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Movies / On DVD / Ghosts of the Abyss
Ghosts of the Abyss

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Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

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Reviews Counted:94

Fresh:76

Rotten:18

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: The underwater footage is both beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Rated: G [See Full Rating] thematic elements

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Apr 11, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $16,302,332

Synopsis: James Cameron, director of the hugely successful TITANIC, returns to a subject with which he appears infatuated. GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS sees Cameron assemble a team of scientists, documentarians, and... James Cameron, director of the hugely successful TITANIC, returns to a subject with which he appears infatuated. GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS sees Cameron assemble a team of scientists, documentarians, and actor-narrator Bill Paxton to descend 12,000 feet to the wreckage of the Titanic. The results are rendered in the stunning IMAX 3-D format, following two submersible vehicles that carry the crew members to the depths of the ocean floor. A visibly nervous Paxton takes his first trip to the wreckage, and muses on the historical and scientific importance of their journey. The Titanic appears from the murky gloom of the ocean depths, an eerie and startling occurrence that leaves Paxton and crew awestruck. Two mini robotic cameras are unleashed to explore the nooks and crannies of the ship, with director Cameron superimposing shots of actors playing out scenes that may have occurred in the final hours of the dying ship. Cameron has created an important historical document by filming a wreckage that is slowly decaying, and Paxton provides a sympathetic narration that is both in awe of what he is witnessing, and sympathetic to the tragedy that lies before him. The IMAX process is utilized to awesome effect, providing an edge-of-your-seat journey that you can almost reach out and touch. [More]

Starring: James Cameron, Bill Paxton, Lewis Abernathy, Lori Johnston

Starring: James Cameron, Bill Paxton, Lewis Abernathy, Lori Johnston, Don Lynch, Ken Marschall, Vince Pace

Director: James Cameron

Director: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron, Chuck Comisky, Andrew Wight
Studio: Walden Media

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Release:

Apr 27, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Ghosts Of The Abyss
  • Walt Disney Pictures and James Cameron, the Academy Award(R)-winning director of TITANIC (1997), present the groundbreaking cinematic achievement GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS. Joined by his personal friend Bill Paxton (TITANIC) and a team of the world's foremost history and marine experts, Cameron journeys back to the site of his greatest inspiration -- the legendary wreck of the Titanic. During the voyage, you will explore the entire ship, deck by deck, room by room, encountering mysteries that have remained hidden for almost a century. Revolutionary underwater robots were designed and built solely for the purpose of allowing the explorers to peer deep into the remains of the once great ship and bring those surreal and haunting images back to the surface. Loaded with never-before-seen footage, revealing interviews, and innovative DVD bonuses, this unprecedented motion picture event is a must-own companion for anyone who loves TITANIC.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Ghosts of the Abyss

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    This hour-long feature, edited down from 900 hours of footage, is both a technical marvel and a heartfelt memorial to those who died when the ship sank in 1912.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    12/11/09
    Ted Shen
    Ted Shen
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    What's the point of this documentary?

    Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
    04/29/09
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Cinema Crazed

    This is a brilliant showcase for IMAX and Cameron who offer an entertaining and fascinating glimpse of history to us all.

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile

    Despite Paxton's whooping every time a new artefact comes on screen, it's hard to be constantly excited about watching a bunch of rusty, decayed junk -- historic and three-dimensional though it may be.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    12/30/06
    Olly Richards
    Olly Richards
    Empire Magazine

    It may not have the organisation of 'art', but it's quite some postcard.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Time Out

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat

    Cameron has gone from shaping the zeitgeist to spoonfeeding it

    Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
    04/22/04
    Bill Chambers
    Bill Chambers
    Film Freak Central

    The picture's beauty and Cameron's amazing photographic work provide much pleasure. It's just that...there is the feeling we've been there and seen it all before.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    04/17/04
    John J. Puccio
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com

    As seqüências rodadas nos destroços do Titanic são estupendas, mas o filme constantemente perde o foco e gasta muito tempo com a narração pouco inspirada de Paxton.

    comment Comment
    03/16/04
    Pablo Villaca
    Pablo Villaca
    Cinema em Cena

    Cameron is forever associated with the fateful ship, and I think it's time he moved on.

    Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
    07/16/03
    Mark Dujsik
    Mark Dujsik
    Mark Reviews Movies

    Not as record setting a motion picture as, say, Titanic, but more haunting and ethereal.

    Full Review Source: Movie Boeuf | comment Comment
    07/03/03
    David N. Butterworth
    David N. Butterworth
    Movie Boeuf

    Ghosts Of the Abyss is an interesting experiment which fails to take full advantage of the real opportunity granted in its inception - to utilize emerging technology to explore terrain that has never been witnessed by humans. . .

    Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
    05/30/03
    Todd Gilchrist
    Todd Gilchrist
    FilmStew.com

    The Titanic has a haunting beauty that is served well by the movie's 3-dimensional process.

    Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
    04/30/03
    Mike McGranaghan
    Mike McGranaghan
    Aisle Seat

    Ghosts of the Abyss is a beautifully rendered middle-of-the-road documentary that strikes a perfect balance between entertainment and education.

    Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
    04/30/03
    Spence D.
    Spence D.
    IGN Movies

    In the end, it’s the visuals of this film that you want to see, and Cameron doesn’t disappoint.

    Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
    04/29/03
    James Kendrick
    James Kendrick
    Q Network Film Desk

    Ghosts of the Abyss isn't emotionally engaging or even all that interesting.

    Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
    04/26/03
    Jennifer D. Wesley
    Jennifer D. Wesley
    PopMatters

    Whenever Cameron leaves the technical tricks, awkward recreations and computer graphics behind and focuses solely on the magnificent remains of the Titanic, the movie is awe-inspiring.

    Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
    04/25/03
    Matt Brunson
    Matt Brunson
    Creative Loafing

    Ghosts of the Abyss is all about the spectacle of a six-story screen and the sensory bombardment of a rope flying at you or bubbles heading for the surface right in front of your nose.

    Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
    04/24/03
    Ryan Cracknell
    Ryan Cracknell
    Movie Views

    For all its shortcomings, Ghosts of the Abyss is an often powerful trek, that showcases the experiential qualities of the IMAX format.

    Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
    04/24/03
    Mark Palermo
    Mark Palermo
    Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

    Cameron, who produced and directed it, does a visually splendid job, though what he has fashioned comes down to a logistical footnote to his great, primal, heart-of- the-ocean blockbuster.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    04/23/03
    Owen Gleiberman
    Owen Gleiberman
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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    Latest News for Ghosts of the Abyss

    May 15, 2009: Exclusive: The Look of Terminator Salvation with Martin Laing
    Production Designer Martin Laing has worked with James Cameron on True Lies, Titanic and Ghosts of the Abyss and has served on films like The Haunting, City of Ember and the... More...

    November 17, 2005: New Line & Walden Team Up for an All-New "Earth" Expedition"
    Variety reports that New Line Cinema and Walden Media will partner up for an all-new and new-fangled rendition of Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth,"... More...

    December 15, 2004: Cameron Sheds Light on Battle Angel
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    November 23, 2004: James Cameron the Explorer
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