The Abyss, 1989

Originally taken from a Harlan Ellison short story (a combination of Demon with a Glass Hand and Soldier), Cameron re-defined the genre (which happened quite often in the 80's)... and created one of the greatest villians portrayed on screen. And it was just the beginning.

In 1986, Cameron took on one of the most widely anticipated sequels in the 80's... the sequel to Ridley Scott's masterpiece, Alien. Aliens became one of the top grossing films of 1986, and solidified Cameron's place as a major filmmaker.

In 1989, Cameron came back to shoot one of the best movies of the 1980's (and, personally, his best film), The Abyss. Easily one of the best productions of the 1980's, for certain. The shoot, the scenes, the special effects, the camera work, the art direction, the acting... everything about this film is incredibly well done. And, in 1993, the world was treated to the Special Edition of this film, with an additional 28 minutes of character driven material... and some preaching.

Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (who's hair hasn't changed since her role in Scarface) star in this fantastic movie that can literally be called an epic film... strictly from a production point of view. Underwater shoots are notoriously cheesy, with large productions usually scoring only minimal useful material because of all of the risks involved. But this shoot was a groundbreaking production (there's that word again). Cameron and his brother even created new underwater cameras, which are now used by wildlife biographers the world over.

Michael Biehn (who was in both of Cameron's earlier films, Terminator and Aliens), plays the psychotic Lieutenant Coffey... and is one of the better characters in the film. The loose cannon type, but with the Cameron edge... and completely out in left field. He's exciting to watch, because the audiences of the 1980's were never subjected to an underwater adventure of this proportion, with the inherent risks and dangers involved... and the new science that came with the storyline... it was all original, and all too real.

Leo Burnmester, Todd Graff, John Bedford Lloyd, J.C. Quinn, Kimberly Scott... all of them round out the crew that help Harris and Mastrantonio in the film... and the movie going audience hasn't heard from them since. They were fantastic in this film... and then seemingly dropped off the face of the earth... but this is not the truth.

Leo Burnmester went on to act in some great films... though never really got the kind of coverage he received in The Abyss. Prior to The Abyss, Burnmester found himself in Broadcast News, Big Business and The Last Temptation of Christ. He went on to act in Passion Fish, Innocent Blood, Article 99, Lone Star, The Devil's Advocate and Switchback... before going the route of the independent film... possibly the b-movie route.

Todd Graff went on to An Innocent Man, Opportunity Knocks, City of Hope and Strange Days (a Cameron script).

John Bedford Lloyd acted in CHUD, Trading Places and Crossing Delancy before his stint in The Abyss. He went on to act in Philadelphia (as Beckett's brother), Fair Game and Nixon... before he went the TV and B-movie route.

J.C. Quinn has the biggest resume out of all of them... having bit parts in some neat films. He was in CHUD with Lloyd, along with Vision Quest, At Close Range, Maximum Overdrive, Barfly, Big Business (with Burnmester), Turner & Hooch... and then went on to (after The Abyss) to make some other neat films: Gross Anatomy, The Program, The Prophecy, Bastard Out of Carolina, Primary Colors... and a whole slew of b-movies.

This was Kimberly Scott's first film, if you can believe that. People have to start somewhere, but jeez, what a start! She went on to make some great movies. Gross Anatomy (with Quinn), Downtown (a fantastic movie with Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker), Flatliners, Falling Down, The Client... and some not so neat films... which happens to everyone.

I bring all of this up because they balanced out the cast perfectly. This group of people were brought together on an incredible project... made it happen... and then, basically, fell to the way-side. They're working, this is true... and I can't be happier for them... but to come out and work on such a project... and then to not work with the creator again (save Graff)... well, it seems a bit untoward.

Gale Ann Hurd has the Midas Touch. The woman is a producing machine... and got hooked up with Cameron straight out of the gate with The Terminator (which she helped write). She's produced some of the biggest money-makers out of Hollywood, along with just some fantastic films. Her resume reads like a wish list. Terminator, Aliens, Alien Nation, Downtown, Tremors, T2, Raising Cain, No Escape, Witch Hunt, The Relic, Armageddon... though I must admit, after Armageddon she kind of slacked off... with Virus (a terrible film) and Dick (another terrible film). She's producing Clockstoppers, directed by Star Trek: The Next Generation star Jonathen Frakes... a sci-fi flick that should be pretty neat. The IMDB log-line is: A teenager accidentally activates a machine that enables him to make time stand still. Should be cool.

One of the great things about this film is the cinematography. Mikael Salomon is a photographic genius, but you have to wonder why Cameron chose him to do this film. He movies prior to The Abyss were mostly foreign films (Torch Song Trilogy is in there)... and not so effects laden. But, with the help of Cameron and his crew, Salomon came to shoot a fantastic movie. Afterwards, he shot Always for Spielberg, Arachnophobia for Frank Marshall and Backdraft and Far and Away for Ron Howard. Not bad... but he hasn't shot a film since. Hopefully he's ok.

If you ever want to see (if you're bored) a huge list of credits... take the time to filter through the IMDB Abyss credits. They list just about everything... in painstaking detail.

The DVD looks fantastic. The Special Edition has some neat footage... and some footage that you can understand why it was cut. There is a large amount of preaching from Cameron (keep in mind, this was the late 80's) about the state of the world and the arms race. Why it was taken out... who knows. You'd figure that if you were able to preach about a topic, in such a widely viewed medium, you would keep it in there... but I guess the distribution company didn't want to upset the President or something. Money is more important than politics, I guess.

There is a 60 minute documentary that rocks, along with the complete script (which you can download here), a neat pseudopod sequence and storyboards and artwork.

All in all, a must buy.

J.P.

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