The Abyss: Ultimate Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
The Abyss happens to be one of my top 5 films of all time. The movie is a mix of action, sci-fi, drama and suspense that has yet to, in my very humble opinion, be topped by other movies with the same mixture. The movie is one that people have been begging for a new physical release of forever. The 2000’s era DVD was revolutionary in the days of the square box TV but has long needed a major overhaul. Does this disc live up to the much-anticipated hype? Read on below for my retrospective reflection on the film, plus all the technical details you can imagine! Be sure to click the cover art for a paid link to purchase your own copy of this masterpiece in the best physical media format!
Film 
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.
So now, let’s take a walk down memory lane. Once upon a time, 20th Century Fox used to have a VHS line called Selections. Each entry in the Selections line had a distinct reason for being in this collection. The trivia was always on the back of the VHS box and they were usually “specially priced” which for my family of Costco shoppers was $12 or less. On one fateful trip, my parents brought home a copy of The Abyss with the distinctive burgundy Selections banner on it. The trivia caption mentioned the tumultuous film shoot and all the cast endured underwater. That alone to my 9 year old self was enough to intrigue me. My mother watching me eye the video box just said simply “Damn, that’s a good movie…” to me with a smile. We ended up watching it together, my brother, sister and I all fully engaged with the film. There was no let up, not even in the quiet moments or talking bits.
Fast forward to 2000 and my newest focus was getting a DVD player and DVDs. Since I was barely entering middle school, I had no money, but a very sweet grandmother that encouraged my love of new tech, music and film. I was guaranteed to get a cool new electronic, CD or movie from her, and she always delivered. My grandmother got me my first DVDs, Barry Levinson’s Rain Man and Roman Polanski’s Frantic (Both from 1988 and both some of the first DVDs available in those times…). I then ventured to a neighbor’s house and found they watched DVDs on their custom PC. One of them was The Abyss. With it’s steel grey DVD case and it’s booklet and special features, of course I needed to borrow it. Taking it home barefoot on a summer day, I sat in my room with my makeshift home theater of 2-channel 1973 Pioneer receiver and matching speakers, My 19-inch Magnavox TV and The Abyss. To enter that DVD is still unlike most releases new or old. The menus are so interactive. I hit play and was treated to “Play Theatrical” and “Play Special Edition.” “Special what?” I thought, clicking over to that version. Watching the nearly 3-hour cut was like seeing the movie for the first time. I was mesmerized by the storyline, the acting, the score, the new scenes that fleshed out the entire story. My love for this movie is nearing 30 years of my 37-year life and still manages to sit next to other favorites of mine like The Godfather, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Bridesmaids.
For those of you that have seen the film, and hopefully love it, you find yourself hoping for Bud and Lindsay to find a way to work things out. You get to know the crew of the Deepcore and you find yourself on edge as they work through many trials and tribulations together and apart. You only feel these feelings more deeply learning the struggle that went into the making of this film. That struggle is covered in major depth with the documentary “Under Pressure: The Making of The Abyss” Further info is lined out in other docs included on this new edition of the film as well as a few interesting ones that repeat some of the info from “Under Pressure” but are good nonetheless on YouTube. For the longest time, this vintage DVD was the only way to really envelope yourself into the lore of The Abyss. Only in recent years have we been able to watch it on a streaming service, and even then it’s mostly the theatrical cut. For some fans, this is the preference, but for me, the Special Edition is the best version to see.
Video
Stills are for promotional use only and not screen captures from the 4K Blu-ray
Encoding: HEVC/H.265
Resolution: 4K
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
HDR: Dolby Vision
Layers: BD-100
Clarity/Detail: The Abyss has one of those transfers that you wish for. Clarity is second to none, with a striking amount of detail in even the darkest shots. Every inch of the film looks as if it was meticulously cleaned with no disrespectful DNR or cleanup. Grain is present but less apparent thanks to AI. Purists may complain, but the integrity of the original look remains.
Depth: Depth throughout looks exceptional with attention paid to foreground and backgrounds looking their best. The underwater sequences look almost 3D, with lots of pop in all areas.
Color Reproduction: The Abyss has always had the same blue tint most of the film’s runtime. The color palette remains faithful to it’s original release, but also richer, deeper and more lifelike than ever before
Flesh Tones: Skin tone throughout looks right on the mark. As mentioned above, a blue tint has always been a part of the color palette, and this edition is no different. I would say this movie has always looked as it should, and nobody here looks overly tan, overcooked or sunburned. For me, the flesh tones are spot on.
Noise/Artifacts: Immaculate
Audio
Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD 2.0, French DTS-HD HR 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Dynamics: The Dolby Atmos mix for The Abyss is every bit a revelation as the visual counterpart. The mix is active, loud, bass heavy, and fantastic with dialogue.
Height: Height channels bring you right underwater with a near constant sound field of ocean sounds, but also echo and more when things pick up during moments of action or the “wave” sequence.
Low-Frequency Extension: Submersibles, music, ocean noise… Everything has a bit of bass to it, in the most pleasant of ways.
Surround Sound Presentation: Surrounds compliment the height channels with the same continuous activity. All sounds wonderful here too!
Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue is perfection for the duration.
Extras
Extras for The Abyss were already good way back in 2000. The most wonderful thing is that, rather than giving us legacy features only, Lightstorm Entertainment has been working for what seems like years compiling interviews for 2 new documentaries to complement this new release.
Deep Dive: A Conversation with James Cameron (32:33, HD) – Exactly as described, James Cameron gives an in-depth, very vivid interview about the movie. His memories are like new and how wonderful it is to hear his thoughts 35 years later.
Legacy of The Abyss (24:39, HD) – Cast, crew and producers highlight the lasting legacy of the underrated film, in interviews collected over 10 years. Really cool!
Under Pressure: The Making of The Abyss (1:00:00, SD) – This documentary came with the 1993 Laserdisc edition of the Special Edition. Still holding a lot of weight, this doc is still worth a look over 30 years later.
Archives – Vintage text and photo features from the 2000 DVD edition.
Summary
In 2017, we heard rumors of a Blu-ray release. Then we heard that the film had a 4K Wet Scan. And now, after nearly 6 years of waiting, we have The Abyss in 4K UHD Blu-ray form, and it’s a great time to collect physical media. There may be some complaints about grain reduction or sharpening tools used to AI the grit out of the look of the film, but you won’t hear that complaint for me. The viewing of The Abyss on 4K UHD Blu-ray was for me a near emotional experience. To have a film that lives in my memories so vividly come to life as if I’d never seen it before is a moment I will treasure and remember fondly probably forever. If you love this film, this is a no-brainer purchase. If you’ve never seen it, still, do yourself a favor and buy this one. The Abyss comes with my highest recommendation.
