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The Abyss (Special Edition)

The Abyss (Special Edition)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DVD loaded with great stuff
Review: The amount of extra stuff on this DVD is staggering. The text commentary is cool(but i would've preffered an audio one) and the documentaries on the making of this film are great. You apreciate the movie more once you learn what an innovative filming process it was. I keep finding more and more cool things on the second disc, like the tape sent to academy members with 20 minutes of special effects footage which eventually netted the Oscar for best visual effects. Tons of extra stuff, this movie really is loaded!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "Abyss-mal" is more like it
Review: OK, so maybe this movie isn't awful, but geez, it is pretty water-logged. I was very disappointed in The Abyss, which I had never seen before and only recently bought on DVD. Forget about all the DVD extras. What I want to know is...IS THE MOVIE ANY GOOD??? And the answer is mixed, leaning more toward the negative.

The Abyss is about an hour too long, with way too many sub-plots for even a sharp guy like me to follow. Underwater aliens, crazy Navy SEALS, nuclear warheads, drowned women brought back to life...after a while, it just got ridiculous. Worse, I suppose, are the many scenes that are simply flat-out preposterous. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio drowning and coming back to life by being slapped by Ed Harris was a real howler. So was Ed Harris's interminable plunge to retrieve the warhead (sink already, Ed, sink and end this film!!!) and then being told to cut "these" wires but not "those" wires (come on, Mr. Cameron, is that the best you can do?)

The Abyss proves that Cameron is a far superior director than he is a writer, as the film is gorgeously photographed. Again, too many explosions, floods, unintelligible screaming and general mayhem to keep my interest (the first 10 crises were interesting, then it got numbingly boring). The love story was achingly predictable, and the aliens really had no point at all, as far as I'm concerned. They merely looked like an excuse to show off some fancy computer effects.

A few years later, Cameron improved drastically on this near-dud with the taut, gripping Terminator 2. Skip this one, though. It's all wet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The REAL End is there!!!
Review: I read this book (I think from the screenplay) before seeing the movie and was very disappointed when I did see it. Last night I watched the special edition and I could not believe what was cut from the theatrical release! I was really impressed with this ending as it did answer alot that was left out in the theaters. This was definitely worth buying!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Wonderful DVD
Review: I picked up this copy of The Abyss on a whim, really. I remembered enjoying the film when I was younger, and was in the mood for something new.. so here comes The Abyss.

This DVD is fantastic. There are more special features on the DVD then you could shake a stick at. The movie works wonderfully on DVD, as most all of them do. The added footage, as stated by another review before this one, really does change the entire meaning of the film. It adds more thought to the ending of the film then the way it ended before.. and it helps give people a bit of perspective as to how our behavior here on Earth could be, and very well might be, viewed by outside sources.

Truly a great movie, and wonderful DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: I enjoyed the original theatrical release, but always felt the plot needed some filling in. (who would have thought some idiot editor would cut critical information, dialog?)This DVD included 28 minutes left out the of theatrical release, totally changes the whole movie. (Leaves me wondering about the other movies I didn't quite get)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Terrific movie, well formatted DVD
Review: This is probably my favorite DVD. I'm a long time fan of the movie and this edition makes it even better with all the extra features. A must-have for any s.f. buff.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Reasonable, but that's all
Review: It has come to my attention that, for me, James Cameron movies don't always bear repeated viewings. I remember seeing the theatrical release in the early 90s. I thought it was great, though it took a while to find its legs. Ten years later on DVD, I did not find this film nearly as interesting. The trouble was, I saw the "Special Edition", which was stupid. The ending is laughable (I'm talking, "Mission to Mars" sort of laughable). The extra scenes act as dead weights, making what was already a long movie something drawn out, tedious, and self indulgent.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ultimate DVD masterpiece
Review: If ever there was a movie deserving of all that DVD has to offer, this is it. The Abyss was neglected upon it's original theatrical release and it was only the later released special edition, restoring (and completing) the finale that gave this sci-fi/romance masterpiece the attention it deserves. If you have only seen he theatrical version and dismissed it as "ET underwater" or "Close Encounters of the Wet Kind" then you owe it to yourself to enjoy this movie the way it was meant to be seen. Beg, buy, borrow, or steal this DVD to see the Special Edition in crisp clean digital picture and mind blowing sound. The bonus material will keep you busy for hours including the one hour making of documentary as well as nearly 30 chapters of information on every aspect of filming from casting to the restoration. Each vehichle/submercible gets it's own chapter as well as the famous wave sequence and a truly amazing (and sometimes humorous) look at the creation of the pseudopod sequence making use of DVD's multiple angle feature to allow you to switch between storyboards, raw footage, in process effects shots and the final footage.

Aside from marveling at the amount of care and detail that went into making the film, the special edition also brings even greater resinance to the love story- the true heart and soul of The Abyss. Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio have never been better. Watch the special edition movie on disc 1 then dig in to the ultimate DVD treat on disc 2.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: James Cameron once again proves himself a master . . .
Review: Long before he sank the Titanic, James Cameron proved himself a master story-teller with his underwater adventure The Abyss. Like most James Cameron flicks, it has everything--special effects before its time, thrilling action sequences, speculative technology, and a touching love story. I don't know how Mr. Cameron does it, but I love almost every movie he's made. And you have not seen this movie until you've seen the Special Edition. It explains so much, such as the aliens' motivation.

As a bonus, the DVD comes with a lot of nifty extras, as every great Special Edition DVD should.

My only problem with it is a minor one--I don't know if I bought a defective copy, but the 5.0 Surround doesn't work when I watch the Special Edition--just the theatrical version.

That's the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5. Other than that, it's a visually and emotionally stunning movie, and a cool DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best deep sea thriller ever!
Review: A nuclear missile submarine sinks, so the Navy calls on the crew of a deep sea oil rig to travel to the sunken ship and find out if there are any survivors. Lindsey (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and Bud Brigham (Ed Harris) discover mysterious, oceanic forms that are intelligent while they're deep underwater. Unknowingly, Bud and the crew are also carrying a couple of betraying criminals that are making nuclear weapons onboard their ship. Bud and the crew have to do something about these madmen and their nuclear weapons before the bombs blow up the whole ocean.

"The Abyss" is a SPECTACULAR movie to say the least. At its time of release it had some of the best special effects ever seen, and also a great plot and superb acting to go along with the effects to make this a great overall movie. "The Abyss" has many turning points such as when everybody thinks Lindsey is dead, and when the underwater creatures first show themselves to the whole crew. With all these turning points comes a lot of miracles as well, but that's what science fiction is all about!

The makers of "The Abyss" really knew how to get the suspense going, especially when someone is on the brink of death, and then suppress the heart stopping moments with spectacular outcomes that are real satisfying. I recommend anybody who likes sci-fi movies or just great overall movies to get "The Abyss." I don't see any reason why anybody who likes science fiction wouldn't like this movie. It's one of the few movies that will never get old. With the years going by, "The Abyss" will just get better.


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