The Abyss 4K UHD (1989)

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by JoeKryten

This coming from the guy who has Piranha II: The Spawning on his resumé (regardless of what happened in the edit). Methinks he's lost a little perspective in his climb to the top...

Many greats have started low.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

I'll keep repeating, the presence of DVD editorial errors somehow getting carried over into this DCP makes me think this wasn't the final version. The LD and original Special Edition didn't have them apparently.

Yeah but you'd be amazed at how many times an existing transfer is used for reference, even if it's old as balls, it seems like they just copied the slightly wonky conform from the last director-approved edition and went from there.

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by samlop10

Oh boy. The guy sitting to my right was laughing at the smallest of small ‘jokes’. And even worse, he’d laugh at the most inappropriate moments. Like when Bud was making the last descent and he typing on his arm. It started getting awkward too because most of the time he was the only one laughing in the entire room. Talk about lack of self awareness (borderline inconsiderate).

I still enjoyed the film despite the over processed picture and the non incessant laughter from the guy, but man did those make it hard to enjoy it.

SoCal viewer here, some super tall guy (with his super tall date) to my right was doing the exact same thing, laughing at EVERY SINGLE LINE intended for mild smirks, even some lines that I didn't find funny at all. It was obnoxious and distracting, though I'm glad he had fun.

*Special Edition deleted scene from my life: When I arrived at the theater, super-tall guy & gal (both were easily 6'5 or 6'6) scanned me up and down slowly, almost gawking, like, they were considering me for a threesome. No joke. Lol. And then they came and sat right next to me.

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by admccroan

My husband and I watched this last night at an AMC. It was the only theater in our metro area with a population of almost one million showing it and there were maybe 30-35 people there. Neither of us had ever seen this movie before, so we had nothing to compare it to. With that in mind, here’s my reaction:

I absolutely LOVED this film! It was exciting, thrilling, and held my attention the entire time. The opening scene had me strapped in and ready for the ride. My husband left his seat twice but I stayed glued to the screen.

I thought it looked and sounded amazing. That’s all I’ll say about that. I’ll leave the conversation about film grain and colors to those who have seen the film more than once and have a better trained eye.

My complaints are as follows:
1) Like others have said, the VFX shots looked horrible. It was so disappointing when everything else looked so good. Unfortunately, this was the first thing my husband and I talked about as we were walking out.
2) I laughed when Bud yelled “Noooooo!!!” That was ridiculous.
3) Why does the ship look solid above water but translucent underwater?

My husband hated it. But, he’s a tough critic. He also hated Oppenheimer. During the drive home he spoke of the tidal wave threat, “Stop killing or I’ll kill you.”

I’ll be picking up the 4K disc in March.

Glad you had fun! Its my fav Cameron film, I think the script is near perfect.
And not to get into an argument with your husband online; while I'm not a hippie or a war-is-always-good guy either; I think the aliens were saying we had to choose to stop fighting or they'll end it all and start over? The whole pansp3rmi4 thing. I don't think its hypocritical or contradictory. The parting of the waters also reminds me of Moses and the Red Sea.

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by Chad Rouch

I think the message was about the devastation a nuclear war would wreak on the planet. This movie was released during the waning days of the Cold War. It was more, don't lay waste to the planet because other creatures live here, too.

said better than my response, big ups bud

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by matbezlima

The Star Wars restorations were done before Disney bought Fox. Only Lucas is at fault. Pirates, yes, Disney was at fault. Cameron movies, Disney is not at fault. It's all Cameron.

Some people just have such a hate-boner for Disney that they love to say "**** you" to Disney even for things that weren't actually Disney's fault.

Yup, Disney bought Fox in 2019. The scans and initial work was already done on Abyss in 2016

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by By_His_Strypes

I don't know how one is able to inspect a scene to confirm what they think they are seeing while watching a movie in the theater. It's not like you can slow things down and watch over and over like you can at home. Some of the stuff people are mentioning you need to go frame by frame to even see.

some of these are industry insiders who do their own restoration work/color timing etc and know this movie by heart, some even are intimately familiar with particular frames, not just the shots. They've seen this movie 100x over. I've seen it probably 50x. You can spot changes as soon as they come up, just the same as a guy like Paul McCartney can probably immediately hear if someone changed a slight EQ on just one of his notes from a 40 year old song

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

So while as any person into pop culture, I know a good deal about this film - but I honestly don't believe I've ever sat down and watched it beginning to end, even back in the day.

Is there a consensus on which version is considered superior?

Special Edition every single way 100x over. I cannot even watch the theatrical anymore. Its not just a difference of "oh this little scene adds some more flesh to the bones", no, this version completely changes the entire meaning of the story.

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by Danespina

Anyone else find lots of laughter in their screening? The jokes were landing in Ontario. Even when Lindsey told Virgil to roll over to stop snoring.

Yup, more than I was used to. I'm glad they had fun though
Hippie got the most laughs. I remember him being in the Dana Carvey movie "Opportunity Knocks" made around the same time, and then he kinda disappeared. He's a director now I think.

[rubystone356]

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/date/2...?ref_=bo_hm_rd

the box office for the abyss screening.

Jacob

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by sojrner

Having been on many crews of workers from logging, metalwork, and others, I have worked with people represented solidly by each character in this movie. Those lines are exactly how they communicate and behave in those environments. It was true back in the 80s and stays true today. B***h is a gendered word that is genderless in its application, even then, but definitely is the baseline for animosity. Keep your X on, don't get your Y in a twist, whatever snaps your Z are all very common dismissal phrases. It not only rings true to the character group, but it's vital to her arc. (as KMFDM noted)

Whether your perception thinks it's cringy today, or thought it was back then, it's no less real. Many people join these working crews and are immediately hit by that shock as well. I've seen quite a few movies that get everything wrong on how groups like this talk, but this isn't one of them.

Remember that Cameron was a truck driver and he prob was influenced by some of the vernacular as well.

[bilbofett]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

I'll keep repeating, the presence of DVD editorial errors somehow getting carried over into this DCP makes me think this wasn't the final version. The LD and original Special Edition didn't have them apparently.

I think you may be onto something. Its quite possible this is the exact same deliverable screened at BeyondFest, which was 2k. Cameron said they slowly walked through it all and reframed. The guys who saw this at Dolby Cinema (which has HDR) said it didn't look like it was in HDR at all.
We'll have to see how the digital looks next week.

[thebarnman]

Originally Posted by Bolty

14 weeks is a long time to wait for this and Aliens.

14 weeks is a long time to read this thread before it comes out.

[5150z]

Originally Posted by rubystone356

The Abyss (Special Edition) - Movie Review - YouTube

I was just about to post the link, and then saw you beat me to it. The best part perhaps starts at the 7:40 mark of the video! LOL

[Dr. T]

Originally Posted by thebarnman

14 weeks is a long time to read this thread before it comes out.

People will be watching this on their home theaters next week.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by Dr. T

People will be ripping the video apart after watching this on their home theaters next week.

Sorry had to do it.

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by shane01

Same thing happened with a guy sitting behind me when I saw this at Beyond Fest. He'd give a short little "hmm" laugh/acknowledgement sound several times a minute. Like he was in on some kind of joke. This happens a lot at rep screenings. Some people think they're on their couch with their buddies or something. It's annoying.

Yeah, a little self-awareness goes a long way.

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by fteixeira

While rare, I have dealt with obnoxious unaware wingnuts like this. Other than IMAX, which I most recently saw Oppenheimer, I now much prefer the home theater presentation. 4K, ATMOS, HDR, and large OLED displays (and even capable 4K projectors) provides a home experience on par with a theater, if not better,. Sad, but true IMHO.

Yeah, except for maybe Dolby and Laser IMAX, you can have a home theater that surpasses cinema quality. It may not feel as big (all depends on the individual setup), but home theater has come a long way.

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by bilbofett

SoCal viewer here, some super tall guy (with his super tall date) to my right was doing the exact same thing, laughing at EVERY SINGLE LINE intended for mild smirks, even some lines that I didn't find funny at all. It was obnoxious and distracting, though I'm glad he had fun.

*Special Edition deleted scene from my life: When I arrived at the theater, super-tall guy & gal (both were easily 6'5 or 6'6) scanned me up and down slowly, almost gawking, like, they were considering me for a threesome. No joke. Lol. And then they came and sat right next to me.

lol. Awkard experiences for sure.

It gets harder and harder to justify going to the cinema. I still enjoy it for the most part but have found myself going a little less lately.

[Danespina]

Abyss in theatres is pretty damn great though. Like seriously immersive. Just being enveloped in dark blue. It gave the sense of being deep in the ocean at times.

Really cool that they gave us a theatrical option, even if just for 1 day.

One of my movie viewing highlights of the year.