The Abyss - Special Edition (2 Discs)

This under water epic by James Cameron is so underrated ! It Bombed at the box office in the summer of 1989, and almost sank 20th century fox in the process ! The film was butchered in the editing process, leaving a massive back story on the cutting room floor. Only 4years later in 1993 was the directors cut of this excellent movie released, and made a much longer but more involving story. In this 2 disc DVD you get both version's of the movie. It's good to see that the film has stood the test of time well, and the effects still impress. This tention is high throughout the long running time, but only let down in the final 5 minutes of the film, where Cameron decides to make the ending a slight anti-climax. This is the only miss-step in the other wise superb Sci-Fi thriller. There are so many stand out scenes, including the flooding of deep core, the long swim to the moon pool, the mini sub fight, imploding mini sub, the drowning and CPR sequence, and not forgetting the long fall. This is one of the most abitiouse films ever made and the scale of the film is staggering. It can stand with The Terminator and Aliens as James Camerons best films , and for me, was the best film of 1989, as I think I was only one of the few who actually saw it in the cinema. Also Ed Harris is brilliant in this film, is acting is excellent. The extras on the DVD are some of the best around, and the feature length making of is a must see, as it goes to great lengths to explain what a hard shoot the film was. A Brilliant Film, and a brilliant set of extra features. A Classy package and a must for any Sci-Fi fan !

I've been a great fan of this film since it was first released in 1989 and the 1992 special edition here - with expanded scenes and a different ending - only improves what is, to me, a terrific film.

After the unexplained sinking of a nuclear submarine, near the deepest ocean trench in the world, the crew of the experimental submersible drilling platform Deepcore are tasked to be moved nearer the sinking site to try and mount a rescue attempt.

Once they find the sub, strange events and sightings of odd lights under the ocean lead the crew of the rig to realise that there may be something else down in the depths of the ocean.

As tensions rise, and events begin to become more serious - above the waves as well as below - the crew of Deepcore and the whole world sit on the brink of a momentous discovery lying at the bottom of The Abyss.

A technical masterpiece from master of perfection James Cameron, featuring groundbreaking CGI effects and underwater filming techniques, married to a storyline a litle reminiscient of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' takes this thoughtful blockbuster to being deserving of a higher status than it has.

This DVD comes with comprehensive features, including the best ever making-of documentary I've ever watched - 'Under Pressure' - a fascintaing story of the film's production.

Amazing film.

Buy this film. The guy from Terminator is an amazing actor.

This film is one of my favourite films of all time. Dont get the normal edition, the directors cut explains so much more. Its as poignant now as it was back then. James Cameron always seems to do really monumental films and this film is so underrated. Ed Harris is fantastic in his role as rig supervisor. For a story that spends so much time underwater it still managed to flow(sic) well. I think some would say its a bit too moralistic now but I didn't feel it was for the time it came out. Buy it.

As other reviewers have commented, this is an excellent film. I'd certainly recommend the special edition over the standard version as it explains so much more, which in turn makes the ending make a lot more sense.

However, as far as I'm aware, none of the versions currently available on DVD is an anamorphic print, so those of you who, like me, have a TV that assumes that any signal coming in via the HDMI input must be correctly formatted are going to have to put up with Michael Biehn, Ed Harris et al looking abnormally tall and thin. This was a strange decision when this DVD first appeared in 2001. It's absolutely incomprehensible now. I've had to give my copy to a friend and I'm now awaiting the Blu-Ray version.