Directed by:
James CameronScreenplay:
James CameronCinematography:
Mikael SalomonComposer:
Alan SilvestriCast:
Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff, John Bedford Lloyd, J.C. Quinn, Kimberly Scott, Jimmie Ray Weeks (more)Plots(1)
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver (Ed Harris) soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (14)
From a purely filmmaking point of view, this must have been hell to film in such cramped spaces. And when a chink of space appears, it immediately fills with water. But purely from a viewer’s point of view, it’s good that Cameron decided to go accept the challenge of making it. This has a fundamentally positive impact on the atmosphere. But this makes the ending all the more annoying, because Cameron is no good at presenting (selling) a message like this. The movie simply lacks even a drop of Kubrick inside it and not even the longest of director’s cuts can help. ()
I watched the extended cut, fortunately, because I wouldn’t like to have missed a single minute. I don’t really know what the “original” shorter cut is missing, but I wonder what they could have left out for the film to still make sense, and my conclusion is that it must be the twist. The Abyss is a very good and tense sci-fi film full of minor clichés, which I wasn’t a fan of, but I came to terms with them. Cameron probably cares more about visual spectacle (the special effects are of course brilliant) than smart unpredictable scripts. ()
I finally saw the extended version of The Abyss. And it was great! Yes, it's true that the somewhat heavy-handedly moralistic conclusion simply can't have the same impact today as it did in 1989, but I'm still willing to turn a blind eye and give it a fifth star. After all, the film runs like clockwork for almost three hours, it doesn't get boring and still has something to offer. Amazingly claustrophobic exploration of a crashed submarine, literally revolutionary special effects scenes, perfect underwater shots, an excellent mini-submarine chase that has nothing to be ashamed of even in 2011, likeable characters like the marines from Aliens that will quickly grow on you, excellent actors with Ed Harris and Michael Biehn in the lead, roaring and magical music by Alan Silvestri... And above all, Cameron's traditional perfectionism is visible in every second. As I said - the ending can make you shudder, get angry, laugh... If the film has so many positives, then four stars would simply not be enough. CALL GUINNESS. ()
Cameron’s previous films already bore his signature and put his talent and craftsmanship on display. But The Abyss is the first full-fledged Cameron movie. He was not limited here by budgetary compromises (as in the case of The Terminator) or by a connection to a foreign franchise (as in the case of Aliens). Mainly, however, we already see here the classic attributes of his entire later, personal body of work with simple, almost banal stories about the clearly defined sides of good and evil, his ambition to push the possibilities of what could be done in the medium, and his personal fascination with the underwater world. In addition to that, The Abyss is impressive due to both its well-thought-out female characters, who were very different than the contemporary norms, and their male counterparts. Cameron is a masterful creator of illusions, as he is able to unfold and present to the audience a world that has been thought out to the smallest detail. Though he tells a thoroughly traditional story involving the central couple’s reunion, he succeeds in holding the viewers’ attention all the way to the kitschy climax, thanks to the non-formulaic dynamic of the two central characters and their gripping peripeteias. In a certain respect, the unfairly neglected The Abyss is the absolute pinnacle of Cameron’s filmography. Since computer graphics were still in their infancy at the time, he couldn’t rely on the “crutch” of animation as he has done in his most recent films, where his imagination no longer has any limits, whereas here he made every effort to create the least compromised equivalent of his space visions within the seemingly restrictive boundaries of shooting on film, with live actors and on locations. Thanks to this and his ambitious shooting, The Abyss has a fascinating realistic dimension that no digital technology can convey. The abyssal darkness encompasses the characters on the screen and merges with the darkness of the screening room, thus drawing the viewers in and letting the fascination and ever-present threat of the world beyond our everyday experience take hold of them. Thanks to its brilliant symbiosis of all of film’s means of expression, The Abyss, like Das Boot before it, succeeds in evoking an incredibly claustrophobic atmosphere even in a large screening room with only a handful of viewers. As such, we can say that the whole film actually exists for the purpose of making its climactic sequence work at the highest possible level. That sequence is one of the most dramatic and physically most intense moments in the history of the medium thanks to the fact that all elements, narrative lines and the vision converge within it and are used effectively. Cameron is no Bergman or Tarkovsky, and his descent into the abyss does not reveal any great truths about the human condition or the disturbing recesses of our minds. All of his narratives are entirely simple and actually even naïve, their core consisting of relationships and bonds between people. However, Cameron uses all of his masterful craftsmanship to bring us to our knees and convince us once again of the validity of the concept of love. () (less) (more)
James Cameron always gets his way and when he sets his mind to something, everything just falls into place. From the filming system, the set construction, the casting, down to the tiniest decorations and details. He is a brilliant director and when it comes to potential, there is hardly any competition in Hollywood. The Abyss, above all, has an immense power in the ending and the duo of Ed Harris – Elizabeth Mastrantonio is so perfectly chosen that it's hard to believe. The presence of complex visual effects doesn't overwhelm, and everything is exactly as it should be. ()
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