The Abyss 4K UHD (1989)

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by SpacemanDoug

I actually like the cover for The Abyss, it's Aliens that I think is the ugliest of the bunch

I like The Abyss over the best too, but I think all three are pretty decent (especially imagining if these were in Warner's hands with their 'art work' abilities).

[Telemachus]

Sticking with the VCD

[ronboster]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

Sticking with the VCD

I’ll stick with my shadowgraphy of Abyss

[SpacemanDoug]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Hey, least I could do. I heard the mistakes immediately as they’d bothered me ever since the DVD. Funny enough, as long as I owned the DVD, I NEVER realized that there was a 2.0 track on it that didn’t contain those errors. LOL

And I don't even think any of us knew of the 2002 re-issue that left off the 5.1 track entirely and only had the 2.0 track for both cuts

Somehow I had that copy the whole time and didn't realize it till recently

[Telemachus]

At least you didn't use to watch the original Matrix Blu rays in lossy DD because Warner made it the default track.

[aiman04]

Bill:

[..] This really boils down to: Do you agree with Cameron's current take on how his films should look or not? He clearly wants them to look modern. Fans want them to look like they remember them, yet no one's memory of having seen these films in a theater can be accurate after 40 years. Especially when that memory has been altered by changing expectations and having watched them on LaserDisc and DVD. Bottom line: The Abyss looks great in 4K. But it doesn't look like a 40-year-old film in 4K. Aliens looks very good in 4K, but with some issues. True Likes looks not good exactly but okay and better than it has previously. They just aren't going to be to everyone's taste. But that won't stop some disc enthusiasts from falling over themselves trying signal their virtue as the "true cinema purists" and claiming that everyone else is just a moron. These 4K presentations are essentially going to be a Rorschach test for A/V enthusiasts, and everyone is going to have their own opinions about how they should look. And many of the people with the strongest opinions haven't even purchased the Digital 4K or physical 4K to form those opinions themselves, but rather relied on other people's cherry-picked screenshots.

[bebbsie23]

Originally Posted by aiman04

Bill:

The ONLY important part of that BH nonsense is ...

The Abyss looks great in 4K. But it doesn't look like a 40-year-old film in 4K.

I'm not sure what the age has do with it, since we've seen MANY restorations of movies, much older than The Abyss, look "more filmic".

To be clear, I'm happy with The Abyss in 4k. Aliens and True Lies not so much.

[jonam]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Has anyone declared that they’d rather stick with the DVD yet?

I've waited so long so why not. Why on earth should a Director believe he's movies from 4 decades should look modern. It's not right as it's not meant too be and the AI tool is pure cheating.
He needs to wake up and smell the roses. There are no avid movie fans left so let the ones who are enjoy them for the first time in their theatres the way it was seen or shown in a true film like fashion.

[Telemachus]

I can't take that kind of word salad seriously, just get to the point and tell the reader the critical aspects of the disc or if it's worth paying money for, no matter what they ever say it ends up "4/5 pretty good" which is a meme in itself. I've almost gone into a coma before reading an entire GeoffD review but it's so packed with facts and knowledge that it would probably take Bill Hunt 40k words to do the same.

[D00mM4r1n3]

I'm surprised you all don't just stick with your memory of seeing it in theaters since it's clearly superior to any physical release.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Target is preparing my pre-orders of all three for shipment!

[Areyakiddin]

Fans want them to look like they remember them, yet no one's memory of having seen these films in a theater can be accurate after 40 years.

You tell 'em Bill, if only those haters had a brain!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG3mJcUzwaI

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

Target is preparing my pre-orders of all three for shipment!

Same here. I get worried with target preorders but when it goes into can’t cancel stage, that means they are coming!

[jddf]

"three days and counting"

[ghostof82]

It's a fascinating debate, regards how these films now look on disc and how authentic that is compared to their original theatrical presentation. I sympathise with 'purists' (?) who prefer a grainy filmic look warts and all, but I can also appreciate that, in all honesty, no film ever looked 100% theatrical on VHS or DVD or Blu-ray. There is always resolution or colour grading or contrast issues, nevermind vagaries of whatever CRT or panel a film is being watched on, or personal settings of such or calibration thereof. It's a thorny debate. My 4K of Blade Runner probably looks very different to how it looked back in 1982 in my town's fleapit cinema of the time. I'm ok with that and as long as The Abyss looks better than my old non-anamorphic DVD then I'll be happy. It may not be everyone's idea of perfect, but it's on disc, in 4K, so I'm pretty ecstatic, frankly.

[bebbsie23]

Originally Posted by ghostof82

It's a fascinating debate, regards how these films now look on disc and how authentic that is compared to their original theatrical presentation. I sympathise with 'purists' (?) who prefer a grainy filmic look warts and all, but I can also appreciate that, in all honesty, no film ever looked 100% theatrical on VHS or DVD or Blu-ray. There is always resolution or colour grading or contrast issues, nevermind vagaries of whatever CRT or panel a film is being watched on, or personal settings of such or calibration thereof. It's a thorny debate. My 4K of Blade Runner probably looks very different to how it looked back in 1982 in my town's fleapit cinema of the time. I'm ok with that and as long as The Abyss looks better than my old non-anamorphic DVD then I'll be happy. It may not be everyone's idea of perfect, but it's on disc, in 4K, so I'm pretty ecstatic, frankly.

I'm not specifically referring to The Abyss as it by far the best of the 3 releases, but I think most people would be happy if these releases looked a little more natural/organic instead of artificial/processed. I am not a purist, I don't mind a bit of visual tinkering or revisionism. I just want to be immersed in a story that unfolds in front of me without overt digital weirdness breaking the illusion.

[Ben_UK]

Thankful that the Abyss looks the least screwed with as it’s my favourite of the 4 Cameron films released in the last few months.

[SpazeBlue]

Originally Posted by Kinsella5

even Alien 3 isn't bad, but the fourth film is terrible.

You've got those swapped.

[Croweyes1121]

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

You've got those swapped.

No he doesn’t.

[rubystone356]

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/the-abyss-uhd-review/

Jacob