The Abyss [DVD] [1989]

Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are great as the estranged couple whose relationship is reconciled in the murky depths of an underwater trench,which is home to some peace-loving extra-terrestrials.

Despite the initial cuteness of the watery aliens, there is a very deep, thought provoking message in this film - especially intensified in the extended special edition version, which is way superior to the theatrical release. And how's this for value, BOTH versions are included in this box set.

Solid performances,excellent special effects and probably some of the best underwater photography you'll ever see in a movie, make this is a film that you MUST watch.

Despite excellent sound quality, and some astonishing extra features, this DVD is ruined by the fact that (like Cameron's Titanic before it), it is NOT presented in anamorphic widescreen - WHY are they STILL releasing some movies in this format?? This was a real let down for me, and I'm sure will be for other DVD buffs.

What a shame this ruins an otherwise excellent film and a great value DVD package.

In fact, what makes The Abyss so interesting is the ways in which it differs from the films that he'd already made. If Aliens was all about the idea of species colliding, and Terminator was a unstoppable violence-fest, then Abyss is the total antithesis; it's underlying subtext speaks of fear over unmitigated aggression and all the destructive tendencies of mankind are unashamedly condemned. Where in Aliens Michael Biehn's Cpt. Hicks is totally cool under pressure, severed from his chain of command, and forced to endure a situation beyond his training, Lt. Coffey is forever simmering just below boiling point.

Cameron's other films also talked about machines, and The Abyss is no exception. The other two pitched humans in direct conflict with two forms of mechanical beasts - The Terminator, famously "living tissue over metal endoskeleton", and the horrific xenomorphs of his action sequel which are undeniably mechanistic. In The Abyss, though, all the machines are passive and/or ameliorative forces. Plotwise it would be sinful to give away any more, but as a counterpoint to his previews works The Abyss makes an interesting study.

The Abyss is oft-overlooked. It is overlong, and there is sometimes a mis-balance between the tense buildup periods and the action sequences that follow - both sometimes seem either too long or too short. However, for the most part few audiences will take issue when Cameron's vision is so frequently awe-inspiring, and the polished production provides as many exciting moments as it does. The underwater photography is consistantly stunning, and the director never fails to involve the water when it should be part of the filmic environment - lesser helmers would have worked out numerous work-arounds for tricky sequences, like Ed Harris swimming around bubble-less under the belly of the rig (although the actor has since famously prickled over the making of the film). Because of this, the water maintains a brooding and threatening presence even when off-screen, the sense of the action being many, many metres below sea-level is never lost and adds a terrific subconscious element to the emotional fireworks. The finale is star-gazing film fantasy at its best, (and was later echoed in a similar sequence in Contact).