The Abyss (1989) (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn

Release Date: March 12, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

In this underwater sci-fi adventure written and directed by James Cameron, a nuclear sub mysteriously sinks and a private oil rig crew, led by foreman Bud Brigman (Ed Harris), is recruited to join a team of Navy SEALs on a search and rescue effort. The group soon finds themselves on a spectacular life-and-death odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, where they find a mysterious force that could either change the world — or destroy it. The Abyss also stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn.

Please Note: 20^th Century Studios Home Entertainment/Disney provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

THE MOVIE – REVIEW:

‘The Abyss’ accompanies the crew of a private oil rig led by Bud Brigman who is enlisted to join a team of Navy SEALs on an underwater search and rescue mission after a nuclear sub mysteriously sinks and vanishes. As the two groups begin to make the journey down into the depths of the ocean, mysterious situations and occurrences randomly occur, leading some to believe that there might be something of extraterrestrial origin lurking in the dark depths and trying to make contact. While trying to maintain the rig and keep relationships jovial, Bud and his team must try to figure out the reality of their situation while also trying to stay alive as the mission becomes increasingly more dangerous and uncertain.

The beloved sci-fi adventure was written and directed by James Cameron who does an outstanding job at the helm of ‘The Abyss’ passionately guiding along this thrilling and emotional underwater sci-fi epic. The film’s cast includes Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn, along with more and each offer notable and worthy performances in their respective roles that have helped this film to continually stand the test of time and still deliver as powerful of an experience today as it did when first released in theaters more than three decades ago.

‘The Abyss’ was originally released into theaters in the summer of 1989 and sent audiences on a thrilling, powerful and terrifying adventure into the deepest depths of the ocean where things become even more mysterious the further they journey. It’s a marvelous film that promptly grabs ahold of your attention and keeps you engaged every step of the way until its unexpected, yet powerful and touching conclusion. Perhaps even more impressive than the film itself was is just how well it still holds up today, more than three decades after its initial release; something that seems to be quite common for many of James Cameron’s offerings and that’s no coincidence as the talented filmmaker has repeatedly been one to accomplish remarkable things in film, not to mention typically being the first to do so.

‘The Abyss’ still looks marvelous even by modern standards, something which is truly impressive in its own right. Almost nothing about the film appears dated or lackluster when viewed today or detracts from the believability of the experience. With a unique story at its core, the expert guidance of James Cameron who directs from his own script to complement it, and a powerhouse cast of talented individuals to seal the deal including a standout performance by Cameron regular Michael Biehn who is downright phenomenal as the struggling and hard edged SEAL leader, ‘The Abyss’ still delivers pure cinematic magic. If you’ve never had the pleasure of this remarkable gem of a film, I can’t encourage you strongly enough to make a point of giving it a whirl whenever possible.

OVERALL:

20^th Century Studios Home Entertainment brings ‘The Abyss’ home at last for the first time ever on both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray in this new Ultimate Collector’s Edition release; released in conjunction with the 4K UHD releases of other James Cameron films ‘Aliens’ (you can check out my review of the ‘Aliens’ 4K UHD release HERE) and ‘True Lies’ (keep an eye out for my review of the ‘True Lies’ 4K release later this week). The release features both the 1989 Theatrical Version and the 1993 Special Edition version of ‘The Abyss’ included on the 4K UHD disc in full Ultra High Definition with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 (and additionally in 1080p HD on Blu-ray) and the film looks quite spectacular for the most part, even if some fans may be irked once again by the over-polishing that removes much of the grain and other artifacts inherent to the source, but no matter how you may feel personally about that choice one thing is certain; this is easily the best ‘The Abyss’ has ever looked at home in nearly every way. The 4K disc’s presentation is beautifully complemented by a wonderful Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack (while the Blu-ray disc features a 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack) and an additional Blu-ray disc dedicated entirely to supplements which includes a couple of brand new extras paired with some previously released bonus material.

While there will surely be those pickier individuals complaining about the smoothness of the remaster (and I’m not saying there isn’t at least a modicum of justification to their complaints), it’s safe to say that this is the finest looking of these three new 4K releases and even if it may not be exactly what some want, it’s hard to ignore just how marvelous and impeccably detailed this presentation truly is. If you’re a huge fan of this film that can live without the overload of grain you might be accustomed to in exchange for some outstanding detail and clarity, then this release is definitely recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Abyss’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation of both the 1989 Theatrical Version and the 1993 Special Edition with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, with the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation offers a clean, sharp and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any faults or unexpected troubles arising throughout. The presentation does remove much of the grain and other artifacts representative of the source which just as was the case with ‘Aliens’ will surely upset some of the diehard cinephiles out there. Fortunately the release doesn’t ever look artificial or overly odd and for those that can disregard every specific detail remembered from the DVD or Laserdisc presentation, this new presentation actually looks pretty tremendous.

It shows outstanding detail and clarity every step of the way on everything from character faces and interior elements of the rig, in addition to the underwater sequences which all dazzle with their impeccable detail; even wrinkles and drops of water look remarkably sharp and perfect. The Dolby Vision HDR only further complements the majority of it by contributing some richer, more vibrant and detailed blues and other colors throughout which are nicely boosted even more so by deep, rich black levels throughout. Overall, this is a rather gorgeous Ultra High Definition video presentation that might disappoint some hoping for a more faithful, filmic presentation but still looks awfully magnificent.

The release also includes both versions of the film on Blu-ray (which also marks the first time the film has been made available on Blu-ray as well as 4K UHD) which is presented in full 1080p High Definition with the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation included here looks quite good in its own right, with the same remaster and a largely similar presentation, minus of course the additional resolution and HDR options of the 4K disc.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack sounds spectacular and provides a clean, crisp and thoroughly immersive audio presentation that doesn’t disappoint. It consistently takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send action, underwater, alien and sea craft effects, along with storm and weather elements and plenty more repeatedly zipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a spectacular Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that’s a definite treat and should thrill fans as well as newcomers.

The Blu-ray version of the film included within on the other hand features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack which sounds marvelous in its own right and is actually surprisingly close in quality to the Dolby Atmos track. Those who might pick this up even if they’re not yet fully 4K capable for access to the Blu-ray copy should find very little to be disappointed about with this very solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA presentation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Abyss’ includes some noteworthy bonus material which includes some brand new extras exclusive to the release. The entirety of the bonus material can be found on the dedicated ‘Special Features’ Blu-ray disc within. Included are some new and previously released Featurettes and making of looks at the film that feature interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and much more. Included are ‘Deep Dive: A Conversation with James Cameron’ (running approximately 32 minutes in length), ‘The Legacy of The Abyss’ (running approximately 25 minutes) and ‘Under Pressure: Making The Abyss’ (approximately 59 minutes). A collection of Archives featuring the extras from the film’s DVD release are also included and offer tons of extra content, stills and more.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray disc included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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James Cameron’s ‘The Abyss’ is Now Available to Own in a 4K Ultra HD Ultimate Collector’s Edition from 20^th Century Studios Home Entertainment