In this underwater sci-fi adventure written and directed by James Cameron, a nuclear sub mysteriously sinks and a private oil rig crew, led by foreman Bud Brigman (Ed Harris), is recruited to join a team of Navy SEALs on a search and rescue effort. The group soon finds themselves on a spectacular life-and-death odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, where they find a mysterious force that could either change the world — or destroy it. The Abyss also stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn.
For thoughts on The Abyss, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The Abyss makes its long-desired 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut with a 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer that rounds out James Cameron’s controversial trio of restorations. As we explored in the Aliens review, the new presentation is a less clear-cut decision over whether to upgrade since it had received a proper Blu-Ray in the past that consumers could fall back on. The Abyss has more in common with True Lies on this front, as it never received a proper Blu-Ray release despite years of fan outcry and unsubstantiated rumors. This is the first opportunity for fans to upgrade from their ancient DVD release, so most are probably going to upgrade no matter the quality. Thankfully, the results of Cameron’s utilization of AI technology are much less egregious than what we saw on True Lies. Of the three Cameron releases dropping on the same day, The Abyss fares best when it comes to the digital tomfoolery. It is not ideal, but the release fares well enough for those who are content to have the film in HD in some form.
As with all of the Cameron titles, we did not watch the digital versions of the remasters when they dropped in December, so we cannot evaluate how it compares to the disc. This would at minimum be in the same ballpark as that experience, only with the numerous benefits of physical media. Coming through with 100GB of space and Disney’s formidable encoding that consistently beats streaming, this 4K UHD Blu-Ray looks as lovely as the master can manage. Cameron has attempted to “enhance” the film to do away with any natural film grain, but there is still a small amount of either natural grain or fake digital grain that convincingly replicates it. Some moments appear more artificial than others, but you definitely get more faithful texture and detail than either of the other two releases. Once again, your sensitivity to this process will determine your enjoyment.
The picture is very crisp and clear with nothing in the way of print damage or compression artifacts. This film has a slightly softer appearance, which actually helps it look more natural. Some faces look a bit processed, but other moments are tastefully rendered. Being in the shadowy seacraft also shields the frame from more unforgiving lighting setups. The production design and costumes show off some texture with backgrounds looking nice in comparison to human figures. Without any prior HD release, nothing is egregious enough to suggest skipping upgrading your DVD. We would love to get a truly untouched release in terms of representing the original look of the film stock, but this thankfully did not end up as problematic as its compatriots.
If you need a stronger recommendation for this release, the Dolby Vision ups the ante considerably. Highlights are dazzling and stable without veering into blooming. The black levels provide exceptional depth and detail in these cramped spaces. There are key scenes that are brightly lit, but with so many shadows throughout we are grateful not to experience black crush and other such anomalies. Skin tones seem to be natural enough across the ensemble. Some of our favorite moments are leaping off the screen with vibrant colors when spotlighting the NTIs. We are glad Cameron has the clout to demand Dolby Vision, as it brings a lot of positives to this release. We can’t love this one with our entire heart, but it still easily earns a spot in our collection for what it does right.
Audio Quality
The audio presentation fares even better than the video side of the equation as the 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with an upgrade to Dolby Atmos along with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio stereo track. We are unsure if the stereo track is the original mix or a simple fold-down meant to accommodate those with soundbars. The Atmos track represents this journey very well as it expands the soundscape quite deftly. The moving Alan Silvestri score springs to life from the earliest moments with unflappable fidelity. The additional channel allotment and height channels provide a sense of complexity to various thrilling set pieces and environmental elements underwater and above the surface. Every speaker seems to be working in tandem to create a bit of magic.
The dialogue flows through clearly without sound effects or the score overshadowing important information. Even interpersonal moments employ distinct sounds that creep through the surrounds to provide some vital ambient texture. All of the sounds in the mix seem deliberately placed so that nothing ever feels unnatural. The subwoofer is in robust shape throughout with the cavalcade of mighty moments at hand. These instances are given significant weight within the mix. The soundtrack always exhibits power while never sacrificing what makes them special. We are happy to stand behind the benefits of the Atmos track. There are optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
Feature Disc
- Theatrical Version (2:20:16) and Special Edition (2:51:01)
Bonus Disc
- Deep Dive – A Conversation with James Cameron: A new nearly 33-minute interview with director James Cameron about the creation of The Abyss, the themes behind the feature, the ambitious nature of the production, the construction of their set, working with the performers, and much more.
- The Legacy Of The Abyss: A new 25-minute featurette in which Cameron and various members of the creative team discuss the process of developing the film and how they pulled everything off. There are small bits of overlap with the Cameron solo interview, but there is mostly new stuff to take in.
- Under Pressure – Making The Abyss: An hour-long archival making-of documentary is provided that gives you a more thorough look at the creation film closer to the time in which it was created.
- Archives: A series of text-based supplements are provided here.
- Chapter 1 – Table of Contents
- Chapter 2- Introduction
- Chapter 3 – The Writer/Director and Screenplay
- Chapter 4 – Development and The Production Team
- Chapter 5 – The Design Team
- Chapter 6 – The Storyboarding Process
- Chapter 7 – Character Development and Casting
- Chapter 8 – Costume Design
- Chapter 9 – Training For The Production
- Chapter 10 – Filming Underwater
- Chapter 11 – ROVs and Video in The Abyss
- Chapter 12 – Production Chronology
- Chapter 13 – The Montana
- Chapter 14 – The Benthic Explorer
- Chapter 15 – Deepcore 2
- Chapter 16 – Flatbed
- Chapter 17 – Cab One and Cab Three
- Chapter 18 – NTI Scout and Manta
- Chapter 19 – Pseudopod
- Chapter 20 – Fluid Breathing and The Deep Suit
- Chapter 21 – The NTIs
- Chapter 22 – The Wave
- Chapter 23 – The NTI Ark
- Chapter 24 – Editing, Sound, and Music
- Chapter 25 – Publicity/Advertising/Marketing
- Chapter 26 – The Restoration
- Chapter 27 – Closing Commentary
- Chapter 28 – Acknowledgement and Credits
- Post-Production and Aftermath
- Footage
- Deleted Scene – Burke Cocooned (1:31)
- Deleted Scene Montage (4:08)
- Photography
- Image Galleries: This provides image galleries for Visual Effects, Music Recordings, Premiere, and Special Shoot.
- Miscellaneous
- Laserdisc Archives: An option to skim through text-based essays from the Laserdisc release.
- Main Title Exploration (3:01)
- Theatrical Trailers: This disc provides the Teaser Trailer (1:51), Theatrical Trailer (1:57), Domestic Trailer (0:35), and International Trailer (0:32)
Final Thoughts
The Abyss has been one of the most requested titles to receive a proper Blu-Ray release since the format began. It is easy to understand why, as Cameron takes his love of spectacle and the ocean and combines it into something quite moving and awe-inspiring. There is some of your typical Cameron dialogue that is needlessly misogynistic, but on the whole, this movie delivers. 20th Century Studios has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that offers up a mostly good A/V presentation and a mountain of supplemental features. If you have been wanting to own this in a quality greater than DVD, here is your chance. Recommended
The Abyss is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: 20th Century Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.