Runtime: I saw the 171 minute special edition
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff
From: 20th Century Fox
It was in fact a wise decision to finally see The Abyss for the first time 4K restored on a Dolby Cinema screen. As a teenager when I first became acquainted w/ the films of James Cameron and thought they were great, Abyss was never one I got around to. For reasons that probably won’t ever be made public, this alone with True Lies never made the jump into the HD era, at least for purchase/rental on disc or streaming. Thus, the reason why it took until now for me to write about this movie. As an advertisement for the upcoming UHD release of this in March (alongside True Lies), this played in cinemas for one night only. The fact that it was in a Dolby Cinema at AMC for me was even better.
It was only afterwards that the phrase “Cameron’s Interstellar” I saw in a mutual’s review suddenly resonated with me. The Abyss was more sentimental and touching than expected; some may not be on board for the direction this takes in the final half hour or so… could be deemed “cornball” by them? Perhaps. However, even through the silliest moments I was always on board in this tale of a SEAL team being sent to an underwater drilling platform where they are required to team up to find a submarine that sunk after it encountered a mysterious aquatic object of unknown origin.
Even I can admit that the way Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was treated at times in the film was at best of its time and at worst rather sexist—several occasions she’s referred to as a “bitch” solely due to her being estranged from drilling team leader husband Ed Harris. What played was the almost 3 hour long Special Edition, which was still at times disjointed. I’d say that the movie’s fears of tensions escalating between the United States & the Russians was dated due to lingering memories despite the Cold War winding down in ’89, but well…
The movie feels epic, and not just due to its 171 minute length. It is a blockbuster from the past where big events happen, someone’s sanity decreases for a litany of reasons, there’s the wonder of the unknown creatures present in the ocean, the feelings the lead characters have for each other changes, there’s disaster, death, heartbreak… I did enjoy this trek that was taken, presented with plenty of practical effects and a great Alan Silvestri score. However, the by-product of actually filming the movie in an underwater setting was…
The giant submarine in the room that needs to be addressed: long before I saw The Abyss, its tortuous production history was known by me. Both Ed Harris & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (the clear highlights of the film, in terms of acting craft) broke down due to emotional turmoil, and allegedly after almost drowning, Harris punched Cameron in the face! Others almost perished due to filming in the water, including Cameron himself. Harris will never talk about the movie in public—yep, it was that bad a production. Thankfully (for me), it’s a movie I still think is very good despite not liking how the director behaves on set sometimes and everyone going through a maelstrom to create the film.
A cast that does a fine job despite the circumstances (whether it be the more familiar faces like Harris, Mary Elizabeth or Michael Biehn or the less so familiar, like Todd Graff and Kimberly Scott) and a movie with a message that is undoubtedly on the nose yet is still a message worth hearing… flaws noted, I still prefer this to the safe, homogenized flavorless blockbusters that Hollywood in general has produced for at least the past decade now. I’m happy that this was my first experience with The Abyss, however long overdue it was for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment