Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

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

Director:

James Cameron

Stars:

Bill Paxton, Lori Johnston, Lewis Abernathy

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Academy Award® winning director and master storyteller James Cameron journeys back to the site of his greatest inspiration, the legendary wreck of the Titanic. With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts and friend, Bill Paxton, he embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the final grave where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago. Using state-of-the-art technology developed expressly for this expedition, Cameron and his crew are able to explore virtually all of the wreck, inside and out, as never before. With the most advanced 3D photography, moviegoers will experience the ship as if they are part of the crew right inside the dive subs. In this unprecedented motion picture event, made especially for IMAX 3D Theatres and specially outfitted 35mm 3D theaters across the country, Cameron and his team bring audiences to sights not seen since the sinking 90 years ago and explore why the landmark vessel, more than any shipwreck, continues to intrigue...

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Plot Keywords:

titanic | shipwreck | expedition | imax | u boat | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Documentary | Family

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Titanic szellemei

Filming Locations:

Fox Baja Studios, Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,408,474, 13 April 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,093,668

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,780,668

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media, Earthship Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min (Blu-ray extended special edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

The fourth funnel 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 passengers who perished in the disaster superimposed in front of the footage of the ship sinking from the movie Titanic.

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Alternate Versions

The German version was shortened down to 43 minutes running time so that it will fit into the standard screening schedule of the local IMAX theatres, i.e. an IMAX film must not run longer than 45 minutes so that it is possible to start a screening every hour.

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Connections

Featured in Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron (2012)

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Soundtracks

Departure
Written and Performed by Glen Phillips
Courtesy of Inhale Music/Exhale Entertainment

User Reviews

Good, but could have been great

Nicely done, but no shock and awe here. I can't give it more than a 7 out of 10 for Paxton's progressively more melodramatic narration and Cameron's too-heavy reliance on the computer gimmickry, but neither hurt it so much as to take away the effect of seeing Titanic up close and personal. My only other complaint was that Cameron somehow managed not to take full advantage of the IMAX-sized screen. I kept waiting for some soaring shots of the various sides and parts of the boat, but it seemed like he always had the camera right up against them where you couldn't get a full measure. I kept thinking, "Dammit, man, back up." And the CG overlays really did start to irritate me a bit. I wanted to see the boat, but often as soon as the CG effects wisped away, it cut to something else. Overall I guess I thought it a little too cluttered technically and not enough lingering over the human touches.

As for the 3D, I thought it did increase the impact some, more than being a mere novelty, but I agree with Roger Ebert that Ghosts would have been a perfect showcase for Maxivision 48. Someday maybe true film fans will unite....