Stroll down to find the First Glance Review
I have seen both versions on the big screen. I remember when the abyss first come out, it was the summer of 1989. There were many good movies that summer, from batman, to indiana jones and the last crusade. I remember every time that I went to the show the movie was better then the last one that I saw. I remember waiting for Cameron to do a long awaited sequel to Terminator.
I knew very little about the movie. I remember hearing that the movie got delayed until August, since Cameron had to do some last minute cuts for it.. ranging from 171 minutes to 160, to finally 140. I had a read a review for it in the local paper.. the critic really liked it. He gave the film 4 stars out of four. It was on that review alone that I decided to see it. I don't usually agree with him on movies, however there was few that I did agree with him. I saw the movie. I liked it alot. I know alot of people didn't like the sloppy ending. I didn't mind that. I thought it had alot of heart, alot of action, and some really good acting.
I remember watching the movie many times in the theatre. I also remember watching it on video when it come out. I had alot of favorite movies that year. I think the abyss was number 2 or 3 that year for me. I remember when laser disc was taking off for a while. I didn't know alot about home theatre stuff then. I remember going to the stores and looking at the disc. I remember finally reading a magazine that talked about the abyss coming to dvd as a special edition. My aunt and uncle rented a laser disc player and the movie and we watched it. It was awesome. I remember seeing Siskel and ebert review on the show about the laser disc. I remember reading newspaper from other states and big cities about the abyss:special edition playing on the big screen. I wanted to see it very badly. I remember it played in San Fransico for a while. It was around the time that I was able to see it on the laser disc. I had gotten a job, that trained me for working. I had worked there for a few weeks and got my first paycheck. Guess what was playing in sacramento for me to see? yep The Abyss had come.. I only saw it once. It was a very nice crowd for a friday night. The audience seemed to enjoy it.
I remember when the scifi channel played the abyss. They had James Cameron hosting the special edition on the scifi channel. It was very cool. He talked about making it. I think he had made T2 and True Lies by then. Of all of his movies, Abyss was his favorite..until the other underwater movie come out. FOX video released the special edition on video in the widescreen format August of that year. I bought my own offical copy of it. It was cool.
Of course years later when dvd come. It took some time for the abyss to come here. it was worth the wait. Hope you enjoy the dvd as much as I did.
(QUESTION) Didn't the first release of the abyss on video come out in March too? Anyone rembember the date?
THE ABYSS THEATRE VERSION(1989) SPECIAL EDITION(1993)
CAST: ED HARRIS, MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO, and MICHAEL BIEHN
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: JAMES CAMERON
RATED PG-13
THEATRE VERSION 145 MINUTES, SPECIAL EDITION 171 MINUTES
DISC 1: Includes both Theatre and Special Edition, Text Commentary, Cast Bio, DVDROM
DISC 2: Includes Featurette, Documentary, Trailers, Special Effects videos, Screenplay, photos, and Text about the making of the film.
This is my favorite movie of all time. I must say that I am impressed with this dvd. I know alot of people are unhappy about it not being enhanced for widescreen. That is a shame if you guys don't get it. This is a true special edition dvd. You wish paramount would do this for star trek, or warner bros did it for batman. Sure some prices are high for a bare boned movie. This is worth the price of 34 bucks or whatever retail you get it.
I have seen the laser disc of the abyss and saw the same transfer in the abyss dvd. There is some noticeable grain and stuff, but it's very minor. I must say for the most part, this movie has never looked this good. It's very beautiful. The menu and the scene access is pretty cool. I must say that my favorite part is the text commentary. I know most people like to hear what a director has to say, but this you can still watch the movie and read the text. You are not missing much. I did have trouble using the buttons to get around a bit, at first. Just remember to use the select button, and the return button. You will also use the move buttons. There are 3 trailers for the abyss movie, plus trailers for other cameron movies. The documentary and the featurette are very good. You learn alot about what really happened during the making of the film.
This disc also has alot of text that you can read. It's very interesting read and easy to read on the screen. There is so much stuff on the disc, I have spent some hrs on it already, and still have stuff to do on it. there you have it. THE ABYSS IS HERE TO STAY (A least at my house it is)
2) THE ABYSS DVD AT THE DIGITAL BITS
3) THE ABYSS REVIEW AT DVDSHRINE
4) THE ABYSS DVD REVIEW AT GENRE
You can also order The Abyss Dvd from 800.com
A SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE TWO SITES FOR THE PHOTOS.
