7.6/10
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The Abyss (1989)

PG-13 | | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi | 9 August 1989 (USA)
A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.

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1,692 ( 116)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Jammer Willis
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'Sonny' Dawson
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Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. ...
Lew Finler (as Capt. Kidd Brewer Jr.)
George Robert Klek ...
Wilhite
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Schoenick
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Ensign Monk
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Dwight Perry (as Richard Warlock)
Jimmie Ray Weeks ...
Leland McBride
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Storyline

Formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some issues to work out. They are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL with a top-secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on Earth. Written by Jwelch5742

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Believe your eyes. See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some scenes of action | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

9 August 1989 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Abyss  »

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$54,222,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (special edition)

Sound Mix:

(70 mm prints)| (35 mm prints)

Color:

(DuArt)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director James Cameron contacted Orson Scott Card before filming began with the possibility of producing a book based on the film. Card initially told his agent that he doesn't do "novelizations", but when she told him that the director was James Cameron, he agreed to consider it. The script arrived, and Card signed on after receiving assurances from Cameron that he would be free to develop his "novel" the way he wanted to. After a meeting with Cameron, Card immediately wrote the first three chapters, which dealt with events concerning Bud and Lindsay Brigman that occurred before the events in the film. Cameron gave these chapters to Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who used it to develop their characters. See more »

Goofs

Judging by the way Virgil mounts the helmet and starts breathing immediately, the divers are breathing standard air. However, at that depth (2000ft) air would be instantly fatal, due to oxygen toxicity - not to mention completely impaired by nitrogen narcosis. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
USS Montana Captain: Sixty knots? No way, Barnes. The Reds don't have anything that fast.
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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, save for the title, which emerges from darkness. The camera then follows down the "Y" of the title, and dissolves into the underwater blue of the ocean. See more »

Connections

References The A-Team (1983) See more »

Soundtracks

WILLING
Written by Lowell George
Performed by Linda Ronstadt
Courtesy of CEMA Special Markets and Capitol Records, Inc.
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Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
"These guys are about as much fun as a tax audit."
29 April 2005 | by (King of Prussia, PA) – See all my reviews

The Abyss was a movie of destiny. First off, this movie either began or was the result of a lifetime obsession James Cameron has the ocean (see later Titanic and his IMAX deep sea movies). The Abyss is also full of echos of claustrophobic thriller/adventure movie Alien, in which Cameron directed the sequel. So combining one of Cameron's old movies with his new obsession, we get The Abyss, a solid sci-fi thriller starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Ed Harris plays Bud, the head of an undersea oil rig where very little actually happens and the people on the rig are only there in case something goes wrong. Well, wouldn't you know it, but an American nuclear submarine patrolling the US coast near the oil rig suddenly sinks, killing the sailors on board. The Americans suspect it's the Soviets, but we know better. Something pink and glowing does something to the submarine causing it to sink. A team of Navy seals, ferried down to the rig by Bud's ex-wife Lindsey (Mastrantonio), boards the oil rig and uses it as a command base for their mission to recover the submarine. And that is when the fun begins. Of course a hurricane has to enter into the plot, in movies like this, there is always a hurricane, but beyond, The Abyss is a solid sci-fi thriller, where the oil rig becomes a character in the movie. Much like the Nostromo in Alien or The Discovery in 2001, the tight spaces adds flavor to the movie, bringing the setting in as another character of the movie. The special effects were groundbreaking at the time and hold up well today. The scene of a column of water snaking its way through the oil rig still creeps me out to this day.


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