Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

Director:

James Cameron

Release Date:

18 April 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Family

Tagline:

The legend no one can forget has become the greatest 3D adventure ever filmed.

Plot:

James Cameron and Bill Paxton, director and actor of the 1997 film Titanic, travel to the final undersea resting place of the fated ship of dreams.

Plot Keywords:

IMAX | Titanic | Expedition | Shipwreck | U Boat

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Bill Paxton	...	Himself
John Broadwater	...	Himself (as Dr. John Broadwater)
Lori Johnston	...	Herself (as Dr. Lori Johnston)
Charles Pellegrino	...	Himself (as Dr. Charles Pellegrino)
Don Lynch	...	Himself / Thomas Andrews
Ken Marschall	...	Himself / J. Bruce Ismay
James Cameron	...	Himself
Mike Cameron	...	Himself
Jeffrey N. Ledda	...	Himself
Corey Jaskolski	...	Himself
Jason Paul	...	Himself
Eric Schmitz	...	Himself
Genya Chernaiev	...	Himself
Victor Nischeta	...	Himself
Anatoly M. Sagalevitch	...	Himself (as Dr. Anatoly Sagalevitch)
Lewis Abernathy	...	Himself
John Bruno	...	Himself
Vince Pace	...	Himself
Miguel Wilkins	...	Quartermaster Hitchens
Federico Zambrano	...	John Jacob Astor
Dale Ridge	...	Elizabeth Lines
Judy Prestininzi	...	Molly Brown
Adriana Valdez	...	Helen Churchill Candee
Justin Shaw	...	John 'Jack' Phillips
Thomas Kilroy	...	Poker player
Charlie Arneson	...	1st Officer Murdoch
Piper Gunnarson	...	Madeleine Astor
John Donovan	...	Captain Smith
Janace Tashjian	...	Edith Russell
Jesse Baker	...	2nd Officer Lightoller
Justin Baker	...	Harold Bride
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stacey Hayes	...	(voice)
Barron Christian	...	Himself / Narrator (uncredited)
Aaron C. Fitzgerald	...	Lookout Frederick Fleet (uncredited)
Tava Smiley	...	Herself (uncredited)

Directed by
James Cameron

Produced by
John Bruno	....	producer
James Cameron	....	producer
Chuck Comisky	....	producer
Haley Jackson	....	segment producer: Earthship.tv
Ed W. Marsh	....	creative producer
Giedra Rackauskas	....	executive producer
Chris Steenolsen	....	consulting producer
Janace Tashjian	....	producer
Andrew Wight	....	line producer
Andrew Wight	....	producer

Original Music by
Joel McNeely
Lisa Torban

Cinematography by
Vince Pace		(director of photography)
D.J. Roller

Film Editing by
Ed W. Marsh
Sven Pape
John Refoua
David C. Cook		(uncredited)

Casting by
Tina Kerr

Production Design by
Martin Laing

Art Direction by
Leonard Barrit
Javier Nava

Makeup Department
Sophie Brice	....	makeup artist
José Luis Cordova	....	hair stylist
Raul Covarrubias	....	key makeup artist
Julio Espinoza	....	hair stylist
Rose Gaeta	....	hair stylist
Kathe Swanson	....	key hair stylist
Kathe Swanson	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Charlie Arneson	....	production supervisor
Chris Debiec	....	production manager: Earthship.TV
Stephen A. Marinaccio II	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jose Jimenez	....	assistant director
Kristie Sills	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Leonard Barrit	....	set designer
Todd Cherniawsky	....	set designer
Aimee Dominguez	....	art department assistant
Stephen J. Pavelski	....	digital previsualization
Kia R. Zokaie	....	graphic designer
Kia R. Zokaie	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Dennis Baxter	....	sound recordist
Beau Borders	....	supervising sound editor
Christopher Boyes	....	sound designer
Christopher Boyes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Travis Crenshaw	....	foley recordist
Daniel A. Greenwald	....	boom operator
Marilyn McCoppen	....	adr editor
Marilyn McCoppen	....	dialogue editor
Frank 'Pepe' Merel	....	foley editor
Shannon Mills	....	dialogue editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Jonathan Null	....	dialogue editor
Gene Radzik	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Jurgen Scharpf	....	sound mix technician
Gary Summers	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Jana Vance	....	foley artist
Hugh Waddell	....	adr supervisor
Hugh Waddell	....	sound supervisor

Special Effects by
Sergio Lino	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Milton Adamou	....	stereoscopic post executive: Stereo D
Hunny Agarwal	....	stereo roto artist
Anjel Alcaraz	....	stereoscopic artist: Stereo D
William L. Arance	....	digital matte painting
Taylor Armstrong	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Creighton Ashton	....	digital compositor
Leonard Barrit	....	digital artist
Leonard Barrit	....	digital effects supervisor
Leonard Barrit	....	modeler
John Bavaresco	....	visual effects
Brian N. Bentley	....	stereo compositor
Derek Bird	....	digital compositor
Jason Bowers	....	stereoscopic compositor: stereoscopic conversion
Kyle Patrick Brown	....	compositor (stereoscopic conversion)
Michael Buck	....	stereoscopic assistant editor: StereoD
Snata Chakraborty	....	stereo roto artist
Graham D. Clark	....	head of stereography: Stereo D
Chuck Comisky	....	visual effects supervisor
Brian Conlon	....	digital compositor
David Cowles	....	stereoscopic on-line editor: StereoD
Maurice Cox	....	stereo compositor
Adrian Paul DeGroot	....	lead animator
Adrian Paul DeGroot	....	lead modeller
Shelly Dutcher	....	visual effects
Greg Emerson	....	senior stereoscopic on-line editor: StereoD
Michael Enriquez	....	visual effects
Judith Ferrer	....	stereoscopic compositor
Adam Garnier	....	digital compositor
Jackson Gichuki	....	stereoscopic rotoscope artist
Matthew E. Gill	....	stereoscopic rotoscope artist: Stereo D
Jonathan Goldsmith	....	production supervisor: StereoD
Owen Hammer	....	digital compositor
Brian Hanable	....	digital effects compositor
Josh Handley	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Monica Harrion	....	stereoscopic roto artist: Stereo D
Mike F. Hedayati	....	stereoscopic consultant
Veronica Hernandez	....	rotoscope artist: Stereo D
Bryan M. Higgins	....	rotoscope supervisor
Paul Hill	....	visual effects compositor
Adam Howard	....	visual effects supervisor: Technicolor/Complete Post
Lucas Hull	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Dale Hunter	....	digital imaging engineer
Tim Johnson	....	visual effects coordinator
Vijay Kadapatti	....	stereo production coordinator
Ryan Keely	....	digital compositor
Ian Kelly	....	stereoscopic rotoscope artist
Gerry Kodo	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Grant Lee	....	second lead compositor: Stereo D
Adalberto Al Lopez	....	visual effects supervisor: Creative Logik Universe
Son Lu	....	stereoscopic lead
Yael Majors	....	stereoscopic compositor
David Fred Masselink	....	film I/O coordinator
Russell McCoy	....	digital paint supervisor
Robert McInnis	....	visual effects supervisor: Modern VideoFilm
David McMahon	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Eroc Moralls	....	digital compositor
Carson Murdy	....	stereoscopic artist: StereoD
Michael Murphy	....	stereoscopic quality assurance: Stereo D
Travis Murray	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Mohan Narayanaswamy	....	quality manager
Patrick O'Riley	....	rotoscope artist: Stereo D
Jared Otake	....	digital compositor
Stephen J. Pavelski	....	lead animator
Stephen J. Pavelski	....	lead modeller
Daniel Perez	....	stereoscopic depth artist: Stereo D
Ezra Pike	....	stereo roto artist (2012 version)
Derek N. Prusak	....	stereoscopic editorial supervisor: StereoD
Patrick Reilly	....	stereoscopic compositor
Pedro Luis Reyes	....	senior stereoscopic artist
Jason Richardson	....	stereoscopic compositor
Mike Rim	....	stereoscopic compositor
Dylan Sanchez	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
David Satin	....	ultimatte operator
Adrian Scherger	....	stereoscopic assistant editor: StereoD
Ray Shantz	....	senior engineer
Stanislav Shapetskiy	....	stereo compositor
Mark Spatny	....	visual effects producer: Modern VideoFilm
Andrea R. Stephens	....	production coordinator: Deluxe
Nicholas Stocker	....	rotoscope
Eric Timm	....	stereoscopic artist
Khuong Tran	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Mark Victor Trappett	....	render technical assistant
Chris Treichel	....	stereo production coordinator: Stereo D
Michael Vaglienty	....	Flame artist
Josiah Van Arsdel	....	stereo compositor: Stereo D
Aurelio x. Vera Jr.	....	lead stereoscopic compositor
Toby Wilkins	....	visual effects: main title sequence, NWE
Marvin Yanez	....	stereoscopic roto lead
Kim Yong-Kyun	....	digital compositor
Kia R. Zokaie	....	graphic designer
Tom Daws	....	Inferno artist: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Donald Fly	....	general manager: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
John Hirota	....	visual effects compositor assistant (uncredited)
Simon Holden	....	digital effects artist (uncredited)
Kenneth Jones	....	visual effects supervisor: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Maryjane Layani	....	production accountant: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Suzanne Mitus-Uribe	....	Inferno artist: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Gregory Oehler	....	compositing supervisor: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Jason Wardle	....	lead CG artist: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Patrick Campbell	....	assistant camera
Alan Gitlin	....	assistant camera: focus and convergence puller
D.J. Roller	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Blanca Arreola	....	assistant costume designer
Mem MacAfee	....	costumes (as Mem Macafee)

Editorial Department
Milton Adamou	....	stereoscopic post executive: Stereo D
Jenny Brandt	....	post-production coordinator
Charlie Fuguet	....	post-production consultant
Claudia Huerta	....	assistant editor
Scott Klein	....	final colorist
Saul Santell	....	post-production assistant
Justin Shaw	....	assistant editor
James Sheridan	....	negative cutter
Jeff Smithwick	....	film timer
Heidi Tebo	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Lindsay Fellows	....	executive in charge of music
Randy Gerston	....	music supervisor
Brian Leff	....	music coordinator
Frank Macchia	....	orchestrator
Larry Mah	....	digital score recordist
Bryan Pezzone	....	musician: piano
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
David Slonaker	....	orchestrator
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn

Other crew
Johnathan Aldrin	....	office assistant
Peter Barnett	....	co-executive producer: live streaming broadcast, Earthship.tv (as Peter J. Barnett)
Hillary Bibicoff	....	legal counsel
Geoff Burdick	....	representative: Lightstorm Production
Wendy Chesebrough Lowe	....	assistant: James Cameron (as Wendy Chesebrough)
Delia Circelli	....	production coordinator
Todd Cogan	....	production assistant
Iram Collantes	....	production coordinator
Jill DeWinter	....	assistant: Gig Rackauskas
Damien Fitzpatrick	....	facility supervisor
Joe Hagg	....	representative: Lightstorm Production
Kendrick Hudson	....	production assistant
Jason Hunt	....	coordinator: live streaming broadcast, Earthship.tv
Sharre Jacoby	....	title producer: New Wave Entertainment
Efrain Lomeli	....	production assistant
Emilie Maison	....	press attache france
Michael Maltzman	....	ROV technician
Michael Maltzman	....	fiber optics technician
Juan Jose Meza-Leon	....	on-set production assistant
Tom Prince	....	executive in charge of production
Al Rives	....	representative: Lightstorm Production
Parks Stephenson	....	advisor
Mike Trainotti	....	representative: Lightstorm Production
Dan Williams	....	24p conversion technician
Kia R. Zokaie	....	quality assurance testing
Hunter Mackenzie Austin	....	looping voices (uncredited)
Mark Dinicola	....	film recordist (uncredited)
Farnaz	....	development intern (uncredited)
Jeremy Lang	....	director of information technology: Earthship.TV (uncredited)
Christopher Tin	....	synthesizer programmer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Earthship Productions
• Walden Media
• Walt Disney Pictures

Distributors

• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2003-2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (2003) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Golden Village (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Telepool (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Video
• Buena Vista Pictures
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Pictures
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• CIS Hollywood (visual effects)
• Creative Logik Universe (visual effects)
• Complete Post (visual effects)
• Section L (visual effects)
• Post Group, The (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Greenberg Glusker  legal counsel
• Hollywood Records  soundtrack
• PACE  Fusion camera system
• Panavision  camera equipment provided by
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Studio @ NWE  title design

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements (longer video version)

Runtime:

USA:59 min | Germany:43 min | USA:92 min (extended special edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:G (theatrical version) | USA:PG (longer video version) | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Canada:F (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Fox Baja Studios, Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Company:

Earthship Productions

Trivia:

The two robotic submarines in the film are named Jake and Elwood, a reference to The Blues Brothers (1980).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The 4th funnel of the Titanic is shown falling backwards when the ship breaks in two in the sinking simulation. It would do no such thing. It would fall forward like the other funnels. This is also seen in the "Final Plunge" montage with the photographs of the Titanic's passengers who perished in the disaster superimposed in front of the footage of the ship sinking from the movie Titanic (1997).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Capturing Avatar (2010) (V)

Soundtrack:

Alexander's Ragtime Band

Now He's Really "King of the (Water) World!"

Director James Cameron scored, against all odds (and his swarm of nervous auditors) a huge success with "Titanic." Not as artistically strong as several predecessor films about the legendary disaster it rocked the box office boat as new generations of Titanic enthusiasts and curious folk flooded the theaters.

Personally fascinated by the tale of the doomed April 1912 maiden voyage of the era's seaborne tribute to Mammon, with its unsolved mysteries - technical and human - Cameron dives to the wreck site in this 3-D stunning documentary, "Ghosts of the Abyss."

RMS Titanic's grave was discovered by Robert Ballard, the foremost maritime archeologist working today. Using the then latest technology he first located the wreck and then filmed it with "Alvin," a submersible of amazing capability. But today ""Alvin" is to underwater exploration and technology what a typewriter is to a PC. Basing his expedition on a Russian research vessel, Cameron takes to the depths and launches "Jake" and "Elwood," two camera-equipped robots that can be guided from the mother ship's two submersibles through the interstices of the sprawling Titanic. These robots can and are guided through spaces no person could maneuver in, even at shallow depths.

Cameron's intense nature masked by good humor comes clearly across as actor Bill Paxton narrates much of the film. Paxton doesn't seem to be acting as he seeks multiple reassurances from the Russian crew man operating the descending sub that there are ways to escape if something goes wrong.

"Jake" and "Elwood" capture scenes from the ship no previous expedition could. At one point the viewer is staring up front at a bathroom mirror with water jug and glass eerily standing exactly where the stateroom's occupant left it before the collision. The grand staircase is gone but its cavernous space is superimposed by scenes from Cameron's feature film, creating an almost scary sense of reality. Period music accompanies the changing scenes which alternate the brief life and long interment of the grand vessel.

This was a scientific expedition with microbiologists on board to assess the continuing and inevitable reduction of RMS Titanic to dust. But the bulk of the film deals with the evidence of life on the ship during its short journey and the story is told with verve.

This is a 3-D film that fully and beautifully exploits the medium and it's a deep sea outing for the whole family.

All that said, is there anything negative about "Ghosts from the Abyss?" There sure is: whatever the cost of 3-D cinematography it's a near crime to limit the end result to a mere 60 minutes!!

9/10.