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The Abyss

6.7

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Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss'

Original title

The Abyss

Year

1989

Running time

146 min.

Country

United States

Director

James Cameron

Screenwriter

James Cameron

Cast

Music

Alan Silvestri

Cinematography

Mikael Salomon

Producer

20th Century Fox, Pacific Western, Lightstorm Entertainment

Genre

Adventure. Sci-Fi | Sea Adventures. Submarines. Scuba diving. Aliens

Synopsis

In this epic adventure, a team of civilian divers working on "Deepcore," a prototype underwater oil-drilling habitat, is pressed into reluctant service by the U.S. Navy in a search-and-rescue effort for a stricken nuclear submarine. Also making the trip down to the ocean-bottom oil rig is "Deepcore" project engineer Lindsey Brigman, the soon-to-be ex-wife of the divers' leader Bud. Lindsey's brusque manner and estrangement from the rig foreman do not endear her to either the "Deepcore" crew or the SEALs. Forming an uneasy but necessary alliance, the three clashing parties are thrust into an inexplicable chain of circumstances which find them all trapped in the black depths, below the Atlantic Ocean. Here, in this frightening and desolate place, they must confront the mystery of the abyss, a mystery that will ultimately demand the greatest sacrifice man can make.

Awards: 1989: Oscar: Best Visual Effects. 4 Nominations

1991: Saturn Awards: Best Director. 7 Nominations, inc. Best Science Fiction Film

1990: Saturn Awards (Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films): Best Director. 2 nominations

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Critics' reviews

"This film goes far and deep, but it’s a careful, superbly controlled descent (...) a visual tour de force, featuring overall, the greatest underwater sequences ever seen on film."

The Hollywood Reporter
"The best way to enjoy this overwrought action film is to go in knowing it is spectacularly silly (...) Fortunately, Mr. Cameron offsets his pretentious themes with luminous underwater photography"

Caryn James: The New York Times
"Stupendously exciting and emotionally engulfing... With probing intelligence and passionate feeling, Cameron has raised the adventure film very close to the level of art."

Peter Travers: Rolling Stone
"A firstrate underwater suspenser (...) The Abyss suffers from a payoff unworthy of its buildup"

Variety Staff: Variety
"The attempt to extract the essences of several genres and mix them together ultimately leads to giddy incoherence"

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Chicago Reader
"Top notch entertainment, though Cameron's soppy end is a disappointment compared to his other, less optomistic, films. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of five)"

Kim Newman: Empire

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Ranking Lists Position

58 My Favorite Sci-Fi Films (258)
93 Movies with Awesome Special Effects (21)
94 My Favorites from the 80s (75)

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The Abyss

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