James Cameron's THE ABYSS: New 4k Version Complete and Coming Soon

[Bullitt68]

Apologies if @Dragonlordxxxxx or someone else broke this story somewhere else, but I'm so excited that I had to make this thread to make sure that people are aware of this:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/ne...42f6cd67531eaef48fe5&ocid=winp2fptaskbar&ei=5

For YEARS, whenever someone would bring up The Abyss and why it wasn't on Blu-ray, Cameron would say that he was too busy but that if it was going to be restored, he'd have to oversee the process. Well, apparently, that process is now complete. According to the interview linked above, the new 4k restoration of The Abyss will be released and will be streaming in a couple of months.

Fans like me will no doubt lose their minds at the prospect of seeing this amazing film literally as never before, while those of you who have yet to see The Abyss will have the opportunity to see it for the first time at its most stunning.

This has long been one of my favorite films and no matter how many times I rewatch it, it never loses any of its power. I can't wait to experience the new 4k version.

 

[Fedorgasm]

I wanna breathe that oxygen gel

 

[Bullitt68]

I wanna breathe that oxygen gel

One of the many cool parts of that movie. It's SO out of the realm of human experience that, in the sci-fi movie world, I'd probably pick breathing the gel over using the three seashells in Demolition Man...probably.

 

[TardStrong]

That movie scared me as a kid

 

[TribalDrumz]

Too bad Cameron movies suck on 4k picture quality. , he botched Terminator 2 with DNR. It’s considered the worst 4k release.

 

[hitcher]

Too bad he fucked up a much superior movie in T2 when he approved the 4K release.

 

[Scott Stapp]

Ed Harris almost beat the shit out of him during filming because the cast almost drowned, and because Harris had to slap an actress multiple times until she quit.

https://fandomwire.com/i-was-slappi...le-lead-amidst-nearly-killing-himself-on-set/

https://www.thethings.com/did-ed-harris-punch-james-cameron-making-the-abyss-movie/

 

[Otto!]

Still an all time favourite of mine.

 

[StewDogg11]

Now he needs to get on True Lies considering it doesn’t even have a Blu Ray release. He’ll probably screw them up like he did with T2 though.

 

[StewDogg11]

Too bad Cameron movies suck on 4k picture quality. , he botched Terminator 2 with DNR. It’s considered the worst 4k release.

Other contenders:

Inglorious Basterds

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Friday the 13th

Heat

 

[gondo]

Other contenders:

Inglorious Basterds

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

I’m waiting for Aliens but I don’t see it coming out anytime soon.

 

[StewDogg11]

I’m waiting for Aliens but I don’t see it coming out anytime soon.

Apparently they did a really good job with Alien but I haven’t upgraded from Blu Ray to see it for myself.

 

[Prefect]

Too bad he fucked up a much superior movie in T2 when he approved the 4K release.

Why is this left to the director? He apparently doesn't want to do it or in the least it is not high on his priority list. Him as well as anybody would know it was fucked up.

 

[gondo]

Apparently they did a really good job with Alien but I haven’t upgraded from Blu Ray to see it for myself.

They did. I have a compressed version of it and even it looks great.

 

[HaulParris]

Ed Harris almost beat the shit out of him during filming because the cast almost drowned, and because Harris had to slap an actress multiple times until she quit.

https://fandomwire.com/i-was-slappi...le-lead-amidst-nearly-killing-himself-on-set/

https://www.thethings.com/did-ed-harris-punch-james-cameron-making-the-abyss-movie/

That is wild. Made me think of "Deliverance" - allegedly (according to "Rewatchables" podcast), the rafting scenes were shot on real rapids, with minimal safety precautions in place, and there were several near-misses where the main actors could have gotten seriously injured or drowned.

EDIT: this is from Wiki:

"
Stunts
The film is infamous for the cost cutting by the studio in an effort to kill it[8] and having the actors perform their own stunts, such as Jon Voight notably climbing the cliff himself.[9]Reynolds requested to have one scene re-shot with himself in a canoe rather than a dummy as it tumbled over a real waterfall.[10] Reynolds recalled his shoulder and head hitting rocks and floating downstream with all of his clothes torn off, then waking up with director Boorman at his bedside.[10] Reynolds asked "How'd it look?" and Boorman said, "It looked like a dummy falling over a waterfall."[10] Beatty almost drowned and Reynolds cracked his tailbone.[11]

Regarding the courage of the four main actors in the movie performing their own stunts without insurance protection, Dickey was quoted as saying all of them "had more guts than a burglar".[12] In a nod to their stunt-performing audacity, early in the movie Lewis says, "Insurance? I've never been insured in my life. I don't believe in insurance. There's no risk".

 

[Bullitt68]

Too bad Cameron movies suck on 4k picture quality. , he botched Terminator 2 with DNR. It’s considered the worst 4k release.

Too bad he fucked up a much superior movie in T2 when he approved the 4K release.

Now he needs to get on True Lies considering it doesn’t even have a Blu Ray release. He’ll probably screw them up like he did with T2 though.

Why is this left to the director? He apparently doesn't want to do it or in the least it is not high on his priority list. Him as well as anybody would know it was fucked up.

True enough. I think that the 2009 Blu-ray is the way to go for T2. The 4k blue tint isn't the best look. But considering (a) Cameron hopefully learned from that experience and (b) the colors in The Abyss hopefully won't present the same issue with the underwater setting - oh, and (c) I'm just super excited - I'm going into this optimistic

And @Prefect, while I understand your question, I think that your confusion comes from your language: It's not "left to the director" so much as it's James Cameron and he's a megalomaniacal perfectionist genius whose work NOBODY will touch but him

Ed Harris almost beat the shit out of him during filming because the cast almost drowned, and because Harris had to slap an actress multiple times until she quit.

https://fandomwire.com/i-was-slappi...le-lead-amidst-nearly-killing-himself-on-set/

https://www.thethings.com/did-ed-harris-punch-james-cameron-making-the-abyss-movie/

That is wild.

Oh, I remember all the stories. This was back during Cameron's hardcore days when he was an absolute psycho and was willing to do anything - and to put his actors through anything - to get exactly what he wanted. And just like Kubrick being a monster to Shelley Duvall on The Shining and getting a tremendous performance from her, the result of The Abyss is the best acting work that Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ever did. This is a common theme across many endeavors. It was even harped on after The Last Dance with Michael Jordan leading the Bulls to six titles by being a lunatic. It's hard to argue with the results in these cases even though the road was often a total nightmare

Ed Harris is also HIMSELF a total fucking lunatic, so him and Cameron butting heads was pretty much inevitable.

Made me think of "Deliverance" - allegedly (according to "Rewatchables" podcast), the rafting scenes were shot on real rapids, with minimal safety precautions in place, and there were several near-misses where the main actors could have gotten seriously injured or drowned.

EDIT: this is from Wiki:

"
Stunts
The film is infamous for the cost cutting by the studio in an effort to kill it[8] and having the actors perform their own stunts, such as Jon Voight notably climbing the cliff himself.[9]Reynolds requested to have one scene re-shot with himself in a canoe rather than a dummy as it tumbled over a real waterfall.[10] Reynolds recalled his shoulder and head hitting rocks and floating downstream with all of his clothes torn off, then waking up with director Boorman at his bedside.[10] Reynolds asked "How'd it look?" and Boorman said, "It looked like a dummy falling over a waterfall."[10] Beatty almost drowned and Reynolds cracked his tailbone.[11]

Regarding the courage of the four main actors in the movie performing their own stunts without insurance protection, Dickey was quoted as saying all of them "had more guts than a burglar".[12] In a nod to their stunt-performing audacity, early in the movie Lewis says, "Insurance? I've never been insured in my life. I don't believe in insurance. There's no risk".

Hollywood in the '70s was very much the Wild West, more so even than earlier days when the studios had the system so locked down and all filmmaking was tightly controlled. It reverted back to the silent era sort of independence from oversight and it stayed like that until more into the blockbuster action era and the commodification of stars like Schwarzenegger and Stallone---basically, once more and more money was getting put into the products, more and more precautions were put in place.

If you want more crazy stories like that, check out the Hong Kong stunt industry during the heyday of action and martial arts movies

 

[Highway99]

At least he didn't kill two children and Vic Morrow.

 

[Prefect]

True enough. I think that the 2009 Blu-ray is the way to go for T2. The 4k blue tint isn't the best look. But considering (a) Cameron hopefully learned from that experience and (b) the colors in The Abyss hopefully won't present the same issue with the underwater setting - oh, and (c) I'm just super excited - I'm going into this optimistic

And @Prefect, while I understand your question, I think that your confusion comes from your language: It's not "left to the director" so much as it's James Cameron and he's a megalomaniacal perfectionist genius whose work NOBODY will touch but him




Oh, I remember all the stories. This was back during Cameron's hardcore days when he was an absolute psycho and was willing to do anything - and to put his actors through anything - to get exactly what he wanted. And just like Kubrick being a monster to Shelley Duvall on The Shining and getting a tremendous performance from her, the result of The Abyss is the best acting work that Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ever did. This is a common theme across many endeavors. It was even harped on after The Last Dance with Michael Jordan leading the Bulls to six titles by being a lunatic. It's hard to argue with the results in these cases even though the road was often a total nightmare

Ed Harris is also HIMSELF a total fucking lunatic, so him and Cameron butting heads was pretty much inevitable.





Hollywood in the '70s was very much the Wild West, more so even than earlier days when the studios had the system so locked down and all filmmaking was tightly controlled. It reverted back to the silent era sort of independence from oversight and it stayed like that until more into the blockbuster action era and the commodification of stars like Schwarzenegger and Stallone---basically, once more and more money was getting put into the products, more and more precautions were put in place.

If you want more crazy stories like that, check out the Hong Kong stunt industry during the heyday of action and martial arts movies

That is all bullshit that shitty directors get the best performances out of their actors. Shelley was nominated for a Raspberry Award until it was found out what the set conditions were like. Ebert said himself he had a hard time watching the movie after learning what went on. She had a career before Kubrick and after so it wasn't like he made her anything. Same with Cameron getting the "best performance" out of Ed Harris. The guy was putting in great performances before and after Abyss. The reason the end of his career is just Avatar movie after Avatar movie I believe has to do with the fact that Cameron can't work with people.

 

[Bullitt68]

That is all bullshit that shitty directors get the best performances out of their actors. Shelley was nominated for a Raspberry Award until it was found out what the set conditions were like. Ebert said himself he had a hard time watching the movie after learning what went on. She had a career before Kubrick and after so it wasn't like he made her anything. Same with Cameron getting the "best performance" out of Ed Harris. The guy was putting in great performances before and after Abyss. The reason the end of his career is just Avatar movie after Avatar movie I believe has to do with the fact that Cameron can't work with people.

I think that Kubrick and Cameron both realized their visions and that their films are spectacular, and if changing their methods would've changed their films - potentially resulting in easier and more enjoyable working experiences but less awesome and powerful films - then I go the "cost of greatness" route. Of course, if you don't think that the films in question even qualify for greatness in the first place, then we're talking at cross-purposes to begin with...

 

[emefer]

This is good news as my eyesight is worse than when it first came out.