Rating: 
Summary: Underwater Flying Objects.
Review: Very entertaining (when not trying too hard) underwater sci-fi involving a Navy sub in the Caribbean that's mysteriously sunk to the bottom, and the ensuing rescue mission. Director James Cameron wastes no time: the submarine is on the ocean floor very quickly with no time-wasting flourishes; the tactical problems faced by the rescue crew are myriad, bewildering, and involving. Too bad there's some mysterious Atlantean aliens down there mucking up what would've been a top-notch sea-adventure movie. The impression the movie leaves is that the screenwriters are just as unsure what to make of the underwater aliens as Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio & Co. are. We hardly even see the little suckers. Are they benignant or malignant? Are they really just silvery blobs of liquid mercury, cribbing Spielberg's *E.T.*-gesture of Universal Love -- e.g., the connecting of fingertips -- or are they old-fashioned B-movie baddies? Given the unknown quality of their status, and their very peripheral function with regards to rescuing Michael Biehn, the answer properly is: Who cares? And what little we DO see of the aliens doesn't prepare us for the ending, with its 1960's-Biblical-movie type of spiritual transcendence accompanied by a chorus of angels going "Ahhhhhhhhh!" *The Abyss* is ultimately a good movie and not a great movie because, as it wears on, Cameron becomes depressingly willing to abrogate originality in favor of what he perhaps perceives as time-honored plotting and visual symbolism from other films: the rescuers' pressurized get-ups are too close to *2001*'s space-suits for comfort (colored lights shining on the glass visors and so forth); the New Agey finale is too reminiscent of *Close Encounters*'s Give-The-Universe-A-Hug mentality; and I've already mentioned *E.T.* Cameron's own leaner, meaner, and better *Terminator* would provide an instructive contrast with *The Abyss*: the merits of striving for originality become quite clear.
Rating: 
Summary: The Abyss is a "Must Have" DVD
Review: The additional twenty nine minutes which greatly clarifies and improves upon the end of the movie would be reason alone to pick up this DVD. But this happens to be one of the best DVD editions on the market for a lot of other reasons as well. The Abyss is a great story with unforgettable moments galore. You'll be grasping your sofa cushions during the storm when the crane breaks and a string of visually and emotionally gripping events set the story into motion. The Abyss is populated with great relationships between the crew and moments of awe and wonder. The tense moments in this underwater action epic rival those of Cameron's other masterpiece "Aliens". Before I ever owned the DVD, I knew the Abyss had one of the most impressive THX soundtracks of any movie on the market even when it was on tape. Before I even had a surround sound system I was stunned at the sound coming from the two stereo tv speakers. The sounds put you right there under the water feeling the metal straining and really enhance the experience. The picture quality on this disc is also super clear and one of the very best. Beyond the movie on the second disc is an unforgettable hour long documentary on the "Making of the Abyss" extrapolated from one of the better articles ever written by the magazine Cinefex about the hardest shoot in movie history. This was a great article to read but with the DVD you get to actually see everything they were talking about from the gigantic water towers to the billions of little black plastic beads used to mask the sunlight in the giant underwater set. The documentary is very forthright about the dynamic on the set. Who was upset with who and how Ed Harris almost died and why. The Abyss shoot was fraught with real human drama of its own making this one of the best behind the scenes films you will probably find on any DVD. You'll enjoy some of the many crew t-shirts and posters. "Life's Abyss, and then you dive" is one of my favorites and thats one of the kinder ones. The art from the film is worth taking a look at as well. A slight downer is commentary on this film is restricted to subtitles. However I think the documentary nicely makes up for this. I picked up this special edition early on in my DVD collecting but it still stands as one of my favorites. It should be a favorite staple in almost anyone's video library.
Rating:
Summary: Belongs in your collection!
Review: This DVD is of excellent quality. Loads of extra's, beautiful presentation and the lot. The movie is amazing and started the "CGI boom" and thus a new era in movieland. The acting is tremendous in this film from absolutely everyone. The drowning scene with Ed and Mary is spine chilling and very emotional. Michael Biehn also shines as the navy seal who completely flips out. Cameron has done it again by creating a immersive and completely believable underwaterworld. His meticulous ways of having things looking as realistic and functional as possible really works out well this time. Bigger is better as far as underwater movie sets go. One comment on David Chute's remark "For a guy who likes guns as much as Cameron (his next film after all, was the body-count masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgment Day)",the underlying thought of terminator 2 was non-violence, I thought that was pretty obvious. Finally Cameron get's credit where credit's due. He truly is one of the great masters of modern day cinema.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: a great movie to buy for VHS but even better for DVD. the Sound quality is far better and so is the picture. So much features r on this DVD a very good buy. Now this movie is easily one of my favourites, this made me appreciate Ed Harris 's acting skills far more and Micheal Biehn, this guy pops up in every movie as a secondary character, a very good actor should be put in more leading roles. A lot of people say that Terminator 2, Jurassic Park or Total Recall were the movies that brought special effects to a whole new level but i believe that this movie started it all (well naturally Star Wars started it all but this took it one step further). This movie is one that keeps u watching through out, just one exciting event after another. Simply amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Cameron's *real* underwater epic
Review: Take one James Cameron movie, about a technological disaster at sea that forms the backdrop for a gripping love story. Add another blockbuster, about a motley crew of oil drillers called on to save the world. Sprinkle in a classic late 1968 movie about an outer space adventure to meet intelligent life on the other side of the universe. Add some neat science, a little humanity, cutting edge special effects, and a whole lot of water. Mix briskly. Serve... "The Abyss".Comparisons to "Titanic", "Armageddon", and "2001: A Space Odyssey" notwithstanding, this is a gripping movie. Some have called it overlong, slow, and boring. Not to my eyes. The action sequences are intense and suspenseful, tempered nicely by some highly charged emotional content. Any problems Cameron later ran into on "Titanic", he managed to solve perfectly here. That film's clunky script is replaced here by a techno-jargon packed (what were you expecting from Cameron's writing? Poetry?) story filled with minimalist but rather effective dialogue. Sure, there are some groaners that pop up once in a while, but they are few and far enough in between to be easily overlooked. When the sense of drowning and claustrophobia is this tangible, you can let the filmmaker get away with some mistakes. The motley crew is headed by Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who begin fighting like a recently divorced couple should, but slowly grow close again as the pressure of their circumstances closes in. They have great chemistry together in both aspects, and manage fine performances despite the rigorous on-set conditions (Harris, for on, has such ill memories of the shoot that he refuses to talk about the movie). The rest of the crew is like something out of a Jerry Bruckheimer film: familiar faces playing eccentric but two-dimensional characters (Todd Graff even looks like Bruckheimer regular Steve Buscemi). Only here, their humanity and professionalism shines through (although whoever thought of casting Chris Elliott should have realized what a distraction that would be). Michael Biehn, who plays the leader of the Navy SEALs team assigned to investigate the demise of a nuclear sub, gets to twitch and shake his way into underwater madness. And he does it quite well. As for the aliens, well, even though their ultimate purpose is unclear in the story, I'm not sure it really matters. Please accept their ineffableness, and admire their beauty. The water effects (which Cameron later adapted to create "Terminator 2") are still breathtaking. Imagine the impact they must have had on an audience in 1989. And the ending, which has been attacked and attacked and attacked, is no less believable or authentic than any other sci-fi movie. It has a wondrous Atlantis-risen-from-the-depths quality to it, that shouldn't be interpreted intellectually. Rather it is a highly charged and effective visceral moment that should be enjoyed as such. Just like the rest of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Symbolism, heart, and conscience
Review: What follows is a literary analysis that I have written for my students at Jakarta International School for a project they must complete based on a movie. I apologize for the lengthy text, but if you are interested in this film, I'm going to assume that you MIGHT be interested in reading the following. To wit, the theatrical version arrested my interest in intra- and interpersonal emotions. The special edition nearly suffocated me in the scope of Mr. Cameron's message: the development of the heart must supersede the development of technology - a theme persuasive in "Aliens", the "Terminator" movies, "Titanic", and "Strange Days". The three-hour special edition version of "The Abyss" by James Cameron emphasizes one symbol to deliver its message. Although both foreshadowing and irony are used, it is in the many symbolic uses of the abyss that is the focus and theme of this movie. The actual abyss in the Cayman Trench is, in the words of Catfish, "a bottomless pit, baby. Two and a half miles straight down." However, the abyss represents different journeys for the three main characters. Lieutenant Coffey falls into a psychological abyss which results in his death. First of all, he acquires High Pressure Nervous Syndrome, unlike the rest of the SEAL team which is under his command. He quickly becomes fearful of the strange underwater events that are taking place. Additionally, he does not trust the Deep Core crew (especially Lindsey) and he also realizes that they do not trust him. Retrieving the nuclear weapon as he is ordered also adds paranoia. After the umbilical with the Benthic Explorer is cut, he is left alone and in charge of his team and the nuclear weapon. This fear, lack of trust, paranoia, and sense of loneliness becomes hate when he sees the water tentacle. In varying degrees, his hate is directed towards the Deep Core crew, the other SEALs, and the NTIs. This hate leads him into an underwater chase which results in his death. After falling into the psychological abyss, he falls into the actual abyss. In his last moments, he realizes that he is going to fall to his death but that it is too late for him to be rescued. The abyss for Lieutenant Coffey symbolizes a journey of the worst of human emotions and dying in the blackness of his hate and fear. Lindsey Brigman falls into an emotional abyss which results in her rebirth as a caring and compassionate person. We are introduced to her by a character on the Benthic Explorer who refers to her as "the queen bitch of the universe." Although she is nice towards the Deep Core crew, she is rude and direct with Bud, from whom she is getting a divorce. This is apparent in a conversation with Bud about designing Deep Core: "I have four years invested in this thing." "And you only got three years invested in me." "Well, you have to have priorities." What begins to change her character is her encounter with the NTI ships. This awakens a childlike wonder in her and she feels the need to be believed. Although Bud believes in her skills, she now needs him to believe in her. This shows that she still cares for him, in spite of her strong words. Later, when she and Bud are in Cab 1, she decides to die in his place. Her argument is logical, but her act of sacrifice shows that she still loves him. The most difficult moment for her is when Bud is falling into the abyss and she must also "fall" into herself and express the true emotions that she had kept buried. The abyss for Lindsey Brigman symbolizes a journey into her true feelings and becoming a person who is comfortable with the depth of her emotions. Virgil "Bud" Brigman falls into an abyss of courage and responsibility which results in his rebirth as an "ordinary" hero. He has a strong sense of courage and responsibility from the beginning of the film, and this is clear in how he cares for his job and the Deep Core crew. Early in the movie, he tells the Navy and his boss, "... when it comes to the safety of these people, there's me and then there's God. Do you understand?" It is this sense of responsibility that makes him endure physical difficulties in order to stop Coffey from launching the nuclear warhead. He swims in the freezing cold to the Moon Pool and fights with Coffey. After Lindsey sends Coffey into the abyss, Bud must be more courageous than he has ever been to accept Lindsey's decision to sacrifice herself. He then must be further courageous to not quit trying to revive her. Bud's courage and responsibility reaches its deepest when he decides to wear the fluid breathing suit and defuse the nuclear bomb. "KNEW THIS WAS ONE WAY TICKET. BUT YOU KNOW I HAD TO COME," he types into his keypad. This ultimate courageous act earns him the respect of the NTIs and a second chance for humans to stop killing one another. The abyss for Bud Brigman symbolizes a journey into courage and the ultimate selfless act. Of the three main characters, Bud changes the least internally, but the way in which the world and the audience see him changes. In these ways, the abyss symbolizes different journeys into the deep for the three characters: hate, love, and courage. While there are elements of foreshadowing and irony, it is the symbolism of the abyss that Mr. Cameron emphasizes. Perhaps the abyss for the audience is a three-hour journey into the realization that technology has developed deeper than morality. Certainly life on earth would be much more pleasant without nuclear weapons and the beings who made them. In the words of one character, "They love their children, too, right? So why're we doing this?" Maybe our journey into the abyss results in a question we have learned to ignore: Why are we killing each other? Perhaps the NTIs represent the movie "The Abyss". Why did the humans in the film need the NTIs to realize how insane it is to build weapons of mass destruction? Why do we need a movie like "The Abyss" to realize why we should not be killing one another? "The Abyss" is more than just a movie about a "bottomless pit," it is about how humans are becoming like Lieutenant Coffey and how we need to be more like Lindsey Brigman. And we need the courage of Bud Brigman to correct this for the future, the earth, and our children. Cheers to James Cameron, Michael Biehn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Ed Harris, and Gale Anne Hurd. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Cameron's Art Show
Review: James Cameron's art. That's pretty much what this movie is. It was Jim's chance to make a film that would be an experience in emotions. What is this movie? Is it overlong and boring? Nay, it's a well-paced journey into a superb adventure that makes one singular statement. Adventure can be subdued and still amaze you. I have seen this movie many many many many many many times and I still enjoy it. When the special edition came out I watched it and I wondered how I ever got along without it.. Lots of people think it's waaaaaaaay too long. Whenever someone tells me this I point them towards Kevin Costner's director's cut version of Dances With Wolves which runs over 240 minutes! Hello, headache! These are visionary films, people! They're supposed to be long! Ah well. Like it or not this movie is well-crafted and emotional. I have never been able to watch the episode where Mastrantonio's character risks her life so Harris' Bud can drag her back to the rig with only the slimmest of chances in reviving her. Several reviewers here have voiced their opinions that this is absurd. But it's true that this CAN happen. oops, scuse me. *teary-eyed* Great, work, Ed Harris, I felt your pain. Ahem. All Clintonisms aside it was a fabulous sequence full of anguish, despair and in the end there was hope. Wonderfully executed. The hydro-alien beings were awesome. Not only were they unique in their designs but the technology as well. I haven't seen the concept of underwater aliens since reading the White book The Watch Below. Tho fairly short overall it was a remarkable image. True this method of proving humanity's own faults to itself has been done many times in the past but this time it was done even better than usual. Watch The Abyss with an open mind. Just let it flow around you like the water in a forest stream and you will never be disappointed with it.. I wish the DVD had a commentary on it, tho. That's the main reason I buy DVDs in the first place. Still a wonderful experience, tho.
Rating:
Summary: ...the abyss also gazes into you.
Review: Simply excellent. The Abyss was already a favorite of mine after seeing it in the theaters, it's even better with the expanded scenes. It's another great, original work from the director of Aliens and Terminator...not to mention Titanic, the biggest money-maker of all time. Movie aside, whether or not you liked the movie, you HAVE to see the making of the abyss. This WILL give you a healthy respect for the movie, the actors and everything involved with bringing this film to life. I had no doubt after watching it that this had to be the most incredibly difficult film to ever have been made! The Abyss is a great sci-fi flick. It's entertaining and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Five Stars...two thumbs up...what else can I say? Check it out!
Rating:
Summary: A Major Event
Review: The release of "The Abyss" on DVD would in and of itself be a great thing,even in it's original version,as the pan-and-scan,muddily transferred VHS version didn't even remotely do justice to James Cameron's visionary sci-fi classic.The majority of the film takes place under-water or in dark,claustraphobic interiors with harsh lighting contrasts that tax any format's limitations,and are atrocious on tape.But with this edition,not only do you get DVD's vastly superior resolution and deep,dynamic(and hiss-free)sound,you also get the director-approved 171 minute version of the film,with many crucial scenes restored that help to elucidate and greatly clarify the emotional and narrative sub-texts only hinted at prior.The troubled relationship of the main characters,Bud and Lindsey Brigman(Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Masterontonio,both excellent) is here fleshed out and examined at greater length to give much more emotional heft to the stellar final scenes.Also,most importantly,a very long scene at the end is restored to make clear the intentions and motivations of the benign deep-sea visitors,adding an even deeper level to an already compellingly complex story.All that would be enough,but on this DVD,that's just the beginning;this package marks a new standard for Remastered classic-plus-copious-goodies that hopefully other editions will emulate:to versions of the film(original and special edition),commentary,two feature-ettes,trailors,a documentary,special effects sequences(multi-angle!),the complete screenplay....well,as you can see,this is LOADED.If you're a die-hard fan of the film...well,you probably already have this,but if you saw the original and were dissappointed,try this DVD.I think you'll change your mind.(A word of caution-unfortunately, the DVD-ROM extras on disc two are Windows-compatible only-they won't work if you have a Macintosh,as I found out the hard way--but it's still worth the money.)
Rating:
Summary: Plunge into "The Abyss"
Review: "When you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you."-Friedrich Nietzche In December of 1997, director James Cameron released what would eventually become the "most successful film of all time": "Titanic." This film was the triumph he had been searching for, winning 11 Oscars, with three to take home for himself. Everyone knows of this movie, whether they have seen it or not. But what they don't remember is that, back in 1989, Cameron released a film that was not only better than "Titanic" in story and visual style, it was also the most difficult film to make in movie history. The movie I'm talking about is "The Abyss," a film that not too many people have seen. I suppose that is a good thing, because during the summer, Cameron re-released his deep sea masterpiece with 28 minutes of extra footage that improve the film ten-fold, filling in plot holes, developing the characters better, and giving us some incredibly powerful visual passages. "The Abyss" stars Ed Harris as Virgil "Bud" Brigman, the captain of a deep-sea oil rig that has been petitioned by the US government to "cooperate in a matter of national security." In a nutshell, a nuclear submarine crashed and now rests in 2000 feet of water, and with a hurricane approaching rapidly, the military could never get their rescue crew in on time. The rig crew is commissioned to use their rig to go in under the storm with a team of Navy SEALS to enter the sub and search for survivors. We soon learn that this part of the mission is, in fact, only half of the military's full intent. The leader of the SEAL group has been commanded to retrieve a warhead from the sub, arm it, and wait for further instructions. Along with the military aspect of "The Abyss," there is a science fiction element that is extremely captivating, and it is in this aspect of the plot that the 28 minutes of new footage play a pivotal role. While the crew of the rig is battling with the pressure induced psychosis of the SEAL ringleader, Coffey (Michael Biehn), it is becoming ever more apparent that there is a non-terrestrial intelligence of some kind looking around the bottom of a two and a half mile deep abyssal trench. The coming of the NTI's is preceded by a loss of power in all systems, making visual documentation of their presence nearly impossible, which leads Coffey to believe that these intelligent beings are actually Russian submersibles. Meanwhile, amongst all of this military mumbo-jumbo and alien talk, "The Abyss" maintains its earthly elements, making it the most believable science fiction film ever made. For instance, the marital disputes between Bud and his soon-to-be-ex-wife Lindsey (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) make for some of the film's best passages of dialogue. And as it becomes more and more obvious that they don't hate each other as much as it would seem, James Cameron sneaks in some very romantic tidbits that make the love story in "Titanic" look like children's reading. Furthermore, each and every one of the characters in this film has their own unique personality, their own way of looking at things, and that makes us care about them. And to further my praise of this film, spanning everything from the military conflict to the aliens to the love spats between Bud and Lindsey to that adorable little white rat that is always hanging on Hippie's ear, there is a building tension that is accented flawlessly by incredible action sequences. And there is one scene in particular, arguably the best one in the movie, when Lindsey and Bud are trapped in a flooding submersible with only one dive suit, and very intense sequence of events follows, by the end of which we are left breathless by the intensity in the performances, particularly Ed Harris. The original theatrical release, though visually stunning and groundbreaking as it was, was like a completely different film for its last ten minutes. "The Abyss: Special Edition" is a perfectly well-rounded film that drowns the original cut in its wake. It is a wonderful film with many memorable scenes, an outstanding musical store, and eye-popping visual effects that I maintain to be some of the best ever done. "The Abyss" is one of the greatest movies ever made.
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