My memory of The Abyss goes back to the spring of 1989, when I saw the original teaser trailer on E's Coming Attractions. Now, of course, the experience is a little different, but to a 10-year old kid, some flashy light, choral music and a neat logo were more than enough to put the film in the 'must see' category.

So I waited a couple of months, picked up Premiere's summer preview issue, put the release date (the magazine said June 16, but it would eventually open in the middle of August) in the back of my head, and.... never saw it. (Good thing, too, as I don't think I would have gotten it then.) I had seen bits and pieces of the film over the years, but never the whole thing.

Then about two years ago, I was haunting my local library's DVD collection. Lo and behold, there was a copy of The Abyss (in its 2-disc form, no less). "What the hell, it's free and I have it for a week..." was my thought process. About five days later, I was thinking differently.

"Wow." "That was great." "I really liked that movie."

How did I switch from a pessimist to a optimist that quickly? I'll get to that in a second. First, some details about the film itself...

Back in 1989, The Abyss was released theatrically at 140 minutes. At the time, the idea of a film running more than two hours in theatres was considered taboo, as most exhibitors preferred to have two showings a night. James Cameron's cut of the film pushed three hours, so something had to go. (As a side note, Cameron makes it very clear in the disc's supplements that the cutting was his choice, and no one else's.) A subplot involving a nuclear warhead was cut, and the 140-minute time was reached. Even so, it was still the longest studio film in 20 years.

The three-hour epic was back in vogue the next year, as Dances With Wolves made money and won a couple of Oscars. After Cameron completed a director's cut of Aliens for its laserdisc release in 1990, he began work on reassembling his original cut of The Abyss. The new 'Special Edition' cut, now clocking in at 171 minutes, had a brief theatrical run in early 1993, then was released to laserdisc later that year in what would be called one of the best box sets ever pressed. Thankfully, Fox has transferred all those supplements onto two DVDs (both cuts are on the first disc, and at a significantly cheaper price).

The film begins with the crash of the Navy sub USS Montana along the edge of a two-mile abyss somewhere in the Caribbean. Since the Navy can't get rescue crews out in a reasonable time for any possible survivors, the crew of Deepcore, an undersea drill rig, is pushed into impromptu service. Not only is the time frame short for any possible rescue, there's also the matter of a hurricane on the way. The pressure on foreman Bud Brigman (Ed Harris) only increases when he finds out that a SEAL unit led by one Lt. Coffey (Michael Biehn) is assisting in the search. Lastly, and most importantly, his just-about-ex-wife Lindsay (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) decides to tag along, as she was the lead designer on the rig in the first place.

Things don't get any easier for the crew. There are no survivors, and the SEALs take one of the sub's warheads after US-Soviet tensions disintegrate and the two nations are on the brink of war. Worse yet, Coffey starts showing signs of High Pressure Nervous Syndrome while having the firing sequence for the warhead, and the rig is stranded after a crane disaster (courtesy of the aforementioned hurricane). Plus, Lindsey swears she saw something out there... something not unlike 'a dance of light'. What happens afterward will alter human history, and put a smile on the faces of hopeless romantics everywhere.

First off, I prefer the SE cut of the film. I've tried to watch the theatrical cut, but even though it's a half-hour shorter, it moves slower than the SE. Plus, the added subplot in the SE gives some much needed depth to the story. In the SE, the aliens save Bud because he was willing to sacrifice himself by defusing the warhead, thus showing them the good side of humanity. In the theatrical cut, the aliens save Bud because he showed them love, through his feelings for Lindsay. By cutting the aliens' message to the world and what the filmmakers called 'Atrocities Greatest Hits', the scope of the film is greatly lessened and makes the aliens cutesy instead of able to pass judgment on humanity. When all is said and done, it's a Special Edition worthy of the name.

The acting is fantastic. Cameron's got a knack for top-notch ensemble casts, and The Abyss was no different. Harris and Mastrantonio lead the way as the Brigmans. Guess I might as well add this now: After seeing the film, I'm convinced that if Fox had been gutsy enough to release the film in its three-hour form around, say, Christmas 1989, Harris and Mastrantonio would've merited serious Oscar consideration. This assumes a lot, though - Fox essentially gave Cameron $45 million to make whatever movie he wanted. So, he'd felt great pressure to get the movie out in time for a summer release. It is nice to dream, though... That isn't to say theirs are the only performances worth talking about, however. Biehn, Todd Graff and Kimberly Scott all shine with their roles - all three get little character bits extended or added in the SE cut, filling out the film even more.

When you see the words ‘A James Cameron Film’ on a poster, it’s normally a sign that the visual and aural areas of that film will be top-notch. The Abyss is no different. Mikael Salomon and Al Giddings manage to capture the undersea world beautifully with their cinematography. The wizards at ILM outdid themselves with the combination of common 1988-89 FX technology and early CG work, garnering an Oscar for their efforts. Alan Silvestri’s score is typical of his other work for action films, save for the last fifteen minutes, where a chorus and orchestra elevate the music from typical to awe-inspiring.

In a surprising move, Fox issued this on DVD without anamorphic enhancement back in 2000. What that means in English is that it doesn't look nearly as good as it should, especially on widescreen TVs. Salomon and Giddings’ work suffers the most, as the clarity an anamorphic transfer brings is missing here. There have been rumors of Fox revisiting this title with a new transfer later this year, so if you're keen on getting this for your widescreen TV, you might want to wait...

The extras... oh, the extras. I don't know if a making-of book hit shelves in 1989, but I can't imagine it being more comprehensive than the supplements included here. And now that Fox has reissued the 2-disc set, there's absolutely no reason at all why you should settle for the single-disc version. While Cameron’s producer Van Ling provides an interesting text commentary to go with the film, the bulk of the extras are on the second disc.

The best extra is the 1993 documentary “Under Pressure’, where still-scarred actors and crew members talk about the tough production honestly and forthrightly. Practically every major actor is interviewed, with the exception of Mastrantonio. No punches are pulled when Cameron’s methods are discussed (the language gets a bit salty at times) and the doc is better for it. The original featurette is also here, for completists’ sake.

The rest of the extras provide a detailed look at every facet of the film's production, right down to the different crew jackets and T-shirts. Cameron's original treatment and screenplay is available (and accessible to those of us without DVD-ROM drives). There’s also Easter eggs all over the place. Although with the release of the Alien Quadrilogy set, a lot of this has been repeated. That teaser which caught my 10-year old eye? It’s also here, with the rest of the film’s trailers. The package is capped off with a ten-year old message from Cameron that touches on his reasoning for making the film (and surprisingly still resonates today).

Fact is, this is one of DVD's (and laserdisc's) gold standards. The Lord of the Rings extended editions may boast of longer documentaries, but this is still a jam-packed special edition. The only thing that's missing is a Cameron commentary, but that's not likely to come anytime soon. It’s a great film given excellent treatment. By all means, seek this out.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV