As far as physical media is concerned James Cameron’s underwater sci-fi classic adventure has been in obscurity. Last year the director announced that three of his action classics would be getting 4K restorations and releases on the format. Those titles are True Lies, Aliens and of course The Abyss. All three have been released in the USA. True Lies hits 4K next week in the UK. Followed by Aliens on the 22nd of April 2024. That leaves The Abyss, oh wait sorry UK film fans the censors have an issue with a fake rat scene so you won’t be getting that one.
“God dammit”
Oh wait 4K disks are region free and play on any 4K player and if you have an all region Blu-Ray player you can even play the bonus Blu-Ray. “Yay” stuff censorship! We can simply import the new three disk set. There’s Amazon, Wow HD, Film Treasures, eBay and many more who will supply us with the movie.
The Abyss is an epic underwater thrill ride staring Ed Harris ( Knightriders & The Truman Show) as well as Mary Mastrantonio notably Tony’s sister from Scarface. Theres even a small roll for the guy who plays Kelso from Scrubs, Ken Jenkins. In fact the whole cast in this movie is fantastic. After a submarine accident a rookie crew working on an oil rig descend into deeper territory accompanied by shady military navy seals. Their objective is to recover any survivors. Whilst down there they soon discover that as a species we are not alone. There is something lurking in the Abyss the question is are they friend or foe?
The new transfer pops and everything looks and sounds phenomenal. Sure some of the special effects are outdated. However for a 1989 film they still look impressive. Whilst viewing this new transfer I kept thinking that the movie looks like it was shot in recent times, It’s that good. Don’t miss out on this memorable movie and release. You as a collector need this in your life so get the U.S edition as the UK won’t have the opportunity due to red tape and censorship. The movie is a PG-13 (12) for goodness sake. Even the slipcover featuring new artwork is shiny and gorgeous.
The verdict is: When you can, grab a copy and embark on a thrill ride into the abyss.