It was, I think, a single day showing (6 Dec) ahead of the (apparently long awaited) Blue Ray release.
I saw it in a theater, as a fan of the film since I was a kid, and loved it.
It was also kinda interesting to see it again in a theater.
- There’s a lot of “they don’t make them the way they used to” in this film. The actual quality emphasis on characters in combination with some SFF high-stakes plot line being the major example. Also all of the practical effects (obviously) really stood out as beautiful.
- There’s also a good deal of tropey-ness that stood out, a sort of background level of predictability with some cheesiness that dates the film.
- I think I saw a bunch of people learn to not go to the cinema as much anymore in real time. The crowd were mostly nerdy and slightly older types. Except for one group of people who seemed to be there for a retro laugh and probably hadn’t seen the film before. They laughed out loud at a number things that no one else found funny and kinda killed the vibe in the cinema. I saw a number of people looking over at them with frustration, including myself, and despite the pleasure I get from the big screen and the theater, I would have enjoyed it more at home with a good TV. Personally, I think the theater died a good deal that night for me and I don’t think I have much interest in seeing films with big audiences again … we’ll see.
Anyone else check it out or have thoughts about The Abyss?
The 4K remaster is of the Special Edition (longer version). From memory the theatrical version has less of the aliens but I cannot remember at all what the differences are … anyone remember?
That feels right. The special edition makes it clear that the Cold War is on the verge of erupting.
I haven’t watched either version in a while, but from what I recall, the SE features more scenes where they try to discover what the aliens are. When it comes to the ending, Bud’s love for his ex is what convinces the aliens to rescue him and everyone else on Deepcore. Of course, in the SE, the aliens demonstrate their power and threaten humanity because of the threat of nuclear war with the huge waves (and bum flashing 😆) but again, Bud’s love is what convinces them that humanity is worth saving.