The Abyss Special Edition DVD

by Tim Wick

The Abyss is one of my favorite films of all time. You can check out my top ten if you don't believe me. Movies like this one are what the phrase "edge of your seat" was invented for. In just over two hours, Cameron takes you from climax to denouement to climax again and again. Each climax is more tense than the last and each denouement makes you think the characters are finally going to be able to get some rest. The first time I saw this film, I just gushed about it. I didn't really talk about the special effects (which won the Academy Award) because I didn't even really notice them. I noticed the characters and the situations and the cool-ass cinematography. I did notice that the ending was kind of a let-down, but the rest of the movie was so good, I really didn't care.

The directors edition of the film was released on laser disc a few years ago and it really made the film complete. Much as I loved it, there was always something missing in my mind. The directors cut included the original ending and a great deal of scenes that focused on Bud and Lindsey's relationship to each other. Though this meant the movie clocked in at about two and a half hours, I thought the extra time was well worth it.

I never got to see the extras on the laserdisc, including the hour-long documentary on the making of the movie. Fortunately they are all on the DVD, along with a bunch more.

The DVD includes both versions of the film, meaning you can watch whichever one you prefer (the directors cut) along with a subtitled commentary track. I was a little disappointed that they couldn't get Cameron to do a voice over commentary track, but maybe he just didn't want to have his voice drowning out his film. You can also watch the documentary as well as a 10 minute featurette on the making of the movie as well. All the trailers produced for the film are available and then you get to the fun stuff.

The 50 minute documentary on the making of the movie is just amazing. You don't realize how much they had to go through to shoot this movie until you watch the documentary and realize what kind of nightmarish shooting schedule they were operating under. I didn't really realize that they were shooting much of the film underwater - I sort of assumed it was all some sort of effect. That was a stupid assumption and one that was busted a long time ago. But it is not until you watch the documentary that you are aware just how difficult what they were doing was.

Both the Laser disc and DVD include the entire storyboard of the film, hundreds of stills and conceptual drawings, but the DVD also has several brief shots on how some of the special effects were produced and a 20 minute "effects" reel that was distributed to voting members of the Academy prior to the Oscars. The effects reel includes descriptions of how each effect was achieved and I found it almost hypnotic. I loved seeing which shots were miniature, which were live action on blue screen, etc. Others might find this stuff kind of boring, but not me.

There is so much extra stuff on this DVD, they had to use two discs to pack it all in. There is a great deal of textual information including cast and crew bios, the shooting script and the original treatment, information on all of the hardware used in the film - I could go on and on. I think I need about another three days to get through everything that is there.

If you love The Abyss and you own a DVD player, this is something you must own. This is what DVD players are meant for. Get out there and buy this one.

I have no problem giving this DVD five out of five beakers.

The Abyss Special Edition DVD

Five out of Five Beakers