ABYSS-SPECIAL EDITION (DVD/P&S/1 DISC/30 MIN ADD FOOTAGE) DVD

The Abyss
The crew of an experimental, high-tech submersible is called into action to investigate a mysterious nuclear submarine crash. A series of strange encounters leads the crew to suspect the accident was caused by an extraterrestrial craft, and that they may be participating in an encounter with an alien species. However, in order to make contact, they must not only brave the abyss, an exceedingly deep underwater canyon, but also deal with the violent actions of one of their own crew members, an increasingly paranoid Navy SEAL officer. Approved by director James Cameron, The Abyss: Special Edition is an extended director's cut of the 1989 underwater science fiction epic, reinstating nearly a half hour of footage removed from the original release under studio pressure. Much of the restored footage places the film's events in a grander political context, as the crew's mission becomes a factor in the dangerous escalation of nuclear tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The largest change involves the film's ending, which provides further information on the aliens' mission on Earth, bringing the film to closer to Cameron's intention: a modern remake of Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Cast Ed Harris as Bud Brigman Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Lindsey Brigman Michael Biehn as Lt. Coffey Leo Burmeister as Catfish De Vries Todd Graff as Alan "Hippy" Carnes Kimberly Scott as Lisa "One Night" Standing John Bedford Lloyd as "Jammer" Willis J.C. Quinn as "Sonny" Dawson Capt. Kidd Brewer Jr. as Lew Finier George Robert Klek as Wilhite Chris Murphy as Seal Schoenick Adam Nelson as Ensign Monk Richard Warlock as Dwight Perry Jimmie Ray Weeks as Leland McBride J. Kenneth Campbell as DeMarco Ken Jenkins as Gerard Kirkhill

Crew Russell Christian - Art Director Peter Childs - Art Director Joseph C. Nemec III - Art Director Howard Feuer - Casting Deborah Everton - Costume Designer James Cameron - Director Howard Smith - Editor Joel Goodman - Editor Conrad Buff - Editor Alan Silvestri - Composer (Music Score) Lee Orloff - Musical Direction/Supervision Kathryn Miles Kelly - Makeup Leslie Dilley - Production Designer Charles Skouras III - Production Designer Mikael Salomon - Cinematographer Dennis Skotak - Cinematographer Charles Skouras III - Production Manager Gale Anne Hurd - Producer Anne Kuljian - Set Designer Thomas D. Wilkins - Set Designer Andrew Precht - Set Designer Gershon Ginsburg - Set Designer David Kirk - Special Effects Joe Unsinn - Special Effects Scott E. Anderson - Special Effects Gene Warren, Jr. - Special Effects Roberto Viskin - Special Effects Robert Olmstead - Special Effects Matthew Yuricich - Special Effects Patrick Romano - Stunts Clay Boss - Stunts Richard Warlock - Stunts Richard Washington - Stunts Denney Pierce - Stunts Billy Oliver - Stunts Brett Jones - Stunts Alan Oliney - Stunts Michael Cassidy - Stunts Kerry Rossall - Stunts Marcia Holley - Stunts Loren Janes - Stunts Chris Columbus - Screenwriter James Cameron - Screenwriter Alex Funke - Visual Effects Supervisor Bob Beemer - Re-Recording Mixer Kevin Bartnof - Foley Artist Philip Barberio - Visual Effects

The Abyss
Turning away from the dystopias of The Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986), James Cameron marshaled innovative special effects (and a motley crew of oil drillers) to assert that love is the answer in The Abyss (1989). Reportedly inspired by underwater footage of the recently located Titanic wreckage, Cameron decided to transfer his science-fiction-spectacle expertise to the deep sea. Shot underwater in a seven million gallon nuclear reactor tank, this extended yarn about nuclear subs, oil rig divers, and the interpersonal relations between the oddball Deepcore crew, their fearless leader Bud, his prickly almost ex-wife Lindsey, and gung-ho Navy SEALS feels authentically claustrophobic and other-worldly. The seraphic NTIs complete the sub-terrestrial wonder. Praised for its visual splendor and strong performances from Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, if not always for its plot, The Abyss was not quite the blockbuster it needed to be. But the ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special effects -- particularly the exploratory water node -- set the stage for the 1990s' explosion in CGI effects, beginning with Cameron's molten-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Despite The Abyss's warm message about marital bonds, Cameron and producer-wife Gale Anne Hurd split during production. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
 

Anne Kuljian: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Dennis Muren: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (winner) Dennis Skotak: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (winner) Don Bassman: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated) Hoyt Yeatman: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (winner) John Bruno: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Kevin F. Cleary: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated) Lee Orloff: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated) Leslie Dilley: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Mikael Salomon: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Cinematography (nominated) Mikael Salomon: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Richard Overton: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, Spanish, French Subtitle Options: English, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DS: Dolby Surround (4.0) Additional Features: cc Special edition version of "The Abyss" with 28 minutes of additional footage Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 171 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. The Abyss 2. Sinking of the Montana 3. Arrivals (Benthic Explorer) 4. Deepcore 5. Briefing 6. "Virgil, You Weiner" 7. "Willing" 8. Blowing Down 9. "You Need Me" 10. The Ring 11. Dive Briefing 12. Fluid Breathing (Beany Dip) 13. "Two-and-a-Half Miles" 14. Search the Montana 15. Missile Compartment 16. Seeing Things 17. Newscast 18. MIRV Recovery 19. The Crane 20. What a Dog 21. Flooding 22. Cut Off From Above 23. Surveying the Damage 24. Left Behind 25. A Dance of Light 26. "Something Not Us" 27. Coffey Grinds 28. "Heeere's MIRV" 29. Some Huevos 30. "We Could Get Lucky" 31. Pseudopod 32. "Raise Your Hand" 33. Hippy's Discovery 34. Phase Three 35. Free Swim 36. Bud vs. Coffey 37. Launching Geek 38. Sub Chase 39. Drowning 40. A Matter of Life and Death 41. Deep Suit 42. Descent 43. Candles 44. One-Way Ticket 45. Non-Terrestrial Intelligence 46. "How Do You Know?" 47. The Wave 48. "Why Didn't You?" 49. Moderately Poor Shape 50. Back on the Air 51. The Ark 52. "We Should Be Dead" 53. End Credits 54. Restoration Credits