A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 9 wins & 16 nominations total
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr.
- Lew Finler
- (as Capt. Kidd Brewer Jr.)
Dick Warlock
- Dwight Perry
- (as Richard Warlock)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaReal oxygenated fluorocarbon fluid was used in the rat fluid breathing scene. Dr. Johannes Kylstra and Dr. Peter Bennett of Duke University pioneered this technique and consulted on the film, giving detailed instructions on how to prepare the fluid. The only reason for cutting to the actors' faces was to avoid showing the rats defecating from momentary panic as they began breathing the fluid.
- GoofsWhen the divers are swimming, you can see bubbles with every breath, meaning that they are on an open-system (i.e. scuba). However at that depth (2000ft), a standard scuba tank would be exhausted in under two minutes, or much less with any kind of exertion.
- Quotes
Lindsey Brigman: We all see what we want to see. Coffey looks and he sees Russians. He sees hate and fear. You have to look with better eyes than that.
- Crazy creditsIn the cast list, Super Seal Rover is credited as Big Geek and Mini Rover Mk II is credited as Little Geek. These are the actual models used for the unmanned submarines.
- Alternate versionsThe end credits were famously shortened to run under 5 minutes in 1989 in order to hit a target runtime and maximize daily showings; doing so also made the crawl almost illegibly tiny and fast. The credits on the extended edition were almost 10 minutes, with a bigger and slower crawl, and extended/alternate music. Several home video releases of the theatrical edition on laserdisc and DVD actually use the newer credits, so they are not entirely faithful! One VHS tape (Fox Video Selections 1561), at least, uses the original short credits; though the tape is formatted for 4:3, the credits merely gain picture information above and below the intended window (which, for some reason, is very high up in the frame after the first few names). However the new HD master, which has popped up on a few HDTV broadcasts (like Cinemax) go back to the original shortened credits, plus is in the original theatrical aspect ratio, making it the most faithful version available.
- SoundtracksWilling
Written by Lowell George
Performed by Linda Ronstadt
Courtesy of CEMA Special Markets and Capitol Records, Inc.
Featured review
I've never really heard of The Abyss except in Fox DVD commercials. When it came out, I was only 8 and not into sci-fi movies that weren't titled Star Wars. However, now I decided to check it out and was quite pleased with this solid sci-fi movie.
At first, I wasn't quite sure why this was considered sci-fi. It seemed pretty normal with the sinking of a nuclear sub and the hiring of an oil crew to save it. It wasn't for a while till we really got to meet the "extraterrestrial" creatures. The special effects for representing these characters were quite good, and I especially liked the water creature that toured around the rescue vessel. It's also neat to see that effect inspire a similar one used in Terminator 2.
As I said, the story took a little while to gain steam, but it was pretty interesting from then on. The acting was good too, most notably by Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. The other actors didn't do anything really extraordinary but serve as solid supporting characters.
Overall, I wouldn't say The Abyss is the best sci-fi movie out there or that it will dethrone Star Wars anytime soon, but rather it's a solid addition for any sci-fi fan's collection.
My IMDb Rating: 8/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B+ (Memorable)
At first, I wasn't quite sure why this was considered sci-fi. It seemed pretty normal with the sinking of a nuclear sub and the hiring of an oil crew to save it. It wasn't for a while till we really got to meet the "extraterrestrial" creatures. The special effects for representing these characters were quite good, and I especially liked the water creature that toured around the rescue vessel. It's also neat to see that effect inspire a similar one used in Terminator 2.
As I said, the story took a little while to gain steam, but it was pretty interesting from then on. The acting was good too, most notably by Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. The other actors didn't do anything really extraordinary but serve as solid supporting characters.
Overall, I wouldn't say The Abyss is the best sci-fi movie out there or that it will dethrone Star Wars anytime soon, but rather it's a solid addition for any sci-fi fan's collection.
My IMDb Rating: 8/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B+ (Memorable)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El secreto del abismo
- Filming locations
- Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, Gaffney, South Carolina, USA(two tanks - underwater scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $70,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $54,981,151
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,319,797
- Aug 13, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $90,520,202
- Runtime2 hours 20 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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