Behind-the-scenes stories from James Cameron's set The abyss are almost as coveted by longtime fans of the aquatic odyssey as the film itself. Most of the 1989 film was shot in enormous water tanks, and the work of both performing and diving caused the cast to have multiple emotional breakdowns. Much of the endurance test has been well documented, but Cameron clearly has a few more things to say.
Fox and Cameron's long-awaited 4K transfer The abyss on Blu-ray finally arrives on Tuesday, and with it a handful of new extras, including a brand new making-of documentary, “Deep Dive: A Conversation with James Cameron.” In this exclusive clip from the documentary, Cameron explores just how much thought went into the underwater production… even if the result was still a pain in the ass for everyone involved.
After an extensive search around the world for a location where a science fiction film set around the wreckage of a crashed submarine could actually be filmed, Cameron and his team decided… that there wasn't already a place on Earth where they could do that . get the job done. The man has high standards! So they decided to build a 7.5 million gallon tank in an abandoned power plant in Southern California for the film. But finding a place where Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio could swim around and make extraterrestrial contact was just the beginning of a new look at the studio filmmaking process. As Cameron describes in the excerpt from “Deep Dive: A Conversation with James Cameron,” his entire crew had to be trained and equipped for all the types of conversations and decision-making that take place on a regular land-based film set.
“We had to be able to talk to each other underwater,” Cameron says in the feature. “So most of the people doing the lightning and camera support were on regular diving holidays. Many of them were divers who had experience working on film sets and many of them were lightning and grip people who had undergone diving training for the film.
Cameron talks about working with his multiple directors of photography on the film, and what he personally had to do to show up to work every day, which he says involved “diving underwater and directing for 10 to 11 hours a day.” The making of Avatar: The Way of Water sounded like absolute hell, but when he was doing almost the same job in the late 80's… I can't blame Ed Harris for shedding tears.
When you think you know everything The abyssthroughout the documentary, she sheds light on the other technical requirements of the shoot and “addresses some of the myths” that have swirled around it over the years, according to the 4K's product information. And while it took ages for a Blu-ray version of the film to arrive, in true Cameron style, the director is trying hard this holiday season. The abyss, as well as Cameron's Aliens And True lies are all available digitally for the first time in 4K Ultra UHD starting Tuesday and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc on March 12, 2024. Avatar And Avatar: The Way of Water Collector's Editions will also be released digitally on Tuesday, with physical releases on December 19.