... When you look long into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
— Frederich Nietzche
With these words begins an undersea journey that now goes deeper than ever before. Twentieth Century Fox has outdone itself with the special edition release of The Abyss on DVD. The equivalent of an encyclopedia devoted entirely to the making of one spectacular, technologically innovative, and commercially unsuccessful film, The Abyss Special Edition might just be the new standard by which all DVDs are measured. This two-disc set includes both the theatrical release version and writer/director James Cameron's Special Edition, which adds 28 minutes that redefine the film in both scope and structure. It is to the studio's credit that they have layered this film with so many extras for its much-anticipated release on disc. From a reviewer's perspective, however, the resulting task is not unlike the challenges the film's characters must face: This DVD set goes so deep into the making of The Abyss that it might just be possible to drown.
What is The Abyss? Well, it's an underwater action thriller. It's a love story. It's a cautionary tale about nuclear proliferation and the insidious paranoia that fuels it. It's an alien encounter story. It's a science-fiction epic that unfolds on a human scale. And, it's a very, very deep trench at the bottom of the ocean. With all these factors combined, The Abyss is one hell of a movie.
The Approach
The coolness of these discs is evident from the first moment they load in your player. Designed by the same studio behind Fox's outstanding Alien Legacy collection, the menu interface on these discs is second-to-none in terms of sheer DVD-induced exhilaration. Swooping up from the titular undersea crevasse, you approach DeepCore, the underwater drilling rig that is the setting for most of the film, and emerge in the sub bay that plays so prominently throughout the film. Once there, the various menus navigate you through hatches, portholes, and computer terminals as you select from the myriad of features contained on the discs. The shimmering interface is almost worth the price of the set itself.The Film(s)
Both the theatrical and special editions of the film are presented in the original 2.35:1 widescreen format, accompanied by audio in either Dolby 5.1 or Surround 2.0 options. Remastered in THX, the film looks outstanding, with the dominant blue of the palette combining with the ambient noise of the ocean deep, resulting in an otherworldly aquatic atmosphere supplanting your living room. The lack of support for HDTVs is the set's only major failing, and will certainly raise the ire of high-end home theater enthusiasts; but for most of us, the pristine transfer to DVD is more than adequate. In addition to optional subtitles in English or Spanish, one of the most beguiling features of the film itself is the scene-specific text commentary. More effective than any audio commentary I have ever heard, this option efficiently (and entertainingly) conveys technical and anecdotal information without divorcing the viewer from the experience of actually enjoying the film, as audio commentaries by their very nature do. Since we are able to read faster than we talk, it makes sense to convey information in this manner for a film with so much detail and technological prestidigitation behind the scenes.Under Pressure
In addition to three theatrical trailers and a 10-minute promotional featurette, the set includes Under Pressure, an hour-long documentary on the making of the film. Made in 1993 to accompany the special edition re-release of the film, this revealing feature is matched only by Fear of God, the BBC-produced documentary on The Exorcist: Special Edition DVD, in terms of depth of information and apparent journalistic integrity. Under Pressure details the innumerable hardships endured by cast and crew alike, resulting in The Abyss being dubbed the "toughest film shoot in history." What's most refreshing about the documentary is its candor — it does not shy away from James Cameron's draconian methodologies and the tensions between director and cast that developed, including the incident that prompted actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio to storm off the set. The documentary also frankly addresses the film's weaknesses, and allows those involved to respond. It's a refreshing change of pace from the standard "extended commercial" approach most "making-of" featurettes inevitably become.The Abyss In-Depth
In addition to the film (films, really) and the documentary, the majority of the extras are integrated in the "Abyss In-Depth" section, which guides viewers through the well of features contained on the second disc. Viewers are taken through all 28 chapters of material, starting with Cameron's original treatment through excerpts of various drafts of the screenplay to the complete shooting script. That's right — the entire screenplay is available, and not just for DVD-ROM users (who can also read the screenplay and play three included games). Whether anyone would actually sit and click through the entire screenplay for a three-hour film is totally beside the point — the point is that everything I have just mentioned comprises only the first three chapters (chapter one being the table of contents, chapter two the overview). There are also options to view only the information pertaining to the production itself or the various "mission components," including the DeepCore set, various submersibles, and the alien creatures.Much of this material is presented textually (but legibly), interspersed with hundreds of photos and multimedia clips of the cast, crew, and production. The cumulative result is the most detailed assemblage of production information ever included on a DVD. The information underscores the enormous technological innovations necessary in order for the film to succeed, from the custom design of the dive gear itself (the helmets were fitted with communications devices that allowed for the first recording of undersea dialogue) to the most complicated effects shots in the film. Equal parts scrapbook and production journal, the "Abyss In-Depth" may explain the techno-wizardry that went into the film, but it does not strip away the mystique.
The Imaging Station
While the "In-Depth" navigation options are helpful and fun to play with, they probably won't appease those jonesing for the quick-fix multimedia orgy that DVDs have come to promise. Those addicts need look no further than the "Imaging Station," which collects the bulk of the A/V material seeded throughout the "In-Depth" sections. This collection of features dissects many of the film's most technologically daunting elements, including a multi-angle look at the creation of the "pseudopod sequence," which is generally regarded as the first truly refined use of CGI effects, as well as glimpses of the more traditional special effects employed. Of these segments, perhaps none is more impressive than the time-lapse footage that compresses the months-long construction of the DeepCore set (in an uncompleted nuclear tank in Gaffney, South Carolina) into seven minutes. Set to Alan Silvestri's stirring score, this montage showcases like no other feature the sheer scope of the production, particularly when you witness all those months of handiwork drown in the 7.5 million gallons of water necessary to fill the tank.Other highlights from this section include footage from the surface photography, demonstrations of the rear projection used to incorporate live action with miniatures, and the actual real-time footage of the crane-crash sequence, which was shot on miniature at 120 frames per second to enhance the dramatic effect. Suffice to say, the effect paid off — contrasting the "real" footage with its presentation in the film is as close to a definition of "movie magic" as I can conceive. "The Imaging Station" is capped off by the inclusion of the 20-minute special effects reel that was sent to the Academy, and that gives a cue-by-cue breakdown of how most of the film's effects were created.
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