The crew of an experimental, high-tech submersible is called into action to investigate a mysterious nuclear submarine crash. A series of strange encounters leads the crew to suspect the accident was caused by an extraterrestrial craft, and that they may be participating in an encounter with an alien species. However, in order to make contact, they must not only brave the abyss, an exceedingly deep underwater canyon, but also deal with the violent actions of one of their own crew members, an increasingly paranoid Navy SEAL officer. Approved by director James Cameron, The Abyss: Special Edition is an extended director's cut of the 1989 underwater science fiction epic, reinstating nearly a half hour of footage removed from the original release under studio pressure. Much of the restored footage places the film's events in a grander political context, as the crew's mission becomes a factor in the dangerous escalation of nuclear tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The largest change involves the film's ending, which provides further information on the aliens' mission on Earth, bringing the film to closer to Cameron's intention: a modern remake of Robert Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still. Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide -- _entertainment_movies_seemoregenres

The crew of an experimental high-tech submersible is called into action to investigate a mysterious nuclear submarine crash. A series of strange encounters leads the crew to suspect the accident was caused by an extraterrestrial craft and that they may be participating in an encounter with an alien species. However in order to make contact they must not only brave the abyss an exceedingly deep underwater canyon but also deal with the violent actions of one of their own crew members an increasingly paranoid Navy SEAL officer. Approved by director James Cameron The Abyss: Special Edition is an extended director's cut of the 1989 underwater science fiction epic reinstating nearly a half hour of footage removed from the original release under studio pressure. Much of the restored footage places the film's events in a grander political context as the crew's mission becomes a factor in the dangerous escalation of nuclear tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The largest ch -- Media > DVDs & Videos

3 out of 5 stars!   MMMMMMMMMMMM....cheesy! 2010-07-30

What else can be said about James Cameron that hasent already been said? Well, how about this....he is a dual-edged sword. On the one hand, you have a master craftsman in all areas of filmmaking, screenwriting, and forward-thinking technicalvisual excellence, vision, and ambition. It would be difficult to think of too many individuals who are in that same league. But at the same time, you have a very cheesy (ya, I said it!) individual who populates his films and screenplays with the same unbelievable stereotypes over and over again. The dialog is beyond corny, the storyline is nothing more then variations on extremely common (and tired) themes we've seen since the early days of film. He makes movies for the masses, and the masses are hungry. Hungry for what? Cheese, of course. They like their fromage any way they can get it. Do his films suck because of this? Oh farts no. But are they unique stories with complex, interesting, or true-to-life characters that turn a passive bit of entertainment into an experience which enriches your life in some way other then having a semi-thrilling 2+ hours spent sitting on your bloated rear end? Some would say no. But in his defense, I strongly doubt he'd call himself a master of unique andor artistic storytelling. He makes entertaining action films which nearly always push the envelope of what is technically (and financially!) possible at that time. The Abyss shows him at his best, and excelling in those areas where he is quite possibly second to none. To call this film ambitious would be a massive understatement. But dont take my word for it, watch the endless (and highly informativeentertaining) bonus features on the second disc. When this film was made, it might have been historically, the most difficult film ever produced. But I must say, the usual Cameron cheesiness finds multiple opportunities to make you say oh what, stop it! I remember when I saw this in the theater, during one particular scene, a man somewhere in the theater screamed out oh get the F$K out of here!. An entertaining film, nonetheless. On a semi-unrelated rant, to those who maintain his sequel to Alien is better then the original directed by Ridley Scott...please shut your pie-holes and feed another slice of delicious chocolate cake into it. The original, made for only 8 million, was a ground-breaking film in terms of it's affect on that genre. Some would say it was the most imitated sci-fithrillermonster film ever made, and I would have to agree with that. Cameron's infinitely more expensive version certainly wasnt bad at all. Damn great, actually. But whom do we applaud? Most of what Cameron used in his sequel, were more expensive versions of the same themes and gimmicks that worked so well in the original. ...but with the addition of cheesy dialog. He merely expanded upon a superb film with great special effects (for the time). There you have it. In this reviewers opinion, James Cameron is absolutely inhuman in terms of a brutally masterful technician and director, but an average storytellerartistwriter (at best). Makes one sort of wonder though, how shockingly different things would be if this mans talent matched his skills...in all areas! You'd end up with films so bowel-shakingly and disturbingly good, that you'd possibly get diarrhea from the sheer brilliance of it. I hope such an individual is never born, I dont think the average movie-goer would be able to take it. Cheers.
          -- sissyboy Where you can marry your sister

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