| | | | The Abyss
(1989) |
hen a military submarine mysteriously burns up in the ocean, government suits arrange for the crew of an underwater oil-drilling platform to investigate with two U.S. Navy SEALS and a science expert in tow.
The teams, led by cynical deep-sea veteran and reluctant divorcee Bud Brigman (Ed Harris -- whose even more on edge than usual, when he discovers ex-wife Lindsay (Mastrantonio) is the expert in question).
As they go deeper than Axel Foley, our heroes discover strange alien activity in the ocean, and come face to face with a beautiful but bizarre H2o shape changer. Extreme tension soon takes over, as Brigman comes into conflict with the SEALS and begins to find that all is not how it seems. Can they make it above sea level before the military mind takes over, Cameron poses the age-old question of Discern or Destroy, educate or eliminate? The answers can (just about) be found in The Abyss.
On a purely technical level, you have to admire Jim Cameron's audacity and steely determination as writer /director, to even get this hulking, machine of a movie in-front of the cameras. Logistically insane, and more than a little harsh on the actors, 'The Abyss' is about one man's cinematic vision and the lengths to which he'll go in order to achieve it: Cameron would return to the sea almost a decade later in the equally extravagant, multi-Oscar winning epic, 'Titanic' but for now, 'The Abyss' is as deep as it went, with a 7 million gallon water tank on location.
Perhaps the reason Cameron doesn't give himself cameos, is because he's practically in every frame: Jim's influence and unique style oppresses The Abyss like Skynet's favourite T-800 on acid. I mean a 170 min film about deep sea diving isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea, but sure enough, Cameron's major theme about the "collision between technology and the unknown" (J.C) is maintained throughout, thus ensuring that the movie never becomes boring.
Another element which works in it's favour, is the acting; Ed Harris is great as Bud Brigman, Harris' performance consistently saves his character from the realms of blue collar cliché whilst Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ('Scarface') is also pretty convincing as his know-all wife Lindsey.
The rest of Bud's crew do a good job, but seem as if they'd be best pals with the colonial marines from 'Aliens': for they're straight out of the Jim Cameron 'Nudge n' Wink Cheeky Chappys Having A Laugh In Oppressive Conditions' handbook.
Surprisingly, it's 'Terminator' star Michael Behin (complete with villain's tache) who gives a powerhouse performance as a nuke happy marine who cracks under the pressure. Behin is often, unfairly, portrayed as a B-actor, when I reckon the truth is much simpler: Michael's only good in a James's Cameron movie, kinda like the way in which Kyle MacLachlan does some of his best work alongside David Lynch, and the reclusive Gary Sinese takes over whenever he's in a Ron Howard movie.
 Don't forget that The Abyss is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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Although Cameron wasn't quite 'King Of The World' in 1989, we're still treated to a couple of suspect plot twists, and some Spielberg style 'sugar on your frosties' moments, which seem to work despite their obvious flaws: Health departments should take note to be sure get yourself an Ed Harris, who'll shout and slap your patients to good health, and hey, if all aliens are a bunch of tree hugging' hippies, then the fat cats and polluters have absolutely nothing to worry about, because they're all talk and no tidal wave...
"The Abyss" is a great movie, very well acted, directed and with some excellent SFX which are still quite impressive; but a little more depth (no pun intended) and a less "...the world's a fine place and worth fighting for" ending would've made it an absolute classic.
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James Cameron contacted Orson Scott Card before filming began with the possibility of producing a book based on the film. Scott initially told his agent that he doesn't do "novelizations", but when she told him that the director was Cameron, he agreed to consider it. The script arrived, and Card signed on after receiving assurances from Cameron that he would be free to develop his "novel" the way he wanted to. After a meeting with Cameron, Card immediately wrote the first three chapters, which dealt with events concerning Bud and Lindsay Brigman that occurred before the events in the film. Cameron gave these chapters to Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who used it to develop their characters. 
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Michael Beihn played a Navy Seal in "Navy Seals" with Charlie Sheen and was also in "The Rock" with Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery.
Ed Harris said "I'm not talking about the Abyss and I never will".
Michael Biehn said of director James Cameron "When he's making a movie he doesn't allow his good naturedness to get in the way!" (Michael Biehn)
The first movie released under the THX laserdisc program.
Hard evidence that James Cameron had plans for world domination: From "The Terminator" up until "Titanic", every Cameron movie featured a nuclear warhead.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio said of the film "The Abyss was a lot of things, fun to make is not one of them"
"I do very much care; Look, I don't pretend to come out of every movie friendly with everyone like we're one fuzzy, warm, hippy commune..." (Jim Cameron)
In the Abyss, Michael Biehn's character gets bitten on the arm by another character, this happens to him in every James Cameron movie he's in - see "The Terminator" (1984) and "Aliens" (1986).
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check out this list: ..... Empire Strikes Back ..... Night of the Comet ..... Aliens ..... Back To The Future ..... Last Starfighter ..... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ..... Circuitry Man ..... Brazil ..... Blade Runner ..... Thing ..... Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ..... Return to Oz ..... Starman ..... Somewhere In Time ..... Strange Invaders ..... Short Circuit .....[More]
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The Abyss is widely regarded as the toughest shoot in movie history. The actors spent up to 11 hours a day on set, which, incidentally, was located 80ft down, near an incomplete nuclear reactor! Apparently, the water was so heavily chlorinated that Ed Harris's hair began to turn white, Ed Harris hated working on 'The Abyss' and has consequently never spoken to anyone about his experiences.
Abyss pioneered the liquid effects, which Director James Cameron would exploit further in 'T2: Judgement Day' (1991)
The 'oxygenated fluorcarbon emulsion' featured in the film is the real deal. It was developed from experiments in the late 60's, though after some dubious results with a saline solution on a human subject, it was banned from being tested on people. However, the more modern fluorcarbon version has been successfully used on animals. The scene where the rat, Beany (although there were several rats used), is submerged in a small tub of the stuff is genuine, though in the equivalant scene with Ed Harris, he is just holding his breath. There is also a medical version being developed by a pharmaceutical company as a respiratory therapy. -Thanks to Kell
Cast members had to become certified divers before filming began.
The masks were specially designed to show the actors' faces, they had microphones fitted so that dialogue spoken at the time, by the actors, could be used in the film. The noises made by the regulators in the helmets were erased during sound post-production.
The scene with the water tentacle coming up through the moon pool was written so that it could be removed without interfering with the story, because no one knew how the effect would come out. The actors were interacting with a length of heater hose being held up by the movie crewmen. When the effects were completed, they surpassed everyone's wildest hopes.
The crew frequently spent enough time underwater to force them to undergo decompression before surfacing. Cameron would often watch dailies through a glass window, while decompressing and hanging upside down to relieve the stress on his shoulders from the weight of the helmet.
The tank was filled to a depth of 40 feet, but there was still too much light from the surface, so a giant tarpaulin and billions of tiny black plastic beads were floated on the surface to block the light. During a violent storm the tarpaulin was destroyed, thus, shifting production to night time.
Very few scenes involved stunt-people. When Bud drags Lindsey back to the rig, that's really Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio holding her breath. When the rig is being flooded and characters are running from water, drowning behind closed doors and dodging exploding parts of the rig, those are all actors, not stunt-people.
Some of the cast and crew hated working on the "Abyss" so much that a few special T Shirts were made for the company, Like "Cast member on the "Abuse" " or "Hey, you can't scare me, I've worked for James Cameron" and "Nuclear Missiles, Aliens and James Cameron, talk about an adventure". -Thanks to Mick Snode
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|  |  |  | | The Abyss
Locations |
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 Featured Movie Location: The Ocean
Wanna see the real life filming location used for The Ocean in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at The Giant water tanks at the Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, located in Gaffney, South Carolina. [New! Show Google Map]
The underwater scenes were filmed at the half completed and abandoned Duke Power Company Nuclear Power plant that had never gone online. Duke Power is estimated to have put appox. $500 million into developing this site from 1977-1983 before abandoning the project. The two tanks used had a combined capacity of over 10 million gallons. The film company ran out of money and so the sets were never broken up and may remain there to this day. However there is no access to the public.
See any errors? Something we've missed? [Let us know]
|  | | | | ![[Letterbox -NOT 16:9 Enhanced]](lbx.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Featurette, Notes, OutTakes |
| Our
Comments: THX 2 disk set |
| | | | Trailer, Featurette, Notes, OutTakes |
| Our
Comments: Special Edition |
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Scored by movie music legend Alan Silvestri (The Mummy, Back To The Future etc) similar to the banging doors effects used for the Terminator movies.
1. Main Title - Silvestri
2. Search The Montana - Silvestri
3. The Crane - Silvestri
4. The Manta Ship - Silvestri
5. The Pseudopod - Silvestri
6. The Fight - Silvestri
7. Sub Battle - Silvestri
8. Lindsey Drowns - Silvestri
9. Resurrection - Silvestri
10. Bud's Big Dive - Silvestri
11. Bud On The Ledge - Silvestri
12. Back On The Air - Silvestri
13. Finale - Silvestri
[Thanks to Paul Shrimpton]
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