And that's why the city of Cameron Park in CA is a war zone named after James Cameron for that reason. Lol. Just kidding its actually a really nice city.
The cinematic alter ego of Zap Branigan. “I sent wave after wave of my own men at the kill bots until they reached their preset kill limit and turned off” Random crew member in the distance: “You suck!”
I still can't wrap my head around how in the ever living hell Cameron gave his blessing for the script for Terminator Dark Fate when you see him go to these great lengths for his movies.
It was actually part of the deal he made with the studio that allowed him to finally regain 100% controlling rights to The Terminator brand after (Dark Fate) was completed. I personally think the Studio deliberately made a shitty film to destroy the franchise so Cameron wouldn't be able to resurrect it.
"Steven Spielberg's experiences with Jaws a decade earlier persuaded him that he needed a more controllable environment to do his movie in. That's when he discovered an abandoned nuclear power-plant in South Carolina." This is peak James Cameron.
- Mr. Cameron, your crew will be at risk or radiation poisoning... - Yeah but it's a controlled environment! It's perfect! - But.. - Here's 10 million dollars, now stfu.
Cameron did make a lot of money from The Abyss. Just not in the ways that people think. A lot of the gear used, such as the more open faced diving helmets that let you see the divers face, was specifically invented for the Movie. Cameron holds the patents. There were a number of major innovations in diving and breathing gear developed in the process of torturing the cast and crew. A lot of them ended up greatly lowering the costs of commercial diving gear, and improving regular SCUBA and Firefighter SCBA gear. Love or hate James Cameron and his movies, if you look behind them you find he pioneers a lot of innovative technologies.
@Wytchfinde He was probably working with a team who actually designed them. He likely wrote the design requirements, but he had enough foresight to patent the designs the team came up with.
@Wytchfinde well, if i have an idea, and i pay someone to realize it, then i own what you made. like what directors and producers do when making movies.
And then the only DVD " remastered special edition" version of The Abyss available since release, is shoddy interlaced 240p 4:3 letterbox garbage. I'm glad the firefighters are safer, but I played that DVD for less than 3 minutes, and it went straight back to the shop for a refund. The screen space loss is 32% horizontal and 50% vertical. Meanwhile, the 3D Bluray of Pocahonsmurfvatars and 4k are available.
I will hardcore stand behind the abyss as a film. Honestly, especially at the time in the 90's, it was one of the most interesting films i'd ever seen, with an incredible amount of tension. I'll never forget that resuscitation scene. The way Ed Harris cracks when he won't accept that his ex wife is dead.....that shit is movie gold.
I also love the scene where the umbilical nearly lands on them, great tension as you see the cord piling up on the seabed in front of them. Then just when you think the danger is over it drags them off the trench.
This is actually one of my favorite Cameron films. There's no movie quite like it. There have been many attempts at underwater sci-fi action, but this one really feels immersive by virtue of the fact that almost everything you see was done for real in a giant tank.
Yeah I quite like it. And underwater films are rare and a space to explore. I thought they made an interesting and novel film. Not perfect but not a waste of time.
I agree, but only if we are talking about the special edition, as I have yet to see the theatrical (honestly, though, I cant imagine it being anywhere near as good with everything that was removed). Overall, though, I do like Aliens a hell of a lot, and the first 2 Terminators are great and all, but the special edition of The Abyss is probably my favorite movie by Cameron.
Exactly what I thought when the issue first came to light. Honestly I thought he physically assaulted them or something but it turns out he said some “mean things”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣seriously I’m glad Henry Cavill hasn’t commented on it
I think it's more the fact that it should be a professional work environment and their "boss" is abusing them and they can't really do anything about it
It is a classic movie. I dont know if I can call it underrated because Ive never met anyone who doesnt like it. But it is overshadowed by Aliens and T2 which are both somehow even better. Overall, it's one of my top 10 movies of all time. I'm gonna watch it right now.
There's a path down the valley, across the stream that stretches from here to the ocean. Past the wandering woods, over the Bowerstone Bridge, and just aside the Melody Meadows, you'll find a small hut. I'd advise against taking it, though it's a small hut, and you should want nothing from it. The people there are hardy, and they make great arms. But many seek them out, for it is said that they possess knowledge lost to modern man, wisdom of ancient scholars. The Warsmiths know great movies.
Ours was Titanic I’ve seen it every year since i was 8 or something on every type of screen imaginable black&white flat and everything in between. But the abyss is cool too
I don't know why but that sounds like a really good premise for a movie horror of how a director goes insane and tries to kill everyone on his quest for the perfect shot, image The Shining but replace Jack with Cameron, the family with the film crew, the hotel with the nuclear power-plant and the ghosts with some random workers from the plant who died in a horrible accident.
@@markgoodwin9948 Umm no he didn't. And if you're about to tell me to change my mind about the greatest achievement in human history, you cant. The moon landing was 100 percent real.
Every now and then you might see an actor complain about all the CG and having to act in front of bright blue screens all the time, but shit... Something tells me that beats having to put up with this kind of thing.
@@ArlanKels I remember the first time I saw The Abyss and the scene with the little rat breathing the fluid and I was thinking, that doesn't look like acting to me.
@@andrewtaylor940 *It depends. There's 2 versions of Apocalypse Now. I had a friend who was a film historian, Bill Everson, (**en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_K._Everson#:~:text=Keith%20William%20Everson%20(8%20April,also%20discovered%20several%20lost%20films.)**, and saw an early "rush" of the completed film - and it was **_jaw droppingly_** amazing. Strange as fuck, but amazing! I saw it several times in his home-built theater, and couldn't wait for it to hit the big screen. Well, when I saw it at the theater, it was a lot different, much shorter, and missing some of the threads that should have been there to hold it together. The story I got was that it was considered too long for a theater to show it and still make a living, as they need to pack a certain number of showings into each day just to break even, so they cut out like an hour of film - and it seriously altered the finished product for the worse. I keep hoping to see an announcement someday that says they're going to release an "Everson Cut" on Blu-Ray - but I know it's not likely to ever happen... :-(*
Probably nobody thought "swimming pool maintenance" in the context of a giant reactor chamber being filled with water and used as a movie set. It's not like that happened a lot.
Think this should've been a combo of "The Drinker Recommends" and "Production Hell". Cause as bad as it was was for the actors and workers on the film, the end result was a boon for cinema goers.
I don't agree that this is the one to recommend. The movie is entertaining, but there is a reason why it's not one of Cameron's best and I think the ending is to blame, with it's ham-fisted message. Even ignoring the ending, I don't know how to put it to words precisely, this movie is very much a "movie". Not that I need my expectations subverted, but I feel like the Abyss is a slap-dashed monster of movie chiches in a fairly interesting setup, which can be fun if it's supplemented by good acting/writing. Think we had the first one, not sure about the latter. It's a decent watch - visually impressive, very well shot, solid performances. It just kinda has that "ehh" feeling about it, idk.
@@Laxontlyn Not every movie has to be trying for 5-star Oscar material with heavy deep themes. It's a very rewatchable movie. And Kyle Reese was great in it.
Kostiantyn you’re right. It could EASILY have been one of Cameron’s best but the Disney left-turn ending ruined it. But up until the last 10-15min it’s a dynamite, white knuckle great film.
I work in the marine industry and I have to say, these actors got a true taste of how friggin hard it can be to combine technology, electronics, water, and pressure all while trying not to kill your friends in the process of achieving something! So for people like me this is a fantastic film that really captures how utterly mental people can become when working in these conditions, being surprised by "latent" goals of so called team members, and the sheer isolation that accompanies crews, even when things go well.
I have the special edition that has the extra footage, which I prefer over the theatrical cut. I really like this movie.
3 роки тому+4
I think "masterpiece" is an overused term these days, but yes, it is a great movie. It is very visually interesting because it's actual sets and not just cgi backgrounds.
I met Ed Harris once and said how The Abyss was one of my favorite movies. Let's just say that he was very polite but definitely not impressed. 😅 ..and this happened before I knew how much of a hell it was to be in that movie, so I was bit confused.
This film had one of the most powerful and emotional scenes for me anyways. The part where they're trapped and only have one suit and there's 2 of them and they decide one has to voluntarily drown and be revived. That whole part had me living through it with them. Amazing and thrilling, it's still in my memory from seeing it at release. Maybe it's because they were all emotionally on the edge in real life?
How could you forget what happened to cause Ed Harris to cry on the side of the road? He almost died underwater because he tank wasn’t working and camera man had to swim in to hook up his air tank to save him. It was absolutely horrifying and he was just so thankful to be alive.
@Omar De Sa 1COMODIN9 probably because he makes pleasant movies that look both fun to make and watch, i doubt people mind making those movies as perfect as possible
I find the incident when Cameron almost drowned interesting, because it gives an interesting insight into how the mind of this man works. Creates a production hell, treats his actors and crew like shit and does not care when their life is endangered or their health is damaged. Gives them crappy, broken equipment. Still wants everyone functioning flawlessly. Then he endangers himself by caring about nothing than his 'artistical vision', gets in even more trouble, because the man himself gave a crap when his rescue diver got faulty equipment or that a man sat on the radio that could save lifes who apparently was almost deaf _because of the working conditions Cameron created_ and _then_ he fires them, because _his_ life was in danger. I get it, artistic vision and exceptional talent and 'genius often comes at the cost of social skills' and all that, but that was just a dick move that showed that Cameron very well cared - just not about others.
Ed Harris's breakdown incident occurred after he almost drowned while filming the abyss freefall scene where he had to hold his breath while pretending to breath the oxygenated fluid. He got into trouble and needed air and one of the nearby divers tried to help but stuck the air regulator in upside down and he got a mouth full of water and no air. Fortunately, his safety diver got there in time and saved him.
Crippies these both this story and the guy with the broken regulator that almost drowned James Cameron make it seem like these safety divers were just awful.
Didn’t Harris also nearly drowned, yet Cameron kept filming, and when someone found Harris and revived him, the moment Harris woke up, the first thing he did was punched Cameron in the face?
The more I see Production hell, the more I realise that some movies are better animated than live action filming. Hats of to those actors and team in making this film though.
Sadly being animated doesn't make you immune from production hell. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) and "Foodfight!" (2012) are two examples, and where to even start with "The Thief and the Cobbler"
I agree, but it does help if watch the director's cut version; the theatrical cut had the plot carefully removed so you have no idea why anything is happening...
You should do one of these on Twilight Zone: The Movie. There was a very gruesome accident that happened during the production of that movie involving a helicopter blade, and a man carrying two kids. That movie was cursed. The fact that they didn't cancel the movie entirely after that accident still blows my mind.
The director John Landis got over-complacent & took reckless chances; past actors who worked with him claimed he was a tyrannical perfectionist & a bully when it came to expensive on scene stunts & pyrotechnics.
Yeah not a good time in John Landis's movie career. I remember an interview with him during the court case and lawsuit phase for Twilight Zone, where he mentioned his earlier flop, Howard the Duck.
I remember that it was an niche live comic adaptation. Shame that the director fell hard; since he did produce some of the best stunt sequences on screen.
The movie wasn't "cursed". The helicopter scene was directed by John Landis, a coked-up asshole who ignored dozens of warnings and went ahead with a scene that was shot late at night, in waist deep water, with illegal child labor, a low flying helicopter, and many large explosions. Landis' insanity drove him to keep telling the pilot to fly lower and the pyro crew to set more explosions off. The pilot became very nervous and was evidently on the verge of ignoring Landis and flying away when the tail rotor was damaged by an explosion.
"The Abyss" stands as one of, if not the most viscerally terrifying movies I have ever seen. "Edge of your seat" might be a cliche description but seeing this in the theater was the very first time I ever really experienced it, and I still can't watch this without feeling the creeping horror and weight of all that water..
The Abyss is a classic, with a ton of memorable moments. The ring saving him at the door, taking advantage of the cold water and letting her die, the slow descent of the SEAL with the shakes, the liquid monster making its debut, the underwater vehicle fight leading to a explosive decompression, etc. Just great stuff.
It was a good movie, but the SEAL team going nuts and turning into the villains ruined it for me. No one that unstable would ever make it through SEAL training. Plus the movie didn't need human villains. The elements served the purpose well enough.
@@TheStapleGunKid I understand, as Hollywood likes to paint military guys as crazed etc., but I thought they did a good job of making his arguments reasonable, and implying the shakes were driving his actions.
@@AlwaysAudacity I didn't find it convincing at all. The idea that the civilians handle the crisis better then the trained warrior elites was just absurd.
@@TheStapleGunKid They explained it in the film. No one can anticipate who can succumb to the pressure, and, if you stripped the film to only Coffey's perspective, he could be seen as the lone hero who's taking steps to protect something bigger than himself around selfish civilians. The civilians onboard though have already acclimated to the pressure, so they can see the situation more clearly. All said, if the whole squad went crazy, it would've been silly, but since it's just one guy who happened to be command, it's far more plausible.
@@wiredtardis I still didn't find it convincing. Even if he did go crazy, he wouldn't go so crazy as to try to detonate a nuclear weapon without authorization from civilian authorities. Everyone in the military knows that's never acceptable. It just felt like a really contrived excuse to throw a human villain into the movie, which wasn't necessary since the horrors of the depths provided a significant enough challenge to the characters on their own.
He wasn't much of a safety diver if he hadn't checked his backup regulator, that's a standard check before every dive, also peeing in wetsuits is normal...isn't it?!
@Man on phone Nope. At least not sea water. My dad has stories of evil plans his half brother did, crapping in the sea and gently pushing unsuspecting people towards the horrible mess. Evil, evil things.
Despite all the dangers & challenges that went on with filming the Abyss, I want to thank Cameron & his crew, for the payoff is a masterpiece. It is also one of the few Sci Fi themed movies that me & my father could enjoy together.
That's probably the only reason why The Abyss was finished. If he acted like an upstart idiot relaxing while his crew and cast suffers, the entire production would have stalled within 2 or 3 weeks.
Yes, u saw avatar last week for the first time last week at my father-in-law's urging since he's watched it several times. It was quite awful, terrible, and grueling having to sit for 2 hrs and 40+ minutes.
True story: I was once doing a 40m deep dive in the poor knights island when i ran out of air. Only i was high as a kite on nitrogen narcosis so i didnt care. Lucky for me my diving buddy spotted the symptoms and got me to the surface using his air. and trust me, it takes a long time to surface from 40m. legend.
@@TheBelrick I was at 40m off of Rarotonga on New Year's Eve, 2005, and I know the feeling. It took over half an hour to resurface, because you have to make at least 2 or 3 stops on the way back up to avoid decompression sickness. I had nausea from that on at least one occasion; the feeling you get after going on a roller coaster ride after drinking a six pack of beer. Horrible feeling, indeed!!!
You ever seen The Director's Cut, drinker? I think it's vast improvement over the theatrical version and elaborates further on the characters and their individual back stories. Yes, the uncut ending crosses into preachy territory but adds more detail to the motives behind the aliens' reasons for being there besides studying humans. Also allows Bud the opportunity to speak for humanity rather than just be a fish out of water (no pun intended).
Person 1: "Did you guys hear that strange sound too"? Person 2: Switches off radio "nah.. must have been the wind". Person 3: "Don't worry, it will be fine".
Underrated movie. The resuscitation scene is fantastic. Very intense almost seems real. Where abyss fails in explosions it excels in capturing the anxiety of being underwater in very tight quarters with imo excellent acting.
Wow! I didn’t know about Cameron nearly drowning and the fact that they used real ammo in the moon pool. Damn! The risks and problems on this set were just insane!
@@Nixton1996 We could maybe have a production with all the great work, sacrifice, grit, determination, sheer will and courage.... ...minus getting the actors killed.
His name is James Cameron The bravest pioneer No budget too steep, no sea too deep Who's that? It's him, James Cameron James Cameron explorer of the sea With a dying thirst to be the first Could it be? Yeah that's him! James Cameron
Aww, that film still doesn't get enough love. The extended cut makes so much more sense of the story, with a climax that feels like it's earned the emotional pay-off it delivers. It's a really eerie, tense, well-plotted movie - although the pacing suffers a little - and it has a hugely uplifting feelgood ending, which you just don't get enough of in this world.
I really didn't like the director's cut. I thought the added dimension of the aliens passing judgement on humanity (and by extention, being preached at by Cameron) destroyed the tone of the film entirely. Basing the end just on the events and relationships of the characters worked perfectly and didn't need to be meddled with. The added message was ham-fisted, badly presented, based on terrible extra footage, felt like it was just tacked on as an afterthought (or more likely cut for a very Very VERY good reason in the first place) and just ruined the whole thing. It felt more like a vanity project - "My Aliens Director's Cut was excellent, why would my Abyss Director's Cut not be?" I'll stick with the theatrical cut, thanks very much.
Kind of makes you think The Truman Show was just him doing a James Cameron impression. "I built your whole world just to mess with your head to keep my TV show going forever, and I literally speak to you from the sun like I'm God."
He should have added that breakdown happened after Harris almost died during the shoot. He was under fucking water with that helmet filled with water and support divers were supposed to come in from out of frame and give him air after each shot. His rescue diver got tangled in a line and couldn’t get to him. The panic of literally reaching the end of your breath hold would have me sobbing too.
Your clear thinking and endurance, when it comes to imbibing near-leathal volumes of intoxicating beverages; is truly amazing. I could only call myself a semi competent drunk myself.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." - Nietzsche This film was incredible. I love the atmosphere, the sets, and all the dive sequences. The ending is a little campy, but my god the characters are amazing. I didn't know the production was THAT plagued with issues! Wow. Thanks for covering this, Drinker.
@@AutomationDnD Yeah, for years all I had was the theatrical version that my parents recorded on VHS. When I bought the DVD years later, I saw the director's cut. It's a little heavy-handed on the "war is bad" theme, but I guess that's how people felt in the 80s?
Cameron has total control over his films and he doesn't have the time right now to supervise a 4k hdr conversion. I expect it will be released with a 4k version of Avatar before Avatar 2's launch. There's some 4k fan made upscaled HDR clips on youtube of Avatar and they look so fucking gorgeous!
@@xGaLoSx YEah right, Avatar 2 has been in production for more than eleven years 11 YEARS ! Christ at this pace, James is going to walk with a can when avatar 2 releases and that is if he's not 6 feet under....and The Abyss 8K SUPER HDR will have fallen...eh .well....into to abyss ! What a waste !
The Abyss is my favourite Cameron movie. I first saw it shortly after release in a packed Cinema on a Friday night, where the audience sat silently rapt for much of the time. Very intense, very unusual. I loved everything about it. And now I sit here patiently for yet another decade waiting for the Blu-Ray release.
Is there a way to just burn it to blu-ray? I'd consider purchasing it just for the sheer crap that the cast and crew went through, but it seems everyone's moving to streaming. That said, I have to respect Cameron as a director. Even though he put his cast and crew through hell, he clearly held himself to the same standards by going back to work after nearly dying.
@@snapeinvader6208 so far as I'm aware there isn't a full HD/4K transfer available on any media. All I've ever seen is the original DVD, and Special Edition. DVD resolution was pretty spectacular back in the day, but not so much anymore..... before the DVD I had first the VHS, then the Laserdisc. They keep teasing us though: "Director James Cameron has confirmed that his beloved film The Abyss has been recently remastered in 4K and will be released on Blu-ray in 2017."
Two of my favorite performances in this film. The death/recessitstion scene is one of the most powerful I've seen in film history as far as I'm concerned. Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth hated it so much, but it's by far their greatest performance.
I love this movie. I would watch it with my Dad and he would comment on how great the shots were and how much he loved this scene and loved that scene. He was involved in deep diving so he appreciated the dangers of being underwater, both as a character in the movie and for the actors who had to work in those conditions.
This movie holds a special place in my heart. I absolutely loved every second of the movie and was riveted all the way up to the worst ending in movie history. They spent all that money on realism and the "alien ship" looked like someone ran to Toys R Us and bought a toddlers "my little spaceship" toy. I'm a little disappointed the Drinker didn't mention it. I'd never seen anything so good with an ending so horrible before or since and that was without knowing the hell they had to go through to make it.
Ed Harris is selling you a story that never happened. And you don't even question it. Pretty sure you wear a mask when you shower... baaa, baaa, baaaaaaaaa
The scene where Ed and Marianne are debating how they are going to swim from one place to the other knowing that there is only enough oxygen for one of them is terrifying. And then when Ed is working to revive her, it's agonizing. I know it must have been hell to make, but it's disappointing to think that those actors weren't proud of those amazing scenes. That was high level dramatic filmmaking there. I'm one of those people that think the ends justify the means. So when you think of the original Exorcist, we all know they went through hell filming those bedroom scenes. But is was SOOO worth it.
I've interviewed the head of creature effects for The Abyss, Steve Johnson a couple of times for my own channel. He's a really interesting guy with his own UA-cam channel called Rubber Rules where he talks about his experiences with Cameron. I believe the term, "Falling on my own sword like a Samurai." was stated more than a couple of times. lol.
Living in Florida and having just completed my scuba instructor course the abyss and everything about its production was right up my alley at the time. I couldn't get enough about it.
we forget that the reason why so many of our favorite movies are so legendary and timeless is because they were forged in fire like this they weren't created on a computer with green screen effects or often assembly line using a formula they had a director with a vision and a hell of a lot of badass cast and crew who probably wouldn't put up with a lot of these types of conditions today
Laser disc?! I saw those things when I was like 4 or 5 and thought they were the coolest fucking thing.. I'll never understand why they bailed on them for DVDs. The laser disc is so fucking cool lol
@@fakecubed I think he's doing the whole set all at once, which is at least part of why they've taken so long to make. They're going to HAVE to be released into theaters if the studio execs ever want to recoup at least some of their losses.
Maybe that is why Avatar 2 is still in production, officially and nobody ever heard of Sam Worthington again... Cameron accidentally killed everyone on the set and is trying to hide it, claiming he and his victims are working on 5 sequels simultaneously, while secretly constructing a underwater lair where the police can never catch him.
@@shan4680 It was actually cheaper to hire an actual alien to play her. William shatner introduced her to Cameron, I think she's his niece, daughter or something.
I remember going to the abandoned Cherokee Nuclear site with my dad when he was a consultant on that film. I remember meeting Gale Anne Hurd and having a discussion about how things were going. Lets just say there were a lot of reactionary decisions made, and not a lot of sitting down and thinking things through.
That lady worked on allot of stuff. After watching the walking dead a few seasons, her name was memorized and whenever an older production was on tv i would occasionally see her name in the credits of films going back to the 1980s.
I greatly enjoyed The Abyss. It was one of the first movies I ever bought for my home video collection. The script and performances really did the trick for me and the scenario is just close enough to reality to make it more engaging than most other sci-fi movies. I had no idea that the Oxygenated liquid was actually a legit thing. It always seemed to me that it was something that would be eventually possible, but not real for the time.
A film that was made before “the message” was the focal point of movies.Cameron may be a task master director,but he does deliver the goods.Terminator,Titanic and the Abyss are all entertaining and well worth the time to watch.
That is when actors were actually working hard to film movies. Nowadays it's just 1 hour of pretend in front of a green screen then off to twitter to virtue signal some more. No wonder Hollywood is in shambles.
To be fair, if it's a choice of standing in front of a green screen or going through a production hell like this, I can't blame them for taking the former... working hard != traumatic suffering
@drax rdax boy is that TRUE!! The Abyss could easily have been one of Cameron’s best films if not for the dreadful last 10 minutes! Up until that point it was an exciting white knuckle action packed film I thought. But yeah, Hollywood is DEAD now!
When this came out, I had to see it twice in the theaters. The first scene of the dying nuclear sub, the coolness of Ed harris, the hotness (and strong female) of Maria Mastroantonio, and the evil Kyle Reese.... This film had it all.
Aliens is my all time favourite film, but The Abyss is my guilty pleasure, I flipping love it, you can almost feel the stress and tension, bleeding into their performances and given what the story is that's nothing but good. If you haven't seen it, I can thoroughly recommend it, although I also fully understand why some people might not like it.
The safety diver might have actually saved Cameron’s life. Holding your breath while ascending can cause a fatal expansion of the air in one’s lungs. Which can cause your lungs to burst. The struggle over the broken regulator probably had Cameron expel most of the air in his lungs. Diving can be very dangerous.
@@Flaris He would have eventually killed him spraying water into his mouth…either way it was an accident, radio guy deserved to be fired but not safety diver guy.
Fantastic! It's about time this got another go-round for its sheer craziness and all that went into the making of it. Thanks for putting this together, Drinker. Holy hell this was lunacy. I remember hearing about this in bits and pieces for years.
"The Abyss" is a terrific movie. The scene where Ed Harris is trying to revive his wife is amazing, as is the shot of Michael Beien shrieking as the doomed submersible is crushed. That being said, "The Abyss" is one of the rare movies where the theatrical release is better than the director's cut. All the stuff with the aliens at the end of the director's cut turns a good action flick into E.T. under water. Having the aliens there to rescue everyone and make it all better drains most of the drama from the film.
I wonder if this was true or not? From IMDB trivia "Ed Harris reportedly punched James Cameron in the face after he kept filming while he was nearly drowning."
@@TheSchaef47 From what we call tell from the Imdb.com trivia section, it sounds like a lot of people might have been hitting things and each other behind the scenes of this film.
im so sad to hear of the difficulties on this movie set BUT!! I freaking LOVE this movie. I have watched it hundreds of times. Hundreds. One of my very favorite besides Aliens. Never fails to make me feel in awe.
As much as I liked The Abyss it wasn't until I saw the director's cut that I really started loving it. The story makes so much more sense the way it comes together at the end in the director's cut. And for all the trouble everyone went through making the movie it is a beautiful thing to watch. I guess I know what I'm putting on later today, it's been a few years since I watched the whole thing in one sitting, perfect for a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon.
I worked on a film in early 1990 with the set decorator from The Abyss (it's been so long her name escapes me), and she told us the horror stories. She told us about the crew saying "Life's Abyss and then you dive," she told us about the "The Abuse" tee-shirts, and so forth. So I can definitely vouch for this story, if only second-hand. We had an Oscar night party at the production hotel (the Biltmore in Coral Gables, FL) and we were really pulling for her, as the art department on Abyss was nominated, and we felt they were owed recognition after going through hell on that picture. We all felt the disappointment when they lost out to Batman. Just a couple of months later, Paramount pulled the plug on our picture just two weeks into shooting. We had our issues, but nothing like The Abuse.
These videos you do that go over the behind the scenes production of films is really damn interesting. Kind of like the "How it's made" videos, but with popular media. You should definitely do more of them.
Cameron: "Some of you may die, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
And that's why the city of Cameron Park in CA is a war zone named after James Cameron for that reason. Lol. Just kidding its actually a really nice city.
- lord farquad
Sounds like a response to the current pandemic.
The cinematic alter ego of Zap Branigan.
“I sent wave after wave of my own men at the kill bots until they reached their preset kill limit and turned off”
Random crew member in the distance: “You suck!”
Safety diver: shoves garden hose in Camerons mouth
The Abyss: James Cameron's attempt to kill everyone on set through sheer misery
including James Cameron himself
I thought I was watching titanic
Oh their souls died alright hahaha
Don't F with Cameron xD
James Cameron doesn't do what James Cameron does for James Cameron. James Cameron does what James Cameron does because he is, James Cameron.
Cameron: Anyone listening to the radios in case of an emergency?
Set Crew: Yeah old Johnny-No-Ears is.
Cameron: Perfect.
🤣🤣🤣 Thanks. That made my evening.
Lol
This reminds me of that old Cecile B. DeMille joke "Ready when you are, C.B."
Yeah safety team was trash haha
Genius!
I still can't wrap my head around how in the ever living hell Cameron gave his blessing for the script for Terminator Dark Fate when you see him go to these great lengths for his movies.
he stop caring
He wasn't involved so his ego is untouched
They gave him s$%tloads of 🤑🤑🤑
It was actually part of the deal he made with the studio that allowed him to finally regain 100% controlling rights to The Terminator brand after (Dark Fate) was completed. I personally think the Studio deliberately made a shitty film to destroy the franchise so Cameron wouldn't be able to resurrect it.
You’re kidding, right? Abyss had no fucking script whatsoever. It felt live fiver different movies. And not in any way that’s good.
"Steven Spielberg's experiences with Jaws a decade earlier persuaded him that he needed a more controllable environment to do his movie in. That's when he discovered an abandoned nuclear power-plant in South Carolina."
This is peak James Cameron.
Sounds like the premise of a horror film. A horror film is being made at an abandon nuclear power plant when things start to get "real".
- Mr. Cameron, your crew will be at risk or radiation poisoning...
- Yeah but it's a controlled environment! It's perfect!
- But..
- Here's 10 million dollars, now stfu.
@@thisisfyne "3.6 roentgen, not great, not terrible"
@@Paulafan5 Sounds like it could be a good "dangers of hubris" movie
@@thisisfyne "Nah, it'll be fine!"
Cameron did make a lot of money from The Abyss. Just not in the ways that people think. A lot of the gear used, such as the more open faced diving helmets that let you see the divers face, was specifically invented for the Movie. Cameron holds the patents. There were a number of major innovations in diving and breathing gear developed in the process of torturing the cast and crew. A lot of them ended up greatly lowering the costs of commercial diving gear, and improving regular SCUBA and Firefighter SCBA gear. Love or hate James Cameron and his movies, if you look behind them you find he pioneers a lot of innovative technologies.
thats interesting. thanks for sharing that.
@Wytchfinde He was probably working with a team who actually designed them. He likely wrote the design requirements, but he had enough foresight to patent the designs the team came up with.
@Wytchfinde I'm not saying he invented anything himself. But his company fronted the money and commissioned the projects so they own the patents.
@Wytchfinde well, if i have an idea, and i pay someone to realize it, then i own what you made. like what directors and producers do when making movies.
And then the only DVD " remastered special edition" version of The Abyss available since release, is shoddy interlaced 240p 4:3 letterbox garbage. I'm glad the firefighters are safer, but I played that DVD for less than 3 minutes, and it went straight back to the shop for a refund.
The screen space loss is 32% horizontal and 50% vertical. Meanwhile, the 3D Bluray of Pocahonsmurfvatars and 4k are available.
I will hardcore stand behind the abyss as a film. Honestly, especially at the time in the 90's, it was one of the most interesting films i'd ever seen, with an incredible amount of tension. I'll never forget that resuscitation scene. The way Ed Harris cracks when he won't accept that his ex wife is dead.....that shit is movie gold.
For that scene, James Cameron actually flew in and murdered Ed Harris's wife, just to get the perfect shot.
Ed Harris is SO good throughout, but he seems genuinely traumatized in that scene in particular, probably because he was
And for part of that scene, he was reacting to nothing! Even crazier. The actress that played his wife refused to reshoot that scene.
I also love the scene where the umbilical nearly lands on them, great tension as you see the cord piling up on the seabed in front of them. Then just when you think the danger is over it drags them off the trench.
that was an idiotic scene btw...she was dead for 5 minutes at least... even if she woke up shes be a vege
This is actually one of my favorite Cameron films. There's no movie quite like it. There have been many attempts at underwater sci-fi action, but this one really feels immersive by virtue of the fact that almost everything you see was done for real in a giant tank.
I agree. Great movie.
Yeah I quite like it. And underwater films are rare and a space to explore.
I thought they made an interesting and novel film.
Not perfect but not a waste of time.
So good I was soaking wet when the movie was over!
I agree, but only if we are talking about the special edition, as I have yet to see the theatrical (honestly, though, I cant imagine it being anywhere near as good with everything that was removed). Overall, though, I do like Aliens a hell of a lot, and the first 2 Terminators are great and all, but the special edition of The Abyss is probably my favorite movie by Cameron.
In the meantime, the cast of Justice League is in therapy because Joss Whedon said words that hit them in their feelz.
Exactly what I thought when the issue first came to light. Honestly I thought he physically assaulted them or something but it turns out he said some “mean things”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣seriously I’m glad Henry Cavill hasn’t commented on it
That kinda puts into perspective how we've declined as a society.
I think it's more the fact that it should be a professional work environment and their "boss" is abusing them and they can't really do anything about it
Brace Land 😢
What happened? Can someone tell me what "mean things" he said? :P
Everyone's family has a couple movies that they enjoy together. This was one of ours, the whole family agreed it rocks and that was rare.
Same. My sisters and I loved this movie. Whenever we’re all together we still watch it.
It is a classic movie. I dont know if I can call it underrated because Ive never met anyone who doesnt like it. But it is overshadowed by Aliens and T2 which are both somehow even better. Overall, it's one of my top 10 movies of all time. I'm gonna watch it right now.
There's a path down the valley, across the stream that stretches from here to the ocean. Past the wandering woods, over the Bowerstone Bridge, and just aside the Melody Meadows, you'll find a small hut.
I'd advise against taking it, though it's a small hut, and you should want nothing from it. The people there are hardy, and they make great arms.
But many seek them out, for it is said that they possess knowledge lost to modern man, wisdom of ancient scholars.
The Warsmiths know great movies.
@@snapeinvader6208 Heheh , I got ya! 🖒
Ours was Titanic I’ve seen it every year since i was 8 or something on every type of screen imaginable black&white flat and everything in between. But the abyss is cool too
I don't know why but that sounds like a really good premise for a movie horror of how a director goes insane and tries to kill everyone on his quest for the perfect shot, image The Shining but replace Jack with Cameron, the family with the film crew, the hotel with the nuclear power-plant and the ghosts with some random workers from the plant who died in a horrible accident.
Yeah that is a good idea, but I doubt it would be any good. Unless someone like Stanley Kubrick directs it. Emphasis on someone 'like'.
@@mistersoman you know he filmed the moon landing footage right ?
@@markgoodwin9948 Umm no he didn't. And if you're about to tell me to change my mind about the greatest achievement in human history, you cant. The moon landing was 100 percent real.
You came fairly close to describing The Stunt Man, an underappreciated little gem of a film.
LOL😂
As someone who is terrified of drowning, the production nightmares sound like true hell.
Now that's a movie where the actors really earned their paycheck
Every now and then you might see an actor complain about all the CG and having to act in front of bright blue screens all the time, but shit...
Something tells me that beats having to put up with this kind of thing.
They probably spent all their earnings on PTSD counseling.
Especially the rodent.
@@ArlanKels I remember the first time I saw The Abyss and the scene with the little rat breathing the fluid and I was thinking, that doesn't look like acting to me.
@@apparently2
I was like 8 or 9 when I saw that scene
It'll stay with me forever.
Recursive: The act of making a scary movie, wherein the story of the making of the movie is more frightening than the movie itself.
The only thing worse this filme 🎞 is the underwater what a disappointing film
Same with Apocalypse Now.
Isn't this Tropic Thunder?
I think Shelley Duvall would say this about the Shining
@@andrewtaylor940
*It depends. There's 2 versions of Apocalypse Now. I had a friend who was a film historian, Bill Everson, (**en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_K._Everson#:~:text=Keith%20William%20Everson%20(8%20April,also%20discovered%20several%20lost%20films.)**, and saw an early "rush" of the completed film - and it was **_jaw droppingly_** amazing. Strange as fuck, but amazing! I saw it several times in his home-built theater, and couldn't wait for it to hit the big screen. Well, when I saw it at the theater, it was a lot different, much shorter, and missing some of the threads that should have been there to hold it together. The story I got was that it was considered too long for a theater to show it and still make a living, as they need to pack a certain number of showings into each day just to break even, so they cut out like an hour of film - and it seriously altered the finished product for the worse. I keep hoping to see an announcement someday that says they're going to release an "Everson Cut" on Blu-Ray - but I know it's not likely to ever happen... :-(*
No one thought to add chlorine? Until after the algae formed?
Someone is a genius.
My thoughts too, it's not like Hollywood isn't brimming with swimming pools or anything.
@@daviddechamplain5718 the pool guy takes care of that.
Probably nobody thought "swimming pool maintenance" in the context of a giant reactor chamber being filled with water and used as a movie set. It's not like that happened a lot.
A human from Hollywood with foresight is like rocking horse shit.
And this was after the cast were told to pee in their wetsuits.
I worked on this in sound post. In a dark room with Jim for over 6 months. Utterly insane. "The Abuse" was *most* definitely what we called it!
"...and never asks people to do things he wouldn't"
previously: *Cameron nearly suffered assisted drowning but went right back to filming anyway*
And I bet the waivers were in place before hand.
@Greg Elchert Nightcrawler: Now there's a movie I'd like to see the Drinker review.
Think this should've been a combo of "The Drinker Recommends" and "Production Hell". Cause as bad as it was was for the actors and workers on the film, the end result was a boon for cinema goers.
I don't agree that this is the one to recommend. The movie is entertaining, but there is a reason why it's not one of Cameron's best and I think the ending is to blame, with it's ham-fisted message. Even ignoring the ending, I don't know how to put it to words precisely, this movie is very much a "movie". Not that I need my expectations subverted, but I feel like the Abyss is a slap-dashed monster of movie chiches in a fairly interesting setup, which can be fun if it's supplemented by good acting/writing. Think we had the first one, not sure about the latter.
It's a decent watch - visually impressive, very well shot, solid performances. It just kinda has that "ehh" feeling about it, idk.
He can call it "The Drinker Recommends this Production Hell".
It’s a pretty good movie.
@@Laxontlyn Not every movie has to be trying for 5-star Oscar material with heavy deep themes. It's a very rewatchable movie. And Kyle Reese was great in it.
Kostiantyn you’re right. It could EASILY have been one of Cameron’s best but the Disney left-turn ending ruined it. But up until the last 10-15min it’s a dynamite, white knuckle great film.
I work in the marine industry and I have to say, these actors got a true taste of how friggin hard it can be to combine technology, electronics, water, and pressure all while trying not to kill your friends in the process of achieving something! So for people like me this is a fantastic film that really captures how utterly mental people can become when working in these conditions, being surprised by "latent" goals of so called team members, and the sheer isolation that accompanies crews, even when things go well.
Sure ya do, Sally.
This was a perfect video for some "Naah it'll be fine!" moments..
And the result is a masterpiece. Excellent underrated performances and outstanding special effects, I am still waiting for the blu ray release.
I haz this on LaserDisc! and am waiting for a blu-ray release too.... (
Excellent soundtrack by Alan Silvestri too.
this is because the drowning scenes were of people actually drowning.
I have the special edition that has the extra footage, which I prefer over the theatrical cut. I really like this movie.
I think "masterpiece" is an overused term these days, but yes, it is a great movie. It is very visually interesting because it's actual sets and not just cgi backgrounds.
I met Ed Harris once and said how The Abyss was one of my favorite movies. Let's just say that he was very polite but definitely not impressed. 😅 ..and this happened before I knew how much of a hell it was to be in that movie, so I was bit confused.
@Pedro Kantor Yep! Seeing him or William Fichner in a movie is always a welcome surprise.
That was real Bruh move, bruh.
This film had one of the most powerful and emotional scenes for me anyways.
The part where they're trapped and only have one suit and there's 2 of them and they decide one has to voluntarily drown and be revived.
That whole part had me living through it with them.
Amazing and thrilling, it's still in my memory from seeing it at release.
Maybe it's because they were all emotionally on the edge in real life?
How could you forget what happened to cause Ed Harris to cry on the side of the road? He almost died underwater because he tank wasn’t working and camera man had to swim in to hook up his air tank to save him. It was absolutely horrifying and he was just so thankful to be alive.
James Cameron is very well known for nearly-inhuman work hour. Everything must go beyond perfection except the plot/story.
Stanley Kubrick was much the same
The Terminator (1984) is still one of the best-written sci-fi movie ever.
It shows. He's the highest grossing director ever. His films are legendary.
@Omar De Sa 1COMODIN9 probably because he makes pleasant movies that look both fun to make and watch, i doubt people mind making those movies as perfect as possible
I find the incident when Cameron almost drowned interesting, because it gives an interesting insight into how the mind of this man works.
Creates a production hell, treats his actors and crew like shit and does not care when their life is endangered or their health is damaged. Gives them crappy, broken equipment. Still wants everyone functioning flawlessly. Then he endangers himself by caring about nothing than his 'artistical vision', gets in even more trouble, because the man himself gave a crap when his rescue diver got faulty equipment or that a man sat on the radio that could save lifes who apparently was almost deaf _because of the working conditions Cameron created_ and _then_ he fires them, because _his_ life was in danger.
I get it, artistic vision and exceptional talent and 'genius often comes at the cost of social skills' and all that, but that was just a dick move that showed that Cameron very well cared - just not about others.
Ed Harris's breakdown incident occurred after he almost drowned while filming the abyss freefall scene where he had to hold his breath while pretending to breath the oxygenated fluid. He got into trouble and needed air and one of the nearby divers tried to help but stuck the air regulator in upside down and he got a mouth full of water and no air. Fortunately, his safety diver got there in time and saved him.
Crippies these both this story and the guy with the broken regulator that almost drowned James Cameron make it seem like these safety divers were just awful.
regs will work any way up. Harris probably got a mouthful of water because he didn't breath out first. Rookie mistake.
@@SamBrickell it was '89 so maybe thats why?
Didn’t Harris also nearly drowned, yet Cameron kept filming, and when someone found Harris and revived him, the moment Harris woke up, the first thing he did was punched Cameron in the face?
@@osmanyousif7849 That's the rumor but I don't think it has ever been verified.
The more I see Production hell, the more I realise that some movies are better animated than live action filming. Hats of to those actors and team in making this film though.
Sadly being animated doesn't make you immune from production hell. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) and "Foodfight!" (2012) are two examples, and where to even start with "The Thief and the Cobbler"
The Abyss is an underrated masterpiece.
I agree, but it does help if watch the director's cut version; the theatrical cut had the plot carefully removed so you have no idea why anything is happening...
You should do one of these on Twilight Zone: The Movie. There was a very gruesome accident that happened during the production of that movie involving a helicopter blade, and a man carrying two kids. That movie was cursed. The fact that they didn't cancel the movie entirely after that accident still blows my mind.
I just watched that on Daily Motion. Just look up Vic Morrow’s Death Video.
The director John Landis got over-complacent & took reckless chances; past actors who worked with him claimed he was a tyrannical perfectionist & a bully when it came to expensive on scene stunts & pyrotechnics.
Yeah not a good time in John Landis's movie career. I remember an interview with him during the court case and lawsuit phase for Twilight Zone, where he mentioned his earlier flop, Howard the Duck.
I remember that it was an niche live comic adaptation. Shame that the director fell hard; since he did produce some of the best stunt sequences on screen.
The movie wasn't "cursed". The helicopter scene was directed by John Landis, a coked-up asshole who ignored dozens of warnings and went ahead with a scene that was shot late at night, in waist deep water, with illegal child labor, a low flying helicopter, and many large explosions. Landis' insanity drove him to keep telling the pilot to fly lower and the pyro crew to set more explosions off. The pilot became very nervous and was evidently on the verge of ignoring Landis and flying away when the tail rotor was damaged by an explosion.
Never hold your breath during an emergency ascent. Literally breathe out as the air expands from decreasing water pressure.
Honestly if they where any deeper it would have been certain death
Just like in space
"The Abyss" stands as one of, if not the most viscerally terrifying movies I have ever seen. "Edge of your seat" might be a cliche description but seeing this in the theater was the very first time I ever really experienced it, and I still can't watch this without feeling the creeping horror and weight of all that water..
Probably has one of THE best dramatic sequences and scene ever with the bringing the ex wife back to life. Still moves me to this day.
FIGHT!
I call it "Bud Brigman CPR"...
The Abyss is a classic, with a ton of memorable moments. The ring saving him at the door, taking advantage of the cold water and letting her die, the slow descent of the SEAL with the shakes, the liquid monster making its debut, the underwater vehicle fight leading to a explosive decompression, etc. Just great stuff.
It was a good movie, but the SEAL team going nuts and turning into the villains ruined it for me. No one that unstable would ever make it through SEAL training. Plus the movie didn't need human villains. The elements served the purpose well enough.
@@TheStapleGunKid I understand, as Hollywood likes to paint military guys as crazed etc., but I thought they did a good job of making his arguments reasonable, and implying the shakes were driving his actions.
@@AlwaysAudacity I didn't find it convincing at all. The idea that the civilians handle the crisis better then the trained warrior elites was just absurd.
@@TheStapleGunKid They explained it in the film. No one can anticipate who can succumb to the pressure, and, if you stripped the film to only Coffey's perspective, he could be seen as the lone hero who's taking steps to protect something bigger than himself around selfish civilians. The civilians onboard though have already acclimated to the pressure, so they can see the situation more clearly.
All said, if the whole squad went crazy, it would've been silly, but since it's just one guy who happened to be command, it's far more plausible.
@@wiredtardis I still didn't find it convincing. Even if he did go crazy, he wouldn't go so crazy as to try to detonate a nuclear weapon without authorization from civilian authorities. Everyone in the military knows that's never acceptable. It just felt like a really contrived excuse to throw a human villain into the movie, which wasn't necessary since the horrors of the depths provided a significant enough challenge to the characters on their own.
He wasn't much of a safety diver if he hadn't checked his backup regulator, that's a standard check before every dive, also peeing in wetsuits is normal...isn't it?!
it's ONE way to keep warmer
I pee in the bath, that's normal too right?
It’s not just normal, it’s beneficial!
No one said they was an expert tho
@Man on phone
Nope. At least not sea water. My dad has stories of evil plans his half brother did, crapping in the sea and gently pushing unsuspecting people towards the horrible mess.
Evil, evil things.
Despite all the dangers & challenges that went on with filming the Abyss, I want to thank Cameron & his crew, for the payoff is a masterpiece. It is also one of the few Sci Fi themed movies that me & my father could enjoy together.
You have to respect Cameron for being just as hard on himself as he was on everyone else
he's willing to torture himself the same as everyone else, mad respect lol
I don't think this deserves respect
Thats just reckless, careless and stupid
That's probably the only reason why The Abyss was finished. If he acted like an upstart idiot relaxing while his crew and cast suffers, the entire production would have stalled within 2 or 3 weeks.
The Abyss is one of his best films frankly. It's aged much better than Avatar, and though it's no Aliens or T2, it's not that far behind.
And it seems like no one remembers it...
This movie blows avatar out of the water and it isn’t close haha. Couldn’t agree more
The Abyss is a personal favourite of mine. I prefer it to Aliens and Avatar.
Yes, u saw avatar last week for the first time last week at my father-in-law's urging since he's watched it several times. It was quite awful, terrible, and grueling having to sit for 2 hrs and 40+ minutes.
Agreed. Needs that extended edition though. Not the same without the tidal wave.
"OK I had enough fun, I should watch an educational video about film-making"
I see Drinker has a new video.
"Well, this is also educational."
True story: I was once doing a 40m deep dive in the poor knights island when i ran out of air. Only i was high as a kite on nitrogen narcosis so i didnt care. Lucky for me my diving buddy spotted the symptoms and got me to the surface using his air. and trust me, it takes a long time to surface from 40m. legend.
Faşist Efe Aydal videolar arasında ayrım yapıyor.
@@TheBelrick I was at 40m off of Rarotonga on New Year's Eve, 2005, and I know the feeling. It took over half an hour to resurface, because you have to make at least 2 or 3 stops on the way back up to avoid decompression sickness.
I had nausea from that on at least one occasion; the feeling you get after going on a roller coaster ride after drinking a six pack of beer.
Horrible feeling, indeed!!!
Cringey.
Quite educational
Fun fact: the Greek root for the word "abyss", *AbusSOS,* means "bottomless" or "lacking depth or foundation".
You ever seen The Director's Cut, drinker? I think it's vast improvement over the theatrical version and elaborates further on the characters and their individual back stories. Yes, the uncut ending crosses into preachy territory but adds more detail to the motives behind the aliens' reasons for being there besides studying humans. Also allows Bud the opportunity to speak for humanity rather than just be a fish out of water (no pun intended).
7:38 _"[Cameron's] calls for help fell on deaf ears...."_
I can literally imagine the cast and crew be like, "Feck 'im! Let 'im die!"
except maybe Biehn - Cameron made his career
Person 1: "Did you guys hear that strange sound too"?
Person 2: Switches off radio "nah.. must have been the wind".
Person 3: "Don't worry, it will be fine".
Cast & crew were like "Nah, it'll be fine." ;)
🤣
Underrated movie. The resuscitation scene is fantastic. Very intense almost seems real. Where abyss fails in explosions it excels in capturing the anxiety of being underwater in very tight quarters with imo excellent acting.
Cameron: "Piss in diving suits if you have too, we're going to keep reshooting until we get it right."
The fact the rat was really breathing liquid blowz my mind
Wow! I didn’t know about Cameron nearly drowning and the fact that they used real ammo in the moon pool. Damn! The risks and problems on this set were just insane!
Gotta love the fucking 80's man
This makes me think Cameron would have been an awesome director for Aquaman had it been filmed in the 80s or 90s.
These kinds of films don’t get made today, sadly.
They will when they do some five remakes of it... Kidding I hope.
@@weldsj8847 you are so right
What's sad about avoiding a bunch of actors getting drowned or killed?
@@Nixton1996 We could maybe have a production with all the great work, sacrifice, grit, determination, sheer will and courage....
...minus getting the actors killed.
@@Nixton1996 No actors were killed during this movie. I'm sure they were paid handsomely for their 5 months of work, though.
His name is James Cameron
The bravest pioneer
No budget too steep, no sea too deep
Who's that?
It's him, James Cameron
James Cameron explorer of the sea
With a dying thirst to be the first
Could it be? Yeah that's him!
James Cameron
Love the "South Park" reference! LOL
I love that episode it's a classic
James Cameron doesnt do what James Cameron does for James Cameron. James Cameron does what James Cameron does because he's James Cameron.
Aww, that film still doesn't get enough love. The extended cut makes so much more sense of the story, with a climax that feels like it's earned the emotional pay-off it delivers.
It's a really eerie, tense, well-plotted movie - although the pacing suffers a little - and it has a hugely uplifting feelgood ending, which you just don't get enough of in this world.
The Director's Cut of The Abyss is one of my favourite James Cameron Films. I hope it will finally be released on Blu Ray soon (along with True Lies).
*_4K ULTRA HD BLURAY_*
It seems to be getting a Blu-Ray and 4K release soon, but there hasn’t been a release date announced yet.
I really didn't like the director's cut. I thought the added dimension of the aliens passing judgement on humanity (and by extention, being preached at by Cameron) destroyed the tone of the film entirely. Basing the end just on the events and relationships of the characters worked perfectly and didn't need to be meddled with. The added message was ham-fisted, badly presented, based on terrible extra footage, felt like it was just tacked on as an afterthought (or more likely cut for a very Very VERY good reason in the first place) and just ruined the whole thing. It felt more like a vanity project - "My Aliens Director's Cut was excellent, why would my Abyss Director's Cut not be?" I'll stick with the theatrical cut, thanks very much.
I really like the Abyss but it can never be a favorite Cameron film of mine when he also made T1 & T2 and Aliens.
When CD said Ed Harris "started sobbing uncontrollably and had to pull over..." I thought his next words would be "to declare that Cameron must die."
He's Ed Harris not Liam Neeson.
Jeffrey Baker 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Kind of makes you think The Truman Show was just him doing a James Cameron impression. "I built your whole world just to mess with your head to keep my TV show going forever, and I literally speak to you from the sun like I'm God."
Sounds like a decent inciting incident for a story.
He should have added that breakdown happened after Harris almost died during the shoot. He was under fucking water with that helmet filled with water and support divers were supposed to come in from out of frame and give him air after each shot. His rescue diver got tangled in a line and couldn’t get to him. The panic of literally reaching the end of your breath hold would have me sobbing too.
I just watched this.. one of the best underwater movie ever.. Ed Harris is a great hero.. God if only we could see him more..
Your clear thinking and endurance, when it comes to imbibing near-leathal volumes of intoxicating beverages; is truly amazing. I could only call myself a semi competent drunk myself.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." - Nietzsche
This film was incredible. I love the atmosphere, the sets, and all the dive sequences. The ending is a little campy, but my god the characters are amazing. I didn't know the production was THAT plagued with issues! Wow.
Thanks for covering this, Drinker.
This particular guy is the reason I almost repeated an semester at law college. Damn thic literature.
The ending was chopped/mutilated
probably bc the entire movie was under threat of being incomplete
@@AutomationDnD Yeah, for years all I had was the theatrical version that my parents recorded on VHS. When I bought the DVD years later, I saw the director's cut. It's a little heavy-handed on the "war is bad" theme, but I guess that's how people felt in the 80s?
Seek out "under pressure, making the abyss" on UA-cam for an hour long documentary from which much of this video has been lifted (but by no means all)
"Whoever fights cookie, should not BECOME cookie! Ya!" -Cookie Monster
Worse thing is, this movie has never been officially released in HD yet...its 2020 WTF JAMES ??
*_I WANT IT IN 4K ULTRA HD BLURAY_*
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is a crying shame that it can’t be viewed in 4K or even HD!
Cameron has total control over his films and he doesn't have the time right now to supervise a 4k hdr conversion. I expect it will be released with a 4k version of Avatar before Avatar 2's launch. There's some 4k fan made upscaled HDR clips on youtube of Avatar and they look so fucking gorgeous!
@@xGaLoSx YEah right, Avatar 2 has been in production for more than eleven years 11 YEARS ! Christ at this pace, James is going to walk with a can when avatar 2 releases and that is if he's not 6 feet under....and The Abyss 8K SUPER HDR will have fallen...eh .well....into to abyss ! What a waste !
@@jasher6748 Fuck yeah we all want it !
I assume you will make one on Waterworld since that is the epitome of production trouble
This movie is right up there with Aliens. One of the most intense scenes ever when Ed Harris slaps the life back into the misses.
Hell yeah.
"You put this on!"
"No, we have to be logical about this."
"Fuck logic!"
One of my favorite scenes in movie history.
thought that scene went on too long. I got extending it because of the "still have feelings for each other" effect. But made it too long.
@@gregorylagrange Agreed that the resuscitation scene went on pretty long. Tough to watch. Powerful though.
The Abyss is my favourite Cameron movie. I first saw it shortly after release in a packed Cinema on a Friday night, where the audience sat silently rapt for much of the time. Very intense, very unusual. I loved everything about it. And now I sit here patiently for yet another decade waiting for the Blu-Ray release.
Is there a way to just burn it to blu-ray? I'd consider purchasing it just for the sheer crap that the cast and crew went through, but it seems everyone's moving to streaming.
That said, I have to respect Cameron as a director. Even though he put his cast and crew through hell, he clearly held himself to the same standards by going back to work after nearly dying.
@@snapeinvader6208 so far as I'm aware there isn't a full HD/4K transfer available on any media. All I've ever seen is the original DVD, and Special Edition. DVD resolution was pretty spectacular back in the day, but not so much anymore..... before the DVD I had first the VHS, then the Laserdisc.
They keep teasing us though:
"Director James Cameron has confirmed that his beloved film The Abyss has been recently remastered in 4K and will be released on Blu-ray in 2017."
This is fast becoming one of my favourite series in your content.
Same. The sheer amount of fuck-ups that happened during these films productions are almost surreal, and I fucking love it XD
Absolutely! Especially learning all These facts while Sitting relaxed with a beverage in the warm bath tub.
Two of my favorite performances in this film. The death/recessitstion scene is one of the most powerful I've seen in film history as far as I'm concerned.
Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth hated it so much, but it's by far their greatest performance.
James Cameron is a deep sea explorer that makes movies to fund his exploration habit.
So
The conditions making this film were abyssmal!
underrated
I Sea what u did there.
BOOOOOOOOOO!
I love this movie. I would watch it with my Dad and he would comment on how great the shots were and how much he loved this scene and loved that scene. He was involved in deep diving so he appreciated the dangers of being underwater, both as a character in the movie and for the actors who had to work in those conditions.
This movie holds a special place in my heart. I absolutely loved every second of the movie and was riveted all the way up to the worst ending in movie history. They spent all that money on realism and the "alien ship" looked like someone ran to Toys R Us and bought a toddlers "my little spaceship" toy. I'm a little disappointed the Drinker didn't mention it. I'd never seen anything so good with an ending so horrible before or since and that was without knowing the hell they had to go through to make it.
Things look cooler underwater
Holy shit.. In every film i've seen Ed Harris, he's always been a convincing hardass.
It's hard to imagine the man turn into a sobbing wreck. :S
Anxiety and nervous breakdowns can bring down hardest of hardassess. That’s why mental health shouldn’t be taken so lightly
Ed actually almost drowned in the making of this film just like Cameron.
I liked him as John Glenn in "The Right Stuff"!
Imagine being one of Cameron's many ex-wives.
Ed Harris is selling you a story that never happened.
And you don't even question it.
Pretty sure you wear a mask when you shower...
baaa, baaa, baaaaaaaaa
This is one of my all time favourite movies. Almost completely underwater.
When an imperfect solution to a non-existent problem finds an overblown ego to use it.
The scene where Ed and Marianne are debating how they are going to swim from one place to the other knowing that there is only enough oxygen for one of them is terrifying. And then when Ed is working to revive her, it's agonizing. I know it must have been hell to make, but it's disappointing to think that those actors weren't proud of those amazing scenes. That was high level dramatic filmmaking there.
I'm one of those people that think the ends justify the means. So when you think of the original Exorcist, we all know they went through hell filming those bedroom scenes. But is was SOOO worth it.
I've interviewed the head of creature effects for The Abyss, Steve Johnson a couple of times for my own channel. He's a really interesting guy with his own UA-cam channel called Rubber Rules where he talks about his experiences with Cameron. I believe the term, "Falling on my own sword like a Samurai." was stated more than a couple of times. lol.
Can you link here to one of his videos? I tried searching youtube for Rubber Rules but couldn’t find his channel.
@@Interstellar-in5wb Sure, here you go. ua-cam.com/users/stevejohnsonfx
Living in Florida and having just completed my scuba instructor course the abyss and everything about its production was right up my alley at the time. I couldn't get enough about it.
I remember watching this movie as a kid. Such a great movie.
we forget that the reason why so many of our favorite movies are so legendary and timeless is because they were forged in fire like this they weren't created on a computer with green screen effects or often assembly line using a formula they had a director with a vision and a hell of a lot of badass cast and crew who probably wouldn't put up with a lot of these types of conditions today
The movie is great. Watch it from time to time on Laserdisc.
dab bean you’re a bad assssssssss
LOL
dab bean
I like Laserdisc. And with the right upscaling it looks awesome on modern screens and sounds even better than DVD or Blu Ray
Laser disc?! I saw those things when I was like 4 or 5 and thought they were the coolest fucking thing.. I'll never understand why they bailed on them for DVDs. The laser disc is so fucking cool lol
The Gaffe Giraffe
It has been around for almost 30 years before DVD took over. The reason is of-course cost to make them and size.
I love this film, and despite everything, there are some great scenes and great performances!
I like this film, and knowing the strain and abuse the cast went through, it's hard not to appreciate it even more...
I remember seeing this at the cinema. Fucking classic.
cameron: "im never doing this again"
makes titanic.
makes avatar sequels, which are major underwater productions.
@Stix N' Stones soon tm
@@ronaldthompson4989 lol no chance.
I bet the first sequel bombs, and the rest don't ever get released.
@@fakecubed I think he's doing the whole set all at once, which is at least part of why they've taken so long to make. They're going to HAVE to be released into theaters if the studio execs ever want to recoup at least some of their losses.
@@fakecubed 2nd and 3rd is on post-production, 4th and 5th part are filming..
Maybe that is why Avatar 2 is still in production, officially and nobody ever heard of Sam Worthington again...
Cameron accidentally killed everyone on the set and is trying to hide it, claiming he and his victims are working on 5 sequels simultaneously, while secretly constructing a underwater lair where the police can never catch him.
You mean Zoe Saldana was 100% CGI in all the MCU films??? That's even more impressive than Thanos!
@@shan4680 It was actually cheaper to hire an actual alien to play her. William shatner introduced her to Cameron, I think she's his niece, daughter or something.
I'm sure it's got nothing to do with Sam Worthington having the raw chrisma and acting range of [YOUR CHOICE OF AMUSING COMPARISON TO INERT MATTER]
@@chappyslaphappy1578 I thought this was settled a long time ago. [YOUR CHOICE OF AMUSING COMPARISON TO INERT MATTER] = Jai Courtney.
Sam who? LOL 😂
This actually was one of my favorites. As a diver with a life-long love of the water, I loved this film.
I love that film and despite what the cast and crew went through it's a true example of suffering for your art.
Was a awesome movie though, well ahead of it's time.
It deserve's a 4k remaster to honour the cast and crew.
I remember going to the abandoned Cherokee Nuclear site with my dad when he was a consultant on that film. I remember meeting Gale Anne Hurd and having a discussion about how things were going. Lets just say there were a lot of reactionary decisions made, and not a lot of sitting down and thinking things through.
When you’re reactoring, you’re not factoring.
That lady worked on allot of stuff. After watching the walking dead a few seasons, her name was memorized and whenever an older production was on tv i would occasionally see her name in the credits of films going back to the 1980s.
I greatly enjoyed The Abyss. It was one of the first movies I ever bought for my home video collection. The script and performances really did the trick for me and the scenario is just close enough to reality to make it more engaging than most other sci-fi movies. I had no idea that the Oxygenated liquid was actually a legit thing. It always seemed to me that it was something that would be eventually possible, but not real for the time.
A film that was made before “the message” was the focal point of movies.Cameron may be a task master director,but he does deliver the goods.Terminator,Titanic and the Abyss are all entertaining and well worth the time to watch.
!Drinker! Thank You. The Abyss was and is One of the Best Films For The Very Reasons You Explained. Thank You. I Watched it When It was New.
That is when actors were actually working hard to film movies. Nowadays it's just 1 hour of pretend in front of a green screen then off to twitter to virtue signal some more. No wonder Hollywood is in shambles.
*_VERY TRUE_*
To be fair, if it's a choice of standing in front of a green screen or going through a production hell like this, I can't blame them for taking the former...
working hard != traumatic suffering
it looks better this way doh
@drax rdax boy is that TRUE!! The Abyss could easily have been one of Cameron’s best films if not for the dreadful last 10 minutes! Up until that point it was an exciting white knuckle action packed film I thought. But yeah, Hollywood is DEAD now!
Yes very true, ironic then that this film feature something one of the very first times (cgi) that contributed greatly to Hollywoods downfall.
When this came out, I had to see it twice in the theaters. The first scene of the dying nuclear sub, the coolness of Ed harris, the hotness (and strong female) of Maria Mastroantonio, and the evil Kyle Reese.... This film had it all.
Aliens is my all time favourite film, but The Abyss is my guilty pleasure, I flipping love it, you can almost feel the stress and tension, bleeding into their performances and given what the story is that's nothing but good. If you haven't seen it, I can thoroughly recommend it, although I also fully understand why some people might not like it.
The safety diver might have actually saved Cameron’s life. Holding your breath while ascending can cause a fatal expansion of the air in one’s lungs. Which can cause your lungs to burst.
The struggle over the broken regulator probably had Cameron expel most of the air in his lungs.
Diving can be very dangerous.
Not only did that guy possibly save Cameron's life he got that returned by being punched in the face and fired. Not worth it.
@@Flaris He would have eventually killed him spraying water into his mouth…either way it was an accident, radio guy deserved to be fired but not safety diver guy.
@@jaydenshepard7928 The boss is always going to blame their own created problems on others, comes with the privilege.
I see Critical Drinker...I click like! Never went wrong yet! 👍
Fantastic! It's about time this got another go-round for its sheer craziness and all that went into the making of it. Thanks for putting this together, Drinker. Holy hell this was lunacy. I remember hearing about this in bits and pieces for years.
"The Abyss" is a terrific movie. The scene where Ed Harris is trying to revive his wife is amazing, as is the shot of Michael Beien shrieking as the doomed submersible is crushed.
That being said, "The Abyss" is one of the rare movies where the theatrical release is better than the director's cut. All the stuff with the aliens at the end of the director's cut turns a good action flick into E.T. under water. Having the aliens there to rescue everyone and make it all better drains most of the drama from the film.
I really enjoyed The Abyss.
I really enjoyed yo mama's abyss
I wonder if this was true or not? From IMDB trivia "Ed Harris reportedly punched James Cameron in the face after he kept filming while he was nearly drowning."
Sounds like it's a conflation of two of the stories Drinker tells within.
@@TheSchaef47 From what we call tell from the Imdb.com trivia section, it sounds like a lot of people might have been hitting things and each other behind the scenes of this film.
im so sad to hear of the difficulties on this movie set BUT!! I freaking LOVE this movie. I have watched it hundreds of times. Hundreds. One of my very favorite besides Aliens. Never fails to make me feel in awe.
The Abyss was and is one of my favorite films ever. Though I had no idea how difficult it was for them to make. Much more respect for it now!
I remember watching this when i was a kid saying why is hicks being a bad guy?
The 'tash made him do it! Maybe he's a parallel universe evil-version of Hicks :)
I actually didn't recognise him due to his moustache.
I found all the "Good guys" irritating and wanted the insane navy seal to win......
"Decompression Sickness". They even talk about it, also known as a red herring, before Hicks comes down with it.
@james cowboy He wasn't a good or bad guy, but suffered from decompression sickness that made him crazy.
As much as I liked The Abyss it wasn't until I saw the director's cut that I really started loving it. The story makes so much more sense the way it comes together at the end in the director's cut. And for all the trouble everyone went through making the movie it is a beautiful thing to watch. I guess I know what I'm putting on later today, it's been a few years since I watched the whole thing in one sitting, perfect for a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, I had no idea the production was so difficult!
I worked on a film in early 1990 with the set decorator from The Abyss (it's been so long her name escapes me), and she told us the horror stories. She told us about the crew saying "Life's Abyss and then you dive," she told us about the "The Abuse" tee-shirts, and so forth. So I can definitely vouch for this story, if only second-hand. We had an Oscar night party at the production hotel (the Biltmore in Coral Gables, FL) and we were really pulling for her, as the art department on Abyss was nominated, and we felt they were owed recognition after going through hell on that picture. We all felt the disappointment when they lost out to Batman. Just a couple of months later, Paramount pulled the plug on our picture just two weeks into shooting. We had our issues, but nothing like The Abuse.
These videos you do that go over the behind the scenes production of films is really damn interesting. Kind of like the "How it's made" videos, but with popular media. You should definitely do more of them.