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James Cameron's own underwater CITIZEN KANE, THE ABYSS was first
released in August of 1989, and was what could be considered Cameron's
only real box office failure. While making just over $60 million
in North America, the film wasn't exactly a bomb, but it wasn't
the hit that Twentieth Century Fox had been hoping for. Then THE
ABYSS really started to gain an audience with its success on video,
and ultimately was redone for the 1993 "special edition"
cut.
While most such director's cuts serve to enhance the film, the
special edition of THE ABYSS almost completely changes it. The
original theatrical cut removed important plot points and developments,
and the endings of the two versions, while being similar on a
grand scale, are really quite different thematically. You have
different payoffs and, in essence, a different story. I like both
versions, but given the choice prefer the longer special edition
cut for the inclusion of the important nuclear subplot missing
entirely in the original release version.
But fear not, because whichever version of THE ABYSS you prefer
you can now see with the touch of a button. Through the miracle
of seamless branching, you can watch the extended cut with its
additional twenty-eight minutes of footage intact, or view the
original theatrical cut. After going back and forth with each
version, I noticed no pauses or glitches when the theatrical cut
had to take out big chucks of footage. Pretty impressive, but
that's only the beginning. Read on...
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Originally released as a two-disc limited edition, Fox has recycled
the same widescreen transfer for this single-disc release. (A
separate pan and scan single-disc version is also available.)
As everyone undoubtedly knows by now, THE ABYSS is presented in
non-anamorphic widescreen and you probably also know just how
all of us here at DVDFILE feel about that. The image provided
is good, but not perfect. THE ABYSS is a film with a dominant
blue tint and those portions of the photography come off the best.
The picture is smooth with only film grain occasionally visible.
Most impressive is the lack of compression pixelation throughout
considering the many shadings of blue to black that underwater
photography consists of. It is handled remarkably well and makes
the underwater footage look great.
The praise I will give is that this transfer is the same used
for the 1993 special edition laserdisc and it's surprising that
a transfer of that age can look good if done properly to begin
with, though it certainly could have been considerably better
if redone. Colors are good for the most part with accurate fleshtones
and superb contrast. Once away from the blue shadings and lighting,
the picture doesn't hold up quite as well. Scenes on the Benthic
Explorer look somewhat artificial and plugged up, almost taking
on an unnatural "painted" appearance. There is too much
edge enhancement and not enough detail.
The picture looks good, but it will never be great without the
extra resolution that anamorphic provides. That's the plain and
simple truth, and thus the image on this DVD can be considered
a bit of a missed opportunity.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Also carried over from the previous two-disc release are the
same audio options...well, not really. THE ABYSS ran theatrically
with a limited number of 70mm prints and six-track magnetic sound.
This new DVD accurately reproduces that discrete soundtrack. Although
encoded as a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the original mix on
the two-disc DVD set is actually a 4.1 track with mono surrounds.
This new DVD has reencoded the same master as an English 2.0
Dolby surround track, and the results sound much more meager.
The front soundstage is still extremely wide with direction effects
and music that fill up the screen. When the film does quiet down,
some background hiss becomes audible but then the soundtrack revs
up again and masks the hiss. Surround use, while mono, is still
fairly enveloping with effects and Alan Silvestri's lush score,
but more flat compared to the previous two-disc set. The front
and back also don't come together well, and the lack of a dedicated
.1 LFE track hurts. Why Fox didn't include the same 5.1 track
as the previous release remains a mystery...
Also included are English Closed Captions and English and Spanish
subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? Originally released in 2000 as an amazing, feature-packed two-disc
limited edition, the separate widescreen and pan and scan versions
now released pale in comparison. The entire second disc of extras
has been dropped, and the first disc only includes the previously
mentioned theatrical and special edition cuts with seamless branching.
(And pay close attention to the packaging, for all three releases
are nearly identical. The limited edition and single-disc widescreen
versions are exactly the same, and both say "Special Edition"
underneath the movie logo, referring to the fact that the special
edition extended cut is included on both. The pan & scan version
is marked "Full Frame Edition" at the top. Let the buyer
beware, and carefully check the back of packaging to make sure
you're getting the right edition.)
The only real extra included on the single-disc version is a
Text Commentary can be accessed that gives subtitles to
provide background info on the film as you watch it. A cool little
commentary that is very well-researched and informative, of course
it still can't compare to the full two-disc set. But, you will
save about ten bucks...
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop
the disc in your PC?
Aside from a custom interface when you pop in the disc and some
weblinks, you'll also be able to allow you to read the screenplay
and access storyboards as you watch the film or the script.
Other ROM features include three new interactive games "Sonar
Spy," "Valve Control" and ROV Pilot," and
a game preview.
Parting Thoughts
While I'm still disappointed that all involved decided against
providing the absolute best video quality possible by not going
with an anamorphic transfer, and the two-disc limited edition
is one of the best special editions yet produced for DVD, this
isn't a terrible deal if you just want the movie. For $19.95 and
considerably less with a discount, it might be worth picking up
or at least renting.
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