The Abyss (1989)
- Cody Iden
- Oct 21, 2021
- 6 min read
Release Date - August 9, 1989
Synopsis:
After a United States nuclear submarine is lost, a group of civilian divers is enlisted to help search for survivors, but they soon discover that they may not be alone in the depths of the ocean.
Directed by - James Cameron
Written by - James Cameron
Produced by - Gale Anne Hurd
Cinematography - Mikael Salomon
Music by - Alan Silvestri
Distribution Company - 20th Century Fox
Cast:
Ed Harris - Virgil "Bud" Brigman
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - Dr. Lindsey Brigman
Michael Biehn - Lt. Hiram Coffey
Leo Burmester - Catfish De Vries
Todd Graff - Alan "Hippy" Carnes
John Bedford Lloyd - Jammer Willis
J. C. Quinn - Arliss "Sonny" Dawson
Kimberly Scott - Lisa "One Night" Standing
Capt. Kidd Brewer, Jr. - Lew Finler
George Robert Klek - Wilhite
Christopher Murphy - Schoenick
Adam Nelson - Ensign Monk
Chris Elliott - Bendix
Richard Warlock - Dwight Perry
Jimmie Ray Weeks - Leland McBride
J. Kenneth Campbell - DeMarco
William Wisher, Jr. - Billy Tyler (TV Reporter)
Ken Jenkins - Gerard Kirkhill
Any information listed before a / refers to the theatrical cut of the film, while information listed after the / refers to the 1993 Special Edition release.
Run Time - 2 hr. 20 min./2 hr. 51 min. Rated - R
Budget - $70 million Gross - $90 million
Review:
Theatrical Version:
The theatrical version of James Cameron's The Abyss is an exciting and often claustrophobic thriller, following a team of civilian divers who find themselves enlisted to help a group of Navy SEALs search for survivors of a nuclear submarine that was mysteriously lost. This was my first time watch of the film, so I decided to watch the theatrical cut of the film first and I felt a little bit let down by what I expected to be an amazing film. Now don't get me wrong, the film is an impressive achievement, but while I found the story to be interesting, even if it is somewhat reminiscent at times of an underwater Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the editing of the film felt very choppy to me, jumping from scene to scene with little explanation at times. The acting from Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn was excellent, with Harris and Mastrantonio really standing out as a bitter, estranged, but still in love couple, while Biehn is great as a completely crazed Navy SEAL. The special effects for the time were spectacular, but they don't seemed to have aged as well as other films of the 1980s, even Cameron's Aliens (1986) seems to have aged better. The rest of the cast, while good, is made up of mostly unrecognizable faces, though a young Chris Elliott appears in a few brief scenes. The score is haunting and at times memorable, but it is often very understated, but it all works for the story. At the end of the day The Abyss is a good movie, maybe even a great movie, bu I, personally, was left wanting something more.
1993 Special Edition
James Cameron's 1993 Special Edition version of The Abyss manages to improve upon the original film in almost every way. Firstly, the characters get introduced a little better, namely the supporting diver characters whose names were often hard to catch in the theatrical version. Also the pacing and editing is greatly improved being less choppy, and despite being much longer the film runs more smoothly with better transitions between scenes making it seem that some time passes between shots which was lacking in some sequences of the theatrical version. There are also several new scenes expanding on the relationship between Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, giving both accomplished actors even more time to shine. The two major areas expanded upon in the film's additional 28 minutes of restored footage is the conflict between the United States and Soviet Union and the film's finale. In regard to the conflict several new sequences of news footage covers the building conflict between the United States and Soviet forces and the possibility of nuclear war hovers over the film. This also ties into the film's greatly improved finale in which the aliens create massive tidal waves to wipe out humanity because of their warlike ways, only to find that there is more to humanity than meets than eye. The special effects seem more polished and the added effects shots in the finale are very well done. Having watched both cuts of the film, I would recommend the 1993 Special Edition as the definitive version of James Cameron's underwater adventure.
My Score: 80/88
Plot - 9/9 Cinematography - 8/9
Attraction - 9/9 Editing & Special Effects - 7/9
Theme - 7/8 Sound & Music - 8/8
Acting - 8/9 Directing - 8/9
Dialogue - 8/9 Enjoyability – 8/9
Trivia:
Author H.G. Wells introduced the concept of underwater aliens in his 1897 short story "Into the Abyss."
20th Century Fox was interested in Mel Gibson, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, Harrison Ford, Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze for the role of Bud Brigman but James Cameron convinced them to allow him to cast Ed Harris who he felt better fit the mold of an everyman.
Kathleen Quinlan, Jessica Lange, Debra Winger and Barbara Hershey were all considered for the part of Lindsey Brigman and Jamie Lee Curtis was nearly cast but she became unavailable while filming Blue Steel (1990). Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was finally chosen because of her performances in Scarface (1983) and The Color of Money (1986). James Cameron later cast Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies (1994).
Comedic actor Chris Elliott tested for the part of "Hippy" Carnes, the role that eventually went to Todd Graff. Chris Elliott was given the much smaller role of Bendix.
James Cameron declared this the worst production he has ever worked on, a sentiment that is shared by much of the cast. Ed Harris refuses to discuss the film and reportedly punched Cameron in the face at one point during production, while Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio has been quoted as saying "The Abyss was a lot of things. But fun to make was not one of them." Michael Biehn has often complained that he was in South Carolina for five months but was only called upon to act for about three to four weeks during that period, citing insanely long periods of waiting during the production. Further evidence is the fact that none of the cast ever worked with James Cameron again.
James Cameron had wanted to film much of the movie underwater, but it was later decided to film at Gaffney Studios in Gaffney, South Carolina which happened to be a half-completed nuclear power facility that was abandoned by Duke Power. Additional filming was also done in Bonne Terre, Mississippi which is home to the largest underground lake in the world.
This was one of the earliest films to make full use of CGI technology, which was done by Industrial Light & Magic. The CGI water effects for the water tentacle would be similarly used on Cameron's next film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
The film also had various other firsts including being the first film to shop out its special effects work to multiple companies, an idea that is now commonplace in Hollywood. It was also the first film to use Adobe Photoshop during production and it was also the first film to be released on THX home media formats.
Noted science-fiction author Orson Scott Card, best known for his Ender's Game series of novels, was hired by James Cameron to write the film's novelization, which features much more backstory for the characters of Bud, Lindsey and Lt. Coffey.
This is the only non-documentary film of James Cameron's career to not debut at the #1 spot at the United States box office. One of the more expensive films made at that time, the film was considered a financial disappointment, but it was not a complete flop.
The fluid breathing in the film is a reality and real oxygenated fluorocarbon fluid was used in the scene showing the rat breathing the fluid. Dr. Johannes Kylstra and Dr. Peter Bennett of Duke University pioneered the technique and they consulted on the film. The process has only ever been testes on animal subjects and the rats used in the film were not harmed by the process.
20th Century Fox pushed hard for Michael Biehn to receive a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscar, but they were unsuccessful.
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr., who plays Lew Finler in the film, was a professional diver who had worked with James Cameron previously on his directorial debut, Piranha II: The Spawning (1981). Brewer, Jr. committed suicide in 1990 and the 1993 Special Edition of The Abyss is dedicated to his memory.
The Abyss was one of five underwater sci-fi/horror movies released in 1989, the others being Leviathan, DeepStar Six, The Evil Below and Lords of the Deep. A sixth film, The Rift, was filmed in 1989 but not released until 1990. The Abyss was ultimately the most successful of all these films/
Availability:
Watched in September, 2021
Comments