The Abyss (1989)

A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.

Director:

James Cameron

Writer:

James Cameron

Stars:

Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Harris	...	Bud Brigman
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Lindsey Brigman
Michael Biehn	...	Lt. Coffey
Leo Burmester	...	Catfish De Vries
Todd Graff	...	Alan 'Hippy' Carnes
John Bedford Lloyd	...	Jammer Willis
J.C. Quinn	...	'Sonny' Dawson
Kimberly Scott	...	Lisa 'One Night' Standing
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr.	...	Lew Finler (as Capt. Kidd Brewer Jr.)
George Robert Klek	...	Wilhite
Christopher Murphy	...	Schoenick
Adam Nelson	...	Ensign Monk
Dick Warlock	...	Dwight Perry (as Richard Warlock)
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	Leland McBride
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	DeMarco

Storyline

Formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some issues to work out. They are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL with a top-secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | ocean | pantyhose | drowning | estranged couple | 

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Taglines:

There's everything you've ever known about adventure, and then there's The Abyss.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some scenes of action

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Abyss

Filming Locations:

Harbor Star Stage, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,319,797, 13 August 1989

Gross USA:

$54,461,047

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$90,000,098

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Pacific Western, Lightstorm Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min 171 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Cameron nearly drowned during production while he was weighed down at the bottom of the giant water tank during filming. His assistant director had failed to warn him to refill his oxygen, and realizing that he was running out of air, Cameron asked for help from underwater DP Al Giddings. However, Giddings couldn't hear him (he was near-deaf from an old diving-bell accident), and with no one else nearby, Cameron quickly released his helmet, harness and weights, and started to swim with great speed to the surface, exhaling all the way in order to prevent lung damage from decompression. One of the safety divers held him down and gave him a regulator, which was broken and only produced water. Cameron tried to release himself, but the diver, thinking that Cameron was simply having a panic attack, held him even tighter. Cameron only survived because he punched the diver in the face, and reached the surface before he passed out. The AD and the diver were fired the same day.

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Goofs

When Coffey is looking out of the window after the warhead is discovered, it is possible to see the hand of the camera operator press off the side of the window.[special edition only]

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Quotes

[first lines]
USS Montana Captain: Sixty knots? No way, Barnes. The Reds don't have anything that fast.

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Crazy Credits

There was a dedication for Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. added at the beginning of the end credits of the special edition.

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Alternate Versions

In the Special Edition an alternate take of one scene replaces that found in the original cut of the film, namely when Lindsay is relaying Bud's text messages to the surface ship by radio. In the original version, when she reads the line "This is Virgil Brigman back on the air", she appears amused and relieved, and looks away from the display. In the Special Edition when Lindsay says that line, she looks bemused and mystified, and keeps her eyes on the screen.

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Connections

Featured in The Force Is with Them: The Legacy of 'Star Wars' (2004)

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Soundtracks

Too Much Pressure
(uncredited)
Written by N. Davies
Published by Fairwood Music Ltd.
Performed by The Selecter
Courtesy of EMI Records Group/Chrysalis Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

An excellent movie

This movie is extremely well made. Make sure you get the original director's cut, or Special Edition as they are calling it on the DVD. It includes the real ending, along with more than 20 minutes of additional footage. The morons from the studio in Hollywood decided that the public wouldn't want to see a nearly 3-hour underwater adventure, and forced James Cameron to cut it down and change the ending. The ending the studios insisted on is your typical boring old done-a-million-times happy ending, and does not work. It betrays the message of the film, and makes it nothing more than a good underwater shoot-em-up. This movie is much more than that. See the REAL ending to understand why it is so important to this film. As opposed to the canned studio ending, the REAL one makes you think. Well, what did you expect? Hollywood executives make movies for the common herd, they dumb them down to make sure every patron goes away feeling happy. God forbid that anyone actually may have to think a little. At the time, despite a few solid hits (such as the original Terminator), James Cameron wasn't enough of a power in La-La land to force the studios to release the movie as he wanted it to be. After Titanic, they will do whatever he says, so we can now expect some great Cameron films to look forward to, rather than having to wait for the REAL movie to come out years later on a Special Edition DVD.