Ghosts of the Abyss
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Movie Reviews of Ghosts of the Abyss
Movie Review: James Cameron goes back to "Titanic"
Summary: 4 Stars
It seems like James Cameron is going to be the David O. Selznick of his generation, by which I mean to indicate that both men had to try and figure out what to do next after they brought to the screen the biggest blockbuster film of all time with "Titanic" and "Gone with the Wind" respectively. Since 1997 Cameron had a hand in creating the television series "Dark Angel," even directing an episode, did a television documentary on an expedition to find the World War II German battleship "Bismarck," and then returned to the bottom of the North Atlantic to revisit the wreck of the "Titanic.""Ghosts of the Abyss" was originally a 61-minute IMAX documentary in 3D and is now available on DVD as a 92-minute documentary, without the 3D effects. This is not the first documentary to go back to "Titanic," but Cameron has the resources and the drive to make it one of the most interesting. By now the thrill of just seeing these ghostly images from the ocean's floor is starting to wear off, so Cameron has to do something slightly more ambitious that voyage to the bottom of the sea. His advantage are the technological toys he brings with him to the expedition, which includes not only the pair of remote-controlled underwater cameras nicknamed Jake and Elwood in honor of the Blues Brothers, but an array of lights that is suspended over the "Titanic" to illuminate the scene.
Brought along for the ride is Bill Paxton, who know gets to find out for real what it was his character did in the film. Cameron is such an expert on all of this that he leaves the documentary's narration to Paxton, who surves as a surrogate for us common folk on this underwater journey. Through the eyes of the camera we can see the Tiffany cut glass windows in the ship's grand ballroom, the settings the telegraph operators used to send out their distress calls, the entrance to the mast that sailors used to crawl up to the crow's nest, and answer the question of whether the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown had a brass or a wooden bed in her cabin. Then there are all the familiar objects, such as hats and glasses, that amazingly remain where they were left by their owners on the fateful night of April 15, 1912.
As was the case with "Titanic," Cameron uses digital effects to bring the wreckage alive by adding ghostly images of passengers and the way these parts of the ship looked the night it sunk. But as was the case with the maiden voyage of "Titanic," the drama in "Ghosts of the Abyss" comes as a surprise. While exploring the interior of "Titanic" one of Cameron's little robots has a major problem and suddenly we are engaged in an deep sea rescue mission. The question is whether Cameron will risk the second robot to rescue the first, but there is never a doubt as to what the director is going to do. Still, he never could have written a story that would be as fascinating as what happens down there among the ghosts of "Titanic."
Movie Review: Great, better on a big screen w/o corr. glasses
Summary: 4 Stars
"Ghosts of the Abyss" is a 59 minute, 3-D, movie to the wreakage of the R.M.S. Titanic with Bill Paxton and James Cameron, Bill Paxton starred in James Cameron's directed 1997 "Titanic". The viewer has to wear the 3-D glasses to get the effect. Try to sit in the center of the aisle if you see the movie, as you are not suppose to turn your head in order for the 3-D to work. The movie is dedicated to Walter Lord, (RIP), whose book "A Night to Remember" was made into the 1958 film starring Kenneth Moore and it is the other "Must See" movie about the Titanic. "Ghosts" is about as near to exploring the remains of the ship, 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface, as most of us will get. It's very expensive, and can only be done in July, Augest, and early September, weather permitting. Also, the ship is rapidly rotting away. The film uses two robot submarines,(named "Jake" and "Elwood"), that were invented by James Cameron himself to film the interior of the ship. Although it may sound phoney, "Jake" and "Elwood" seem to have real personalities, almost like Star Trek's "Data". They show parts of ship, that would be too risky to film, as shown in the movie, when one of the robots gets caught up in the wreakage, as well as being under a falling "rusticles" debris avalanche. Bill Paxton is supposed to be "everyperson" when he gives his thoughts looking at the ship, but, he can be a bit tiresome to listen to. For example; while he's inside the submarine, he expresses his worries about going to the wreakage, outside the sub a diver, (in a wetsuit), is getting drenched hooking, and unhooking, the vehicle to a cable that puts it in the water, and then brings it back on board the mail ship. Film of the Titanic underwater today has footage of the movie "Titanic" added on to it. For instance, we see the remains of the ship's brige, as well as footage of the actors portraying the people as they reacted to the iceberg warning, as though it was the night of April 14, 1914. Something happened durning the making of this movie, that I won't give away, but, it is a shock to the viewer at the time it occurs. I saw the movie at a regular movie-plex wearing corrective glasses. I am sure I would have enjoyed the film better at an IMAX theater, but, the nearest one is 150 miles away. I also wear corrective glasses. A person who has 20/20, or who wears contact lenses, would probably enjoy the film more. In my opinion, it's a tragedy that the lookouts on the Titanic did not have any binoculars, probably due to some stupid mix-up. History would doubtless turned out different. Try and see this movie, but if you can, view it at an IMAX theatre, if there's one nearby.Movie Review: A nice spiritual successor to Titanic
Summary: 4 Stars
In the recent Titanic SE, James Cameron during the commentary found that many of the sets and things designed for the deep sea exploring at the beginning looked "pretty darn accurate" to the real wreck. With this film we see just how close the actual ship resembles his recreated luxury liner. For those of you who loved the action stuff, look elsewhere. This is purely for people interested in the history and the sinking of the ship.
Bringing along long-time friend and frequent co-star(out of 5 films, he's only not in 2) Bill Paxton, James Cameron goes down to the infamous ship that crashed and sank in 1912: the Titanic. Using advanced robotic technology, they go farther into the wreck than previously shown, including statesrooms, the central staircase and the elevator. An odd bit of mishap happens and they must mount a rescue attempt of one of their beloved ROV(remote-operated vehicles)which just happens to coincide with another historical event.
One thing that plagues this film, as well as subsequent film Aliens of the Deep, is the people doing multiple variations on "that's awesome!". The images are striking enough, we don't need commentary on them and while acting wise he's capable, Bill Paxton is unfortunately not a good "host" for this event. Easily excitable and fidgety, he's, as he puts it, not used to this stuff.
The images are of course the star and the doomed luxury liner has tons of images. While the ship was probably more striking above water, seeing the detail and craftsmanship 12,000 feet down gives it a different kind of look and it's quite something. Especially when they show you what it looked like in real life such as the promenade deck or where the captain's helm was. Also interspersed with the underwater images is CG videomatics to give you a better understanding(which unfortunately aren't that new, they were in Titanic). Giving it a different look is having live actors shot than put over the images to give the titular look.
Out of the 3 deep sea films he's done(others including Expedition: Bismarck and Aliens of the Deep)Ghosts is probably 2nd after Bismarck. The images here are great but Bismarck did a better job at the exploration part but they're all interesting looks at technology and the loss of life that resulted from it.
Movie Review: Extraordinary Photography, but Barely Passable Documentary.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Ghosts of the Abyss" documents the 2001 expedition of the Russian research vessel Keldysh to explore and film the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic where it has lain on the ocean floor since 1912. Director James Cameron, whose fascination with the Titanic appears undiminished since the success of his blockbuster film, joined a team of historians, scientists, engineers, and cutting-edge technicians on this first-ever attempt to penetrate the wreck. Actor Bill Paxton accompanied the crew and narrates most of this film. The crew is transported 2.5 miles into the ocean's depth in a pair of deep-sea submersibles, Mir I and Mir 2. Two small, maneuverable "bots", designed by Mike Cameron, take us inside the decaying shipwreck. The ship's exterior is illuminated by Medusa, a huge ROV containing a bank of lights that was positioned just above the wreck.The images of the Titanic itself are extraordinary, especially those inside the ship. It was probably a mistake to superimpose modern reenactments on them, however. Bill Paxton's narration is poor. The occasional commentary by James Cameron and Charles Pellegrino is better. The modern technology used to transport the crew to the ocean floor and capture these images is interesting, but begs for more knowledgeable and organized commentary. So does the wreck, itself. The screen is too often cluttered with multiple images, which are difficult to discern. Basically, "Ghosts of the Abyss" is a poorly produced documentary on an interesting subject. But it's worth seeing for the cinematography alone, which is why I'm giving it four stars. Dubbing is available in French, and captioning is available in English.
The Extended Version: The DVD contains both the Theatrical Version, which is one hour long, and an hour-and-a-half Extended Version. Basically, there is more of the same in the extended version. For example, there are 6 additional minutes about the attempt to rescue the malfunctioning bot. If the bots interest you, this is worth seeing, but it was understandably considered extraneous to the theatrical version of the film. Subtitles are available in French, and captioning is available in English on the Extended Version.
Movie Review: Somewhat flawed masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
How I loved the awesome images from the quiet, sacred underwater grave of the Titanic. If only there had been MORE of them. I could have easily watched about two hours of just underwater footage. A mere 90 minutes, even on the extended version, simply wasn't enough and I found myself wanting more! The DVD is a must have for any Titanic buff, simply to have amazing footage from parts of the ship never filmed before. For those who've seen the DVD...I definitely DO think that they were looking right at the Renault down in the cargo hold! Some of this footage of the magnificent wreck site is very moving, and I never even had the chance to see it on an IMAX screen!The crew that went on this expedition was a top notch cross section of Titanic experts, but the Disney folks decided to place WAY too much emphasis on the ever annoying Bill Paxton. Old Bill has a few "wise" things to say (but I'll wager they were scripted). Mostly, Paxton just really gets on your nerves with his dopey comments. Also, I would have liked more of the ship and less of the technical stuff. Like I said, about two full hours of just Titanic footage (without Bill Paxton) would have been fine by me.
I think I also need to comment on the special effects that overlayed "ghostly passengers" on the ship. Although I truly appreciate the technical skills of pulling off these visuals, I really had some decidely mixed feelings insofar as the results in the film. Maybe it would have had more of an impact if I had seen it on the big screen, but it really didn't do a whole lot for me. I can imagine the passengers on the ill fated ship, without James Cameron having to do it for me. A little bit melodramatic and contrived, I thought. Now, the overlays of the actual ship detail were cool and I did like those, because it really helped you to orient yourself, and get a clearer, immediate visual of what the great ship did look like, once upon a time.
Definitely worth having for the amazing, once in a lifetime footage of the famous ship...but it could have been better.