The Abyss (1989)

A civilian diving team are enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.

Director:

James Cameron

Writer:

James Cameron

Stars:

Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Harris	...	Virgil 'Bud' Brigman
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Lindsey Brigman
Michael Biehn	...	Lt. Hiram Coffey
Leo Burmester	...	Catfish De Vries
Todd Graff	...	Alan 'Hippy' Carnes
John Bedford Lloyd	...	Jammer Willis
J.C. Quinn	...	'Sonny' Dawson
Kimberly Scott	...	Lisa 'One Night' Standing
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr.	...	Lew Finler (as Capt. Kidd Brewer Jr.)
George Robert Klek	...	Wilhite
Christopher Murphy	...	Schoenick
Adam Nelson	...	Ensign Monk
Dick Warlock	...	Dwight Perry (as Richard Warlock)
Jimmie Ray Weeks	...	Leland McBride
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	DeMarco

Storyline

An American nuclear submarine encounters an alien species, which coincidentally causes massive electrical and hydraulic malfunctions, causing the sub to crash into an underwater cliff and sink. The navy asks the workers of a nearby underwater oil rig who are joined by a number of navy SEALS to locate and investigate the cause of the crash. As the crew embark on their mission, they encounter a number of difficulties and discover that they may not be alone. There is something else down there.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | underwater | abyss | ocean | alien | 

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Taglines:

There's everything you've ever known about adventure, and then there's The Abyss.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some scenes of action

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abyss

Filming Locations:

Harbor Star Stage, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$69,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$54,222,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Pacific Western, Lightstorm Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

171 min 139 min (original) 171 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director James Cameron contacted Orson Scott Card before filming began with the possibility of producing a book based on the film. Card initially told his agent that he doesn't do "novelizations", but when she told him that the director was James Cameron, he agreed to consider it. The script arrived, and Card signed on after receiving assurances from Cameron that he would be free to develop his "novel" the way he wanted to. After a meeting with Cameron, Card immediately wrote the first three chapters, which dealt with events concerning Bud and Lindsay Brigman that occurred before the events in the film. Cameron gave these chapters to Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who used it to develop their characters.

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Goofs

When the men hanging on the subs jump off to investigate the nuclear submarine, a camera shot pointing upwards reveals the surface of the tank they were filming in.

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Quotes

[first lines]
USS Montana Captain: Sixty knots? No way, Barnes. The Reds don't have anything that fast.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, save for the title, which emerges from darkness. The camera then follows down the "Y" of the title, and dissolves into the underwater blue of the ocean.

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Connections

Referenced in Taken (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Too Much Pressure"
(uncredited)
Written by N. Davies
Published by Fairwood Music Ltd.
Performed by The Selecter
Courtesy of EMI Records Group/Chrysalis Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

S10 Reviews: The Abyss (1989)

Towards the end of the Cold War the USS Montana, a nuclear submarine runs straight into an underwater cliff after an encounter with what they believe was a new beyond state-of-the-art Russian submersible. The Navy dispatches a SEAL team (lead by Michael Biehn) to record and survey the situation and to find some answers. The commission a nearby (or is it hijack?) deep sea oil drilling platform run by the estranged Brigman's, Bud and Linsey (Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). During their mission things aren't quite as they seem as they discover that they are not alone deep in "The Abyss". On the verge of war topside and below with themselves the SEAL and workers struggle to come to terms with an unbelievable situation that could lead them to a nuclear confrontation.

"The Abyss" is a richly constructed story that puts well thought up and executed characters into a situation that looks to be a schmaltzy, love story set under the sea. The aliens or NTI's pretty much take a backseat to the human element and our old conflicting ways, these NTI's are non-violent and they want to teach us the error of our ways and they mean business (especially in the Special Edition cut). The whole cast does a wonderful job and most of the leads give Oscar-caliber performances. Harris and Mastrantonio do it so well you think their actually married. James Cameron establishes his love for the ocean in "The Abyss" will fully succeeds on all the technical levels. The production design is amazing with the full-size Deep Core set that was submerged at the bottom of an unused nuclear reactor building. Cameron shows his affinity for technology as the "pseudo pod "soon championed in the new wave of computer generated imagery. Highly recommended.