-film parody tonality of it, then I guess it can appear just plain modern B. The point is that the sequels do not have the tone, and just look like B TV productions from the nineties instead. And I guess the last one even is that. So no wonder really.
""There is a possibility, and you can take it or leave it, that Verhoven was just a shitty director who made a "B" movie with an F- grade, don't you think? Here's how bad it was: until you told me, I didn't know Troopers HAD sequels. And I'm a huge sci-fi dude. ""
Nah, Verhoven is clearly skilled and versatile. Which is why every attempts to follow up his work resulted in much lesser films, at best.
""Respectfully, that is absolutely wrong. It's 1) How good does it look? and 2) Is it getting better? ""
It's right because you are looking at the wrong thing if you want to argue the truth about tech evolution. "Hey, that dino is some amazing CGI!" "Well, that is actually not CGI at all, but never mind. It is the result that counts." :) Otherwise one be just comparing a sack of apples to a banana. What kind sense does that make.
""I swear, sometimes it seems like you're arguing MY position. The beauty of your questions are they all have both controls and the variables. ""
Your position that the first Jurassic Park is a better in every way than the all the sequels? It is. Maybe objectively so even. Does it have better CGI in a reasonably fair comparison than any of them? No.
""Ok, so if that's true, then explain "BFG".""
Big Funny Gun..?
IDK ..
""See what I mean? We were close to reality in 1994. ""
Not really, no. I still think "Final Fantasy" looked a bit more realistic than "The Lawnmower Man". And "Avatar" or "Alita" more so than both, despite all that mentioned inherent unreality.
""We're not much advanced from that now. That's *clear*.""
I really think you should to see the "Lawnmower man" though.
@ Sighs.. Even Cameron thought the few minutes of CGI in Abyss looked dated, even before the release of the film. The studio refused more work on it.
There are also only 15 minutes of dinosaur effects in "Jurassic Park" in total. And those include the 5 minutes of CGI. Yes, five minutes, partial CGI. If you still can't understand what the scale and level difference that makes to the sequels, or something like "Avatar"s pretty much two hours of full CGI, then you will never understand this "concept" either.
Wouldn't take stabs at any linguistic quirks if writing like you do. It's completely indecipherable at most points, and so thoroughly crude and childish at all times it's serves best to illustrate the standard fare troll-out-of-arguments you resort to.
Right down to the end. Nice touch there...
One of my all time favorite movies!
Same here
Yes!...what a surprisingly good movie,the emotion between the actors was awesome,the ending was amazing
was going to say the exact same thing. Amazing movie.
same here. Respect it even more now
This movie was awesome this guy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about
The extended cut is one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Nathan Bell this cut is the only way you can make sense of it,it’s a masterpiece
@@markhunter954 Agreed. It deserves so much more than a non-anamorphic DVD or Laserdisc as the only way to watch it. I've been hoping James Cameron will remaster this one for 3D. We at least need a blu-ray or HD download.
Never seen the extended, will have to look for it.
The extended version is a completely different film - as mentioned it changes everything
if i remember right, the extended cut was still cut by British censors to remove the rat scene on grounds of animal cruelty.
Just another example of the petty interference they impose on too many movies.
I don't know if its been restored for blu ray.
James Cameron has been my favorite director since I was old enough to know what a director is. This has been my favorite movie of his since I first saw it. The drowning/resuscitation scene is one of the most intense and emotional sequences that I've ever seen in a sci-fi/action movie. A true tour de force from everyone involved.
I love The Abyss. One of the great 80's movies.
Probably one of the reasons it's underrated, so many other good movies came out then as well. Keaton's Batman, The last crusade, Dead poets society, lethal weapon 2, the list goes on, many moviegoers spent a lot of money that year.
The Abyss is a true masterpiece, and for that matter, James Cameron is an all-around cinematic genius!
Hmmm not so sure. He’s definitely a bully.
Evil genius, is my conclusion.
That's why it makes me sick that he is stuck on all these bullshit Avatar sequels that are constantly getting delayed. Does anyone even want these damn things? Avatar might be Cameron's worst movie, besides Piranha II: The Spawning. I would rather watch True Lies than Avatar. He is such a legendary filmmaker and was always creating new worlds and great films. Now, he is stuck on creating endless sequels to an already forgotten movie. I just wish he would continue making great original movies.....or any movie at this point.
@@thefilmeffect6089 Well said, honestly, I think I would rather watch Piranha II to Avatar. Can't believe he's wasting his time and talent on more.
Kerry Pobanz you’ve seen Avatar? That movie was horrible.
One of his best!
Love Abyss!
When she purposely drowns and they bring her back to life, OMG crazy!!!
my son who has Autism at the time loved this movie( we had it on VHS) he would watch it and his first real sentence was " I Like the biss angels they b good" he is now 27 and has come a long way verbally through alot of hard work, and he still loves this movie.
Abyss was a great movie highly underrated that gives the viewer a bit of everything.
If you haven't watched it, watch the extended cut NOW.
Is it available via any of the streaming providers?
@@Deelifull AZMovies for normal version, Amazon prime for extended.
The Special Edition version with the Cold War subplot is really the superior version.
Agreed!!
Absolutely
I never knew this version existed. Downloading now! thanks!
@@TurboLazer007 you will love it. Completely different story with that information back in.
@Heyward Shepherd well, there is more to the story. A lot more. Basically, he was told to give the studio the movie or he would be required to go.to every single theater and describe the movie to the audiences. The studio was pissed at him. Terminator 2 came out and was only made possible by the new technology he had created to make The Abyss. He had to make it under 3 hours and he had to do it right then. Nowadays, he could pull off a good three hour movie.
"I felt like I was really gonna drown... and that PISSED ME OFF!"
-Ed Harris
That's deep shit.. understanding that you were there and you were scared.. it says alot about what kind of person you are. It probly made him seek enlightenment!
"Failure is not an option!"
This movie blew me away. Cameron managed to recreate a true sensation of claustrophobia, especially once it was DVD. Those lucky enough to have a home cinema were gasping for air throughout the movie. Cameron is such a LEGEND!!!
oh god. NUCLEAR. N U C L E A R.
Jesus christ.
Also the abyss is good.
NEW CLEAR!
IKR. just want to shout that the invisible second "u" is silent.
Personally, I prefer NUQUELUR
To describe my ex-wife. Hahahaha!
Also, there is no X in INESCAPABLE.
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This movie is a complete and total fu**ing masterpiece. In my top 3 of all time and I'm old enough to have seen T2 Judgement Day on opening day.
ME TOO!
me too
Saw T1 in an empty theatre as people thought it was some Cobra/Commando stuff
Me too
A total masterpiece, hahahahHHHaaahahaha. You clearly have never seen an actual masterpiece.
Such an awesome movie with yet another strong female who seems to be forgotten by everyone.
SengirShowsU, 30 years from now, who will remember Captain Marvel?
@@kamdan2011 I hope i will. For better or for worse ^^ But i sure hope i dont have alzheimers in 30 years. In 40 Maybe. But not in 30. Fingers crossed.
Who cares about a "strong female"? Most of us just care about a good story with actual characters rather than "diversity".
@@bigospig Exactly! That is my Point. That we had all that. Today is going backwards. That is not progressive. It is regressive.
@@bigospig That is absolutely right. But The Abyss has got both as well.
Ed Harris seems or definitely asked for no credit while making this film, yet he deserves a lot of recognition for his work. The fact he got mad at himself for being scared of dying, (in my opinion) shows his dedication to working on the film.
Back when movies were made out of REAL sets and adventure-like tasks for the crew/actors!
May the 80's/90's and early 2000's be BLESSED 🤟
@boostedsil40
Couldn't agree more
Interesting. You're seem to be talking bullshit :). James Cameron's movies - mostly straightforward, pioneering in many things, but with mostly simple screenplay. Take this Avatar of his - just a Pocahontas for adults. Now, take "modern UNREAL CGI movies" like A:IW. Comprehensive screenplay and characters, parallel story lines, character development and arcs, some thing are pre-planned years ahead. Who cares of CGI when you have the most internally comprehensive, developed, smart, and even humane (in some ways) villains of all times - Thanos, Black Panther Guy (sry, forgot his name), even Ultron has depth. Compare this to stupid and blunt Avatar "baddies", Aliens (although this is ok as they are of different type) and etc. Now wonder JC ranted about modern state of business - he is unable to keep up :)
@@mojeimja that's because those movies (Avengers and other superhero movies) are based on comic book story arcs written in the 80s and 90s, so some of it is actually good because those comic books sometimes had damn good writers who planned years ahead.
Chadwick Boseman
I think the title for this video should be 'How the hell did a great film come from this mess on set?!"
Though we all know the answer......James Cameron.
This is a great film and the fact that the shoot had so many problems that were overcome is a testament to the great Director that Cameron how brilliant his cast and crew were.
A lot of great movies come from messes. Look at Jaws.
Directors cut the only version to watch.
Totally, I didn't know about the directors cut until 2000, and my mind was blown.
Agreed.
I watched the theatrical cut a couple weeks ago. Loved it. Guess I have to rewatch the directors cut now!
100% I watched it on TV a few weeks ago, and all of the alien threat was cut out of the ending, just showed "I love you wife, then the ship rose up. Fuckin boo
@Finn MacCool Yeah. It's not the business of aliens to threaten us all with death in order to change our politics. The theatrical cut shows them as benevolent, the director's cut, tyrannical.
I thought this movie pulled you in from the get go, with Horner's choir and brass pulling you into the deep blue sea. May he rest in peace. The novelization was also great in fleshing out the story and making it more understandable. This movie SHOULD have been 3 hours long.
EDIT: My bad, the composer was Alan Silvestri as pointed out below.
It was not James Horner. It was Alan Silvestri who wrote the score.
@@huntress1013 DOH! I stand corrected.
"The Abyss" is one of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made. My opinion. 😊
It sure is
A velvet buzzsaw line from Jake? ;)
I don't think it is just your opinion.
I love this movie so much! Alan Silvestri's score is magnificent. Also quite possibly the performance of Ed Harris' career.
Alan Silvestri has quite a lot of scores to his credit. One that has gotten overly ragged on is "Van Helsing."
I agree, very possibly Ed's best role. A strong second for me is the right stuff.
And his most recognizable score will probably be Back to the Future.
@@Bonzi_Buddy from hearing the music, no doubt. But whenever I read the name, I think of the abyss.
Also a milestone in CGI effects; with the water-serpent predating the T1000 in Terminator 2.
Did you not watch the video?
That wasn't in the theatrical my dude- you're referring to the directors cut that was finished with CGI later.
@@swahiliranger1022
'But it was the sequence where the aliens manipulate a tendril of water which would prove to be the most signficant to the history of cinema. As Bud and his crew sleep, a column of water rises from Deep Core’s moon pool and explores the rig curiously. When Lindsey and the others wake up, the “pseudopod” - as it was known to the crew - mimics their faces in a magical moment of non-verbal communication.'
www.redsharknews.com/production/item/6304-the-abyss-we-look-back-on-james-cameron-s-groundbreaking-thriller
@@swahiliranger1022 'Only one shot of the pseudopod - where it transformed back into ordinary water - was composited digitally. The remainder were done traditionally, with various different render passes of the CG creature recorded onto separate strips of film which were then combined on an optical printer.
The 1990 Oscars ceremony saw The Abyss honoured with an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Within a year, ILM were at work on Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which pushed the art of CGI even further. In 1993, Jurassic Park was released, and by the end of the 20th century the cinema was awash with computer generated images, most of them considerably less convincing than their landmark predecessors.'
@@swahiliranger1022 Are you high or what? The "water serpent" was in the theatrical version indeed. At the time it was something never seen before and everybody was talking about it.
Isn't the girl from the abyss....
Gina Montana?
Tony Montana's sister?
She's an amazing actress.
Yep
She's also Maid Marian
She was also very good in 'The Colour of Money'.
Mary Elizabeth Manstrantonio
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Must take her forever to sign autographs
I always though Miss Mastrantonio and Madeleine Stowe were the two most beautiful women in film.
One of the best movies I have ever seen. The CPR scene still brings emotion.
WINTRELL fight god damn it fight.
OMG, when she drowns???? Sweet mercy! You'll put fingerprints into your chair watching that. Just...wow.
😱😭
That scene is truly amazing. I have to remind myself to breathe during the entire sequence from the voluntary drowning till resuscitation. Elizabeth is fantastic. Ed Harris gives it all. The way he refuses to give up, blowing out his voice in the process...the actors in the background in silent shock and pre-grief...that scene is the product of all that the cast went through in the making. I think Ed deserved an Oscar nod for that scene alone.
100% Best scene in the movie and moved a 40 yo man to tears@@Peatman
Still no Blu-Ray release for this or True Lies.
Both are classics and the lack of decent home cinema release is criminal - the DVDs aren't even anamorphic!
Yah, they said it would release over a year ago. I've been waiting forever, I believe it when I see it. I'm buying a new TV just for the Abyss.
They've been saying that both movies will get a Blu-Ray release "next year" for a decade.
True on this one, baldieman64. I'd buy both movies immediately on blu-ray. Or even UHD/4K. For years I sorely miss them in my collection.
Both have been broadcast in HD so to be honest, I might just skip the disk release and proceed directly to illegal digital copy - they obviously don't want my money.
@Sheila T. So do I. judge away.
Still waiting for the blu ray, the DVD isn’t even anamorphic so there’s bars on the side in addition to the top and bottom. I wasn’t a fan of the chick flick Titanic, so The Abyss is my James Cameron water epic.
Joe Nesvick not available on netflix, amazon or itunes which is a shame as Id buy in a heartbeat. Its one of those weird movies thats not available anywhere and Ive even tried to email any company involved to find out why.
Could've sworn I saw the bluray in bestbuy the otherday
vasheroo are you sure it wasn’t a DVD? I remember impatiently waiting for the Star Wars Blu Ray release, complete with Luke’s A New Hope intro deleted scenes, and a coworker said it’s already out before it was.
James Cameron says he’s too busy with Avatar 2 to release The Abyss and True Lies blu ray. I last saw True Lies on VHS, so I know not if the blu ray to that was any better. My Abyss DVD has an entire box around the screen because it was perfect for my tv at the time that I got it, it was like the year 2000
@@joenesvick7043 My version of The Abyss and True Lies is still VHS. Be nice to add a 720 version to my digital collection.
It's a Disney movie now, and I wouldn't be too shocked if they reissue many of FOX's movies again on both Blu ray and 4K
well even though the movie was a nightmare to produce the abyss was one of the greatest sci fi films ever hands down. where they really did well was with the special effects using CGI which was pretty damn good especially for 1989
The abyss is a masterpiece. Even if you don’t love the ending, it’s still an incredible production
I have the full Special Edition on DVD AND the original VHS release. I've seen it at least ten times with different people. My ex-wife saw it first with me and even she was stunned at how powerful and flat-out scary that movie is. During Mastrantonio's "revival" scene, she looked me and said quietly, "How the fuck could she DO that?" I've seen it with real-life engineering students and tech-heads and the looks on their faces was something to behold. One guy who was working on his master's in mechanical engineering said to me: "I don't even know how some of that shit is even POSSIBLE." I've had other science people and even film students tell me that the movie HAD to be mostly CGI because it just wasn't possible to do what was on the screen. When I told them that the ONLY CGI was in the "water snake," the tsunami waves, and Bud's trip down to the City/starship and then proved it by showing them the release date, one of them just shook his head and muttered, "Awesome, dude. Fuckin' awesome." The others simply refused to believe it.
Here's a little bit of trivia y'all might like. Cameron hired the author of "Ender's Game," Orson Scott Card, to hang out on the set--where it was dry--and take notes, then retreat to the motel and do a novelization of the screenplay. So Card got an up close and personal look at the storyboards and planning sequences and constructed an incredibly detailed backstory for all the threads and subplots running through the movie. At night, he'd go back to the motel, pound out a couple dozen pages and then bring them back the next day and show them to Cameron and the cast. The cast would read them and incorporate them into their own interpretations of their characters.
Case in point: the scene where Coffey is sitting near the Moon Pool, fiddling with the hoist chains and weeping, comes from Card speculating on Coffey's memories of being an abused kid growing up with a single mother, playing video games with no point except a single purpose: to win, and then joining the Navy and finding a real purpose for his existence. He's weeping because he sees himself as being a truly noble figure who TRIED to do everything right but somehow still managed to fuck up the most important mission of his career.
Read Card's novelization. It is SO worth it. It explains all of your questions, like why the hell the aliens were there in the first place and how they thought, what THEIR motivations were. It goes deep into the heads of everyone on screen and it's one of the best novels Card has ever written. I'm not real fond of Card because he goes all spiritual and swoony too often, but this particular effort is just as brilliant as the movie itself.
www.amazon.com/Abyss-Orson-Scott-Card/dp/0671740776
I had two friends who worked on the FX for The Abyss and both said that Cameron was a lunatic. lol One refused to ever work for him again... the other went forward and did Titanic with him later on. His reputation is quite deserved. Granted, he does make good movies. heh Kubrick was a nightmare to work with, yet made great movies, as well.
It's the drive never to compromize with their vison that makes them great. They know exactly what they want and they make sure to get it.
Kubrick far greater than Cameron.
"His name is James Cameron, the bravest pioneer. No budget too steep, no sea too deep...Who's that? It's him, James Cameron."
Hey there! I loved your review, however it was more dangerous then what you talked about I know because I was there! Yep,that was the second movie I had ever worked on. My first being “ Honey I shrunk the kids”. That was a interesting year,and I was overwhelmed by the site of Jim, and Al Giddings both my heroes at that time. Hours spent underwater were extremely hard,and keeping up with all of the challenges of production doubled the frustration. Over a year of my life was spent working on those models and filming them. We had a saying around the set,”Life’s an Abyss and then you Dive!” I can still taste that icky water! I have to date never been that cold again in my life! And almost every project that I have worked on since has been compared to that show. One of the sayings in my shop, “ at least we aren’t going to be 60 under water,” so no matter how bad a show is,it cannot compare to that! That all said it was a fantastic time,I was but a fledgling SFX GUY and this was my first introduction to this bizarre industry. I’m so proud of the the work that we all did! Cast was awesome, crew was beyond excellent, but a special shout out to the model maker crews! Those of us who were there ( there are few left alive these days) worked so diligently and with such great skills! Our supervisors were men who had worked on such films as 1941, close encounters of the 3rd kind, Star Wars, Star Trek the motion picture and Superman the movie, just to name a few! We where lucky to have been in the presence of such giant talents! We would go out as a team to the drive in on Saturday night ( our only night off) and watch Aliens we were so impressed by Jim’s abilities to tell a great strong story! We couldn’t believe that we as model making geeks had somehow found the good fortune to be on Jim’s next show! It was an education and it was a bitch! But then that’s life! I wouldn’t have traded it for anything,it trained my mind to think beyond the box! A skill that serves me well to this day! Many thanks to all who loved this film,it meant a lot to all of us as well! Cheers!
Terminator, Abyss, Aliens, what a resume Cameron has....!
Let's forget about Titanic and Avatar... :)
Hilton Hut Hey buddy! Yes, I do know Brick! I worked for him,and in Gaffney, Design Setters Burbank and Dream Quest!
The scene where ed harris brings mary elizabeth back to life is one of the most powerful scenes I've ever watched, to this day it gives me chills and chokes me up
I totally feel the same!
It's one of the most stupid scenes ever made.
Can we all talk about the music in this movie! WOW...Such powerful music!!
First off...
WTF happened to the movie? It became one of the GREATEST sci-fi classics of th 1980's!
The actors & crew spent 9-10+ hours A DAY underwater, and in extremely DANGEROUS situations!
And, except for the opening storm & the ending, not including the cut killer wave scene, 95% of the movie is UNDERWATER!
The fact is, James Cameron is a master filmmaker! And, throughout his career, he has invented underwater equipment that is now considered industry standard, and still used today! The mini subs used in both "The Abyss" & "Titanic", ALONG WITH THE DEEP WATER SUBMERSIBLE HE USED TO GET TO THE HE TITANIC NEVER EXISTED UNTIL HE DESIGNED THEM!
So, just because you don't like the movie, and have absolutely no imagination of your own, using word by word narration from the original making of documentary, HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE MAN WHO HAS CREATED SO OF THE GREATEST MODERN SCI-FI CLASSICS OF ALL TIME!
The crew had jackets that said 'Life's Abyss. And then you die' embroidered on the back. I had a good friend on the production. It was not fun.
Great works never are. This movie is SOOO underrated
That explains why it was so poorly done.
@tahoemist98
It's interesting that some extremely immature people presume to be able to tell people what to say and what not to say, but no, I am not a troll. The other part, perhaps, but not a troll.
i believe it was - and the you dive )
This is such an amazing film. It's EVERYTHING!!!! A super cool SciFi story, good action and suspense, AND a really great, mature love story. it's soooo underrated.
This makes me like Ed Harris that much more.
He's a badass
And Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
@jameshisself She is still working...
@@bustopherjones2285 Well to be fair, that's a respectably long name.
She's had steady work up to the present. Remember, Hollywood isn't too easy for older actresses.
Loved her in Robin Hood also.
if there's ever a movie that truly blew me away, this was it.
for the love of Plutonium! it's pronounced 'Nuclear'
NU-KU-LAR
@@Daemonarch2k6 NU CLE AR
He studied in Dubya´s school for morons.
There are those who glorify ignorance....they are called Republicans
@@amohammed3337 they're called Kim Kardashian fans
Man, you told the shit out of that story. Thank you for making this great video about one of my favorite movies.
The abbys is one of the most aliens underrated movies of all time...Greetings from Colombia south America..
A classic !!!
Questionable ending aside, this film is fantastic and holds up well even today.
Seeing what they all went through to make it only pushes it even further into 'epic' territory.....
....and if you haven't seen Cameron's doc "Under Pressure" about the making of this movie, its on TH-cam. Go watch it. its amazing.
The whole film BUILDS UP to that very ending. It is also a theory.
Abyss has that trademark Cameron ego and pretentious "message" all over it. That said, I enjoyed it vastly more than Titanic or Avatar.
It's pretentious to say our society is a shit show???
Eww, a "message"
ABYSS is a masterpiece. Unlike this clip, sadly so. Cut down on the silly irony.
It is indeed a masterpiece (and I am really picky when it comes to movies) Nowadys really average movies tend to get rave reviews. I wonder if Abyss had come out in 2018, what critics would say about this epic.
I'll always have a soft spot for The Abyss. I saw it during the second or third week. There couldn't have been more than 10 people in the theater but I will never forget it. During Bud's descent, when they cut to that wide shot of him falling into the darkness. It was an incredible feeling of dread. Just an all-around amazing theater experience. I had no idea Leviathan and Deep Star Six came out first. I saw them both years later and they are both a SHELL of what The Abyss is.
One of the greatest science fiction movies ever made.
Can't wait for the 30th anniversary 4K bluray edition coming out this year
Waaait what?
Wut? Srsly?
Hopefully, before the end of the year. Cameron finally approved the 4K transfer around March of this year and post work and new sound has been going on for a few months. Was hoping for a summer release, but no word on any of the high-end video sites just yet. As of August 2019, it's officially 30 years since the release of the film. Got my pennies saved up.
Holy crap maybe we'll see a limited release in special venues or IMAX.
What about true lies?
Harris's drowning rescue and panic is exactly a real world example of a Navy SEAL BUD/s pool comp evolution.. Ironic there were SEALs featured in the movie. As a ex-SEAL I honestly love Michael Biehn.. good man.
The theatrical release is a decent movie....the Extended Director's Cut is right up there with 2001, Citizen Cane and Gone With The Wind.
the ending is still kinda cheesy. Then again, 2001 has its problems too.
I agree that the director's cut is the better version. It was the version I saw first and on laserdisc (I think?). So when I saw the theatrical release I was confused by the abrupt ending. I feel that the D.C. gives more answers and ends the movie better. One of my favorite movies still.
The Abyss contains one of the greatest scene in movie history when the crazy guy falls down the ravine and his pod implodes. That is the shown consequence of the dangers of falling into madness completely and without any possibility of escape. The film is about madness I think.
The Abyss is an ambitious film, and closer to an epic masterpiece in extended form. Do you hear me ROGER RAMJET ??
Ambition fails without expertise, and THAT is what happened to this great idea that could have been a great film (but sadly and infuriatingly was not).
@@bobski8203 Have you seen the 3 hour cut? Of course, if you just do not like the overall film, it won't matter..... No, The Abyss is not perfect, but expertise can never be gained without the ambition to have achieved in the first place.
I liked the fact the military guys weren't necessarily the bad guys. Nitrogen narcosis and pressure sickness does weird shit to a person. One guy literally removed his mask on a deep dive and started swimming deeper. After he was buddy rescued, he started talking about the pretty fish, which weren't there.
i loved this movie but never had a clue how it was made. it made it even better to know what and how they had todo.
much respect for everyone involved
In the early 1990s when this movie came to cable, my girlfriend at the time and I watched this movie literally dozens of times. Every time it came on we were glued to the screen. The Abyss was, and will always be, one of the best movies ever made in my book! A true masterpiece!
One of the most amazing films ever made. Unreal. Never been released on Blu, and still not in anamorphic on DVD. (Note username--I'm a bit of a fan.)
I have an anamorphic releases of it with a 6.1 DTS-ES soundtrack. It's a Chinese DVD. I've had it for 8 years now.
@@Fedorevsky OH I need that. Where's the best place to find it?
@@budbrigman I got it of a Chinese seller on amazon.co.uk 8 years ago. I don't know if it's still available on there anymore though. I think there is a Chinese amazon now though so maybe there. It is an official release from 20th Century Fox China.
@@budbrigman Update: I checked with amazon.cn and it's sadly out of stock there.
www.amazon.cn/dp/B0058ZOAOO/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_zh_CN=%E4%BA%9A%E9%A9%AC%E9%80%8A%E7%BD%91%E7%AB%99&keywords=The+abyss&qid=1556296923&s=video&sr=1-2-catcorr
Cameron doesn't want actors, he wants soldiers.
And while people question whether the risks taken and challenges fought during the production of a movie are worth the result, i firmly believe that, personal experiences put aside, those obstacles enhance the quality of the end product.
Sure, no actor should be required to force themselves to go to the lengths often required, but then again, those requirements weren't present by design, and i think that fact justifies them.
The Abyss is a masterpiece, regardless of it's production troubles.
I can agree with you on that. Although we cant ask for actors to put themselves in harm's way. The best scenes in cenima came from either the actors not knowing much. And have a quality experience. Or they push themselves through said obstacle and overcome. In shows in the end.
Like the original scene from aliens with the chest buster. The director didnt tell the actors. So the scene we get is them genuinely great the f out😱
You're trying to make a good point, but you are overlooking something.
The Director is above all ELSE,, the Project Manager. And HR and safety manager.
If he let's time constraints get so crazy,, that his actress has to lay topless on a cold metal floor for 4 hours then he is a FAILURE. These excesses could have been anticipated even if earlier on the same day and avoided.
Im so glad my Dad showed me this film! Because no one else really knows this Masterpiece !
Epic in everyway! Great film to study Filming, and Directing along with 2001!
No one else really knows it? The Abyss is usually near the top of all "Movies Not Available on Blu-ray" lists.
I had a chance to speak with Michael Biehn at a Comicon last year; he was rather surprised that someone wanted to talk to him about The Abyss rather than Aliens or Terminator. We joked about how the movie basically went off the rails when his character was out of the picture. If you haven’t seen The Abyss before, give it a go. It’s fantastic!
Deja vu. I saw him in Allentown, PA at a small con in 2014. I probably asked him more about The Abyss than any other movies. I remember him saying it wasn't as difficult a shoot as people seem to think it was. That seems true to this video, where Biehn seems to be the only one who says he enjoyed the shoot. He definitely mentioned that he thought the movie ended when his character died and the rest of it is just unnecessary. I didn't really agree with him though. I was just saying I liked the whole thing. Shortly after that he basically said, well, nice meeting you, enjoy the con and brushed me off. It was a small con and I don't think there was even anyone behind me waiting to talk to him at that point. He just didn't seem to care for our conversation too much, LOL.
The Special Edition is the is the way the film should be seen
Some deleted scenes are best remaining deleted scenes.
I may be the odd man out, but I thought the SE was too preachy, and I really prefer the original cut.
@Gregster Haha! Exactly why I never watched it.
This is one of my all time favorite movies. I'm 59 years old and I have seen many movies. This is a great flick.
Awesome video, I knew there had been some problems behind the scenes on this film but I hadn’t realised it had been so bad.
Still it’s another amazing movie from Cameron, I just wish there was a 4K release of it...
Thanks man! Don't get me started on the 4k thing... Cameron has been teasing that he's working on a 4k version for years, but still nothing. I had to buy a DVD version from some 3rd party seller on Amazon and it wasn't even the edition they listed (and not even true widescreen). Luckily it did include both theatrical and extended that I used for this video.
Ian Michael Jentzsch Yeah that DVD release was terrible! Was it that release that also had the cut version of the rat breathing the liquid scene? The aspect ratio suddenly changes and the picture goes really grainy in that scene.
@@dreamcastfan I also own the DVD but the aspect ratio is totally off in the European version that I bought. Can't watch that masterpiece like this.
I've got the Fox DVD with the Special Edition as well as the theatrical release and it looks quite good. I thought the DVD was non-anamorphic but the image is filling my HDTV screen just fine without zooming.
Watch the doc "Under Pressure" mentioned in the above video. You can find the whole thing here on TH-cam and its amazing what they all went through.
Excellent acting and superior script with one of the best directors in the business. What many don’t acknowledge is the character development was phenomenal, much like most of Cameron’s movies.