Nat, Cody, and Robert take a deep dive into James Cameron’s THE ABYSS.
Riding high off the success of THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS, James Cameron took two of his main interests, undersea exploration and science fiction, and combined them in THE ABYSS. By all accounts a grueling shoot, THE ABYSS emerged in the Summer of 1989, after a slew of undersea thrillers beat him to the punch, as one of his most personal films. Even in a truncated form. In the wake of BATMAN and LETHAL WEAPON 2, it needed international audiences to claw back its budget but its influence stretches through much of his subsequent work.
THE ABYSS was also not forgotten by Cameron who went out of his way to complete it as a special edition. And the radically different third act makes it quite the different film and engages with Cameron’s fears of nuclear armageddon that would find their way into T2.
Speaking of T2, the cutting-edge CGI of the water tentacle scene would soon upend Hollywood’s approach to special effects. Even back in the day, THE ABYSS was an amazing display of technical craft both practical and virtual. Just compare to BATMAN from the same summer.
But despite all the technical marvels, it’s the love story between Ed Harris’s Bud and Mary Elizabeth Mastriantonio’s Linsey that makes up the core of the film. You have to dive deep to fully find the depth of that love, even when the other might irritate the hell out of you.
There’s a lot to discuss with THE ABYSS although unlike Ed Harris we don’t want to take a swing at James Cameron.
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Time tracks:
0:00:00 – THE ABYSS Discussion
1:04:56- Next Movie and Outro
Next month, we journey to the Sun in Danny Boyle’s SUNSHINE. We hope you’ll join us.
