The Abyss (Special Edition)

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The demand from fans isn’t likely to stop. But that’s hardly made much difference over the past decade and change. True Lies and The Abyss remain two of the most high profile films of the last few decades to still not have a Blu-ray release. The 14 months of silence since we last got word of either tells its own story. Join the dark side… and get a free cookie! Author StarThoughts Time 17-Jan-2014 8:06AM (Edited) Post link

E ver since James Cameron had adopted the use of the Super 35 format, he'd been framing for both widescreen and television safe, and there has been quite some discussion about how that sometimes compromises the compositions for one or the other more than if he just committed to framing specifically for one ratio. The pan-and-scan formatting often might improve a shot (e.g. the visibility of Jamie Lee Curtis' legs flailing as she hangs from the helicopter in a shot in True Lies , which adds an element of helplessness absent from the widescreen presentation). I would therefore be quite interested to see what this film looks like with a somewhat taller frame. As things stand, amongst the work of James Cameron, even Piranha II now has a decent Blu-ray release, courtesy of Shout Factory in America. But in the case of The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic and Avatar, these were all made under a deal with 20 th Century Fox. And as we understand it, that deal (and Fox is where he had his production deal for over 20 years) gives him final approval on the way those films are presented on disc, and what extra features are included. All were due to be released under the Fox Home Entertainment label. But now, Fox is part of the Disney empire. BIG UPDATE: A French journalist has asked Cameron the question about The Abyss as part of the press tour for the new Avatar movie. Cameron has confirmed that The Abyss will be on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray – and presumably Blu-ray as well – by March of 2023. Here’s the Tweet… The Digital Bits is reporting that not only is Cameron’s first Avatar film set to arrive on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray along with its sequel in 2023, but that “our sources continue to report that Disney is likely to release … [the] long-awaited remaster of The Abyss on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray early next year”. Does, then, Disney have the appetite for catalogue releases of older titles now, especially as it channels its home entertainment energies towards Disney+? Did it perhaps – and this is speculation – nix a release of The Abyss planned for 2019?And there it was, in colour. Remastering work on The Abyss was being undertaken, and here was the fresh evidence of it. That was over a year ago, and we’re going to go out on a limb and suggest that it’s not taken all that time to complete. The studio time had been booked, the colour grading at the very least is – on the technical side – complete.

There had been speculation that the movie would thus get a fresh disc release at the end of last year, to mark its 30 th birthday (interviews were reportedly conducted for a 20 year anniversary release of the film a decade ago, but that disc never came to fruition). 2019 also marked the 25 th birthday of True Lies. Not a further whiff of either film finally getting that fresh release followed, and more radio silence instead ensued. It’s curious that the existence of the grading was allowed to be out in the open – presumably with an eye on a 2019 release – and then nothing happened. No idea as of yet which of the cuts of the film are set to appear when the disc does finally arrive. We can argue over that a bit later though. For now, here’s the original report too over at The Digital Bits…

But again, follow the evidence and the timeline here. At the end of 2018, the transfers were ready for review, by his own words. Is it too much of a leap to suggest that he’s approved at least the one for The Abyss, given that the subsequent colour grading was allowed to go ahead? It’s not just the transfers, either. In 2017, The Digital Bits reported that“the work needed to compile new special features” had been done as well. That’s not actually the compiling of the features themselves, but more putting together what the shape of the eventual discs would be like. div>Fan-Edits & Preservations : Drsapirstein.blogspot.com