The Abyss - 4K Digital Review

[Michael Scott]

The Abyss

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:


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Movie
While most modern day audiences think of Avatar and the over 4 BILLION dollars made with the 2 films released so far, when it comes to us old codgers when we think of James Cameron sci-fi it’s going to be Aliens and The Abyss. Now, sadly for home theater fans The Abyss was one of two James Cameron films (True Lies being the other) that had languished in lackluster DVD hell with nary a sign of Blu-ray in sight for almost 20 years. Now that he’s been re-doing all his old classics in 4K, we finally get a new 4K remaster, albeit a bit tweaked thanks to the use of AI algorithms to aid in the mastering process. Luckily it is the least problematic of all 3 of the catalog titles that have come out on 4K this last week (with the 4K UHD and Blu-ray physical releases pending for March of 2024) and actually looks REALLY good in many ways.

I actually love that The Abyss is a relatively simple story at heart, without going full bore crazy with lore and mythos. Cameron blended elements of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Leviathan and a classic love story into one 2 hours and 20 minute adventure that gives us a little of everything. The film starts out with a nuclear submarine crashing into a deep trench on the ocean floor after coming into contact with an unidentified object. A team of marines are then sent down to an underwater research facility headed where they are to liaison with the commander of the station in order to mount a salvage operation.

Captain Bud Brigman (Ed Harris) isn’t wild about a group of marines co-opting his operation miles under the surface of the ocean, and he’s even LESS enthused when the company sends his estranged wife Lindsey (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) to oversee the project. All is going as planned at first, with the crew and the marines finding the beached submarine just down ocean of them, but run into a snag when Lindsey sees the same unidentified object that caused the sub to crash in the first place. At first everyone is convinced that it’s a Russian sub drone or something, but are soon convinced that its extraterrestrial upon encountering it again. Only thing is, some of the marines are going pressure crazy under the water and as tensions rise the two factions decide how they’re going to handle this first contact situation.

The Abyss is pure wide eyed adventure. It’s not a deep ocean thriller/horror like Leviathan or The Deep but rather a childlike innocent adventure movie coupled with a love story between Captain Brigman and Lindsey. Sure, there’s some action with Michael Biehn’s unhinged marine character, but there are no monsters and not real super duper villains on set. Instead Cameron manages to keep ahold of the audience with the sheer awesomeness and splendor that is the deep ocean and the idea of meeting extra terrestrial life for the first time.

At the time the visuals of The Abyss were top notch, and while they have most certainly been blunted by time and technology improving, the story is still compelling. Luckily most of the CGI happens under the water, outside of the “face in the water” scene, most of it holds up quite well (though the above water bits of the alien ship are much less forgiving). Sure it’s got some dated elements, but The Abyss is just as thrilling 34 years later as it was to audience members back in the 80s.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for language and some scenes of action




Video:

Honestly, The Abyss is the one film out of the three aging catalog titles that doesn’t looked borked to death with AI uprezzing. I have no idea when the master was struck for this film, but it looks good. There IS some AI tinkering for sure, and you notice this mostly on faces and some of the water shots. Things can look a bit TOO smooth at times and the grain is definitely reduced. Not as much as Aliens or True Lies, but enough to where I noticed it being a bit glossier than I remembered. Still, there is a decent amount of grain present which shines through, and the heavy teal grading is pretty much par for the course how the film always looked (although I think it’s a bit darker and more prominent here, which doesn’t surprise me considering how heavy handed the teal was on True Lies and Aliens).

Fine details are actually really really good for the most part. Up close facial shots are crisp and clean, with a lot of nuance to the eye. I DID notice that weird AI artifact on the eyes sometimes where they look a bit TOO piercing and shockingly white (the higher contrast makes it easier for the AI algorithm to lock onto and enhance, so they stand out a bit more than they should) and there were some soft shots in the interior of the under water station that were a bit blurry, but overall this is a nice transfer. Honestly I wanted to rate this 4.25/5, but 4/5 seemed too low, so I’m going with 4.5/5 for this digital stream.








Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track is probably the most exciting of the 3 older films too. The volume knob needs the obligatory push upwards about 5 DB, but once at reference levels it’s more than an engaging track. The claustrophobic nature of being in an under water station makes for some great surround usage, ranging from the tings and pings of the metal in the structure coming from all angles, or the roar and whoose of water as someone is being overwhelmed by it. The bass is moderate but solid, with a strong low end presence for the hum and pulse of some of the submersibles, as well as Alan Silvestri’s horn based score. All in all, this is a very nice sounding Atmos mix, though with some thinness that I attribute to streaming audio mixes more than physical Atmos mixes.






Extras:

• Deep Dive: A Conversation with James Cameron – An exclusive new sit-down with James Cameron as he revisits the origin of the project and addresses some of the myths behind the production.
• The Legacy of The Abyss – Discover the lasting legacy of The Abyss with stories from James Cameron and the crew about how and why the film continues to have an impact on filmmaking today.
• Under Pressure: Making The Abyss – The original documentary about the infamous production of The Abyss, with candid commentary by the actors and crew.
• Archives
-- Deepcore Timelapse – Watch this production timelapse of the Deepcore set being created.
-- Videomatics Montage – Watch a montage of behind-the-scenes production videomatics.
-- Montana Bridge Flooding – See behind-the-scenes footage of the Montana bridge flooding.
-- Engine Room Flooding – See behind-the-scenes footage of the engine room flooding.
-- Surface Shoot Montage – Watch a behind-the-scenes montage of the surface shoot.
-- Crane Crash Shoot – Check out behind-the-scenes footage of the crane crashing sequence.
-- Visual Effects Reel – Watch a reel of visual effects progressions to see how they were developed for the film.
-- Miniature Rear-Projection – Watch behind-the-scenes footage of how production used rear-projection techniques on miniatures.
-- Motion Control Timelapse – Watch this production timelapse of the motion control technology being used.
-- Teaser Trailer
-- Main Trailer
-- Reviews Trailer
-- Still Gallery – Presented here are extras as they appeared in the "Imaging Station" on the Special Edition DVD release of The Abyss, along with the trailers. Since their original presentation has been preserved, resolution and clarity will vary from element to element.

Final Score: ​

The Abyss is one of the FINAL Cameron films to finally make an HD and 4K release and it’s well worth the wait. Sure there’s some minor digital AI tinkering on the video on the encode, but it’s fairly minor in comparison to Aliens and True Lies. Personally this is the one that I’m really jonesing to pick up on 4K UHD physical as soon as it streets in March. Well worth watching, and a good looking new encode for a 4K debut.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Todd Graff, Leo Burmester
Directed by: James Cameron
Written by: James Cameron
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English Dolby Atmos
Subtitles: English
Studio: Disney/Fox
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 141 Minutes
Digital Release Date: November 12th, 2023

Recommendation: Great Movie

 

[JStewart]

So it looks like the 4K disc will be available mid March. I may hold out ‘till then if I can muster the will power.

 

[Michael Scott]

yup, they all come out in March (except for the Avatar ones)

 

[Todd Anderson]

March 12!

I bought this on Kscape... haven't watched it yet. Glad to read that the movie generally holds up. Look forward to giving it a watch

 

[John316]

This isn’t the 163min Special Edition version then..?

 

[Michael Scott]

This isn’t the 163min Special Edition version then..?

The digital versions were only theatrical. Supposedly the 4k discs in March are going to have the extended cuts