9 / 10
score
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Features
The presentation of the two discs are excellent, all with nice 3D rendered sequences and subtle yet still flashy cut scenes between each menu. I would have one criticism with it however, and that's the quality of the background music, its ****e. To spend so much time on the visuals and then put such a decrepid sounding excuse for audio on top is a bit sad but there we go.

The featurette is nice, but the documentary is far better. Not in the same league as the BBC produced one on The Exorcist but definitely watchable and a great insight into the difficulties and lengths went to make this picture. A must view for anyone who loves the film, you will end up with an incredible respect for the cast, crew and more than anyone else, the fluid breathing rat.

On the first disc is the two versions of the film, plus a subtitle commentary track. Yes that sounds as lame as it actually is, no excuse for actual voices. For real nerd only this I'm afraid, the likes of you and me will get bored pretty quickly. It does fill up some of the unused black space however, due to the non-anamorphic transfer.

The second disc is the real feature heaven. At a first glance most of it appears to be endless galleries, shooting scripts, info on the cast and crew all lovingly littered around a huge 3D world, etc, etc. But there is good stuff to be found if you know where to look, although finding what you want can be difficult at times, especially when its not clear which menu item you have highlighted.

A huge number of visual effects and test reels are there to view, all of interest. The best is a multi-angle version of the pseudopod sequence showing various stages of pre and post production, and the time-lapse building of the Deep Core set. There are a number of hidden teaser trailers on various screens you can find, for things like Aliens. Look for the out of place face hugger.

There is some DVD-ROM material on here too, but who the hell wants to ever both with that? Three games apparently, I'll stick to Quake. And one thing, maybe I'm going mad, but the menus are anamorphic. Shame about the film huh.

You also get a great booklet with the special edition, for once one worth reading too. It details every chapter with additional footage added, including what this footage is and why it was originally cut from the film or added back into this version. If only all the text inside the 2nd disc was available in hard copy too, reading on a screen can be tiresome and hard on the eyes.

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Conclusion
Here we have the excellent fully restored cut of The Abyss, the film as it should be with all the meaning it should have. Okay, so what it boils down to is a action/scifi/romance under water with an anti-war message. But this is also Cameron at his best, showing direction of the level displayed so well in Terminator 2, Aliens and Titanic. The ultimate action movie perfectionist with a class and style unmatched.

The acting is superb without exception, the characters are a brilliant mix of humourous rogues, the sets and underwater sequences are above anything else ever seen even to this day. Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are perfect as the dysfunctional couple, whilst Michael Bien does an excellent job as the military man you quickly learn to hate yet despite that makes you feel sorry for him later on in the film.

Add all this to a top notch script, more special features than you can shake a stick at, and your left with a must have DVD. The only real bugbear is its lack of anamorphic video, something Fox should be ashamed of. THX should also shoulder the blame, there are now loads of releases bearing their logo that have far from the best picture possible. THX has become meaningless in today's DVD world for consumers, something even a disc of this calibre will be hard to fix.

Still, despite the video format issues, its difficult not to recommend such a well constructed and enjoyable DVD. This is a must have for everyones collection.

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