- Actors: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff
- Directors: James Cameron
- Writers: James Cameron
- Producers: Gale Anne Hurd, Van Ling
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC, Import
- Language: English, Spanish
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Fox Video
- Release Date: Jun 1 2004
- Run Time: 138 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005V9IL
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Product Description
From Amazon.co.uk
Meticulously crafted but also ponderous and predictable, James Cameron's 1989 deep-sea close-encounter epic reaffirms one of the oldest first principles of cinema: everything moves a lot more slowly underwater. Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some "issues" to work out, are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL (Michael Biehn) with a top- secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on earth, and the petro-techies have the only submersible craft capable of diving down that far. Every image and every performance is painstakingly sharp and detailed (and the computerised water creatures are lovely) but the movie's lumbering pace is ultimately lethal. It's the audience that ends up feeling waterlogged. For a guy who likes guns as much as Cameron (his next film after all, was the body-count masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgment Day), it's interesting that the moral balance here is weighted heavily in favour of the can-do engineers; the military types are end-justifies-the-means amoralists, just like the weasely government bureaucrats in Aliens. --David Chute
Amazon.com essential video
Meticulously crafted but also ponderous and predictable, James Cameron's 1989 deep-sea close-encounter epic reaffirms one of the oldest first principles of cinema: everything moves a lot more slowly underwater. Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some "issues" to work out, are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL (Michael Biehn) with a top- secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on earth, and the petro-techies have the only submersible craft capable of diving down that far. Every image and every performance is painstakingly sharp and detailed (and the computerized water creatures are lovely) but the movie's lumbering pace is ultimately lethal. It's the audience that ends up feeling waterlogged. For a guy who likes guns as much as Cameron (his next film after all, was the body-count masterpiece Terminator 2: Judgment Day), it's interesting that the moral balance here is weighted heavily in favor of the can-do engineers; the military types are end-justifies-the-means amoralists, just like the weasely government bureaucrats in Aliens. --David Chute
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple title - complex movie,
By
This review is from: Abyss (DVD)
All the elements are there to make this a fun "sit on the edge of your seat" movie. You have a nuclear sub accident that just gets worse as it goes you have conflict between authority types and free wheelers. There is a love interest (attraction at a distance). Will he make it or is it out of time or out of air or out of distance maybe out of patients. Who knows?Aside from the story there a re great effects and many panoramic scenes. There are lots of bubbles, an abyss and maybe some Ruskies. If you like all those submarine movies this fits in well. Again it is the people action and reaction that make the movie. Don't wait for some slam-bang surprise to appear out of no ware or you will have misses the story. This is one of those movies that have to grow on you and then you will watch it again.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stuff.,
By
This review is from: Abyss (Widescreen) (DVD)
The story in this movie is mainly about people and social reactions as situations and stress levels in a closed environment change...what do you think will happen in a movie about a deep-ocean oil rig? Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Micheal Biehn are standouts in this Academy Award winner. (One Oscar out of four nominations...)Admittedly the Abyss gets a little corny near the end, but hey, this was 1989 remember? This is sci-fi that the wife and hubby can enjoy together. Sit back and enjoy the screen candy, and realize that this was before everyone just chucked in CG any old time they felt like. Most of the effects in this movie are real-life! (But don't take my word for it, buy this and watch the commentary after you've watched the movie. If all commentaries were this informative we'd have it made.) A great movie with a great plot, great directing, and great acting. What more is needed?
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simple title - complex movie,
By
This review is from: Abyss (Widescreen) (DVD)
All the elements are there to make this a fun "sit on the edge of your seat" movie. You have a nuclear sub accident that just gets worse as it goes you have conflict between authority types and free wheelers. There is a love interest (attraction at a distance). Will he make it or is it out of time or out of air or out of distance maybe out of patients. Who knows?Aside from the story there a re great effects and many panoramic scenes. There are lots of bubbles, an abyss and maybe some Ruskies. If you like all those submarine movies this fits in well. Again it is the people action and reaction that make the movie. Don't wait for some slam-bang surprise to appear out of no ware or you will have misses the story. This is one of those movies that have to grow on you and then you will watch it again.
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