The Abyss (Special Edition)

Author dvdmike Time 16-Jan-2014 12:51PM Post link No idea as of yet which of the cuts of the film are set to appear when the disc does finally arrive. We can argue over that a bit later though. For now, here’s the original report too over at The Digital Bits… Appreciating that Paramount still owns part of the rights to Titanic, the 4K disc releases of True Lies, The Abyss and Avatar are entirely on Disney’s watch. Thus far, when it does 4K reissues, it tends to be around dates for sequels and remakes to and of existing movies (the animated film of Mulan, for instance, is getting a 4K release this year to tie in with the new live action movie). Thus, it’s entirely likely that Avatar will get a reissue when the first of the many sequels arrives (currently scheduled for the end of next year). The Digital Bits is reporting that not only is Cameron’s first Avatar film set to arrive on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray along with its sequel in 2023, but that “our sources continue to report that Disney is likely to release … [the] long-awaited remaster of The Abyss on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray early next year”.

As things stand, amongst the work of James Cameron, even Piranha II now has a decent Blu-ray release, courtesy of Shout Factory in America. But in the case of The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic and Avatar, these were all made under a deal with 20 th Century Fox. And as we understand it, that deal (and Fox is where he had his production deal for over 20 years) gives him final approval on the way those films are presented on disc, and what extra features are included. All were due to be released under the Fox Home Entertainment label. But now, Fox is part of the Disney empire.E ver since James Cameron had adopted the use of the Super 35 format, he'd been framing for both widescreen and television safe, and there has been quite some discussion about how that sometimes compromises the compositions for one or the other more than if he just committed to framing specifically for one ratio. The pan-and-scan formatting often might improve a shot (e.g. the visibility of Jamie Lee Curtis' legs flailing as she hangs from the helicopter in a shot in True Lies , which adds an element of helplessness absent from the widescreen presentation). I would therefore be quite interested to see what this film looks like with a somewhat taller frame. The demand from fans isn’t likely to stop. But that’s hardly made much difference over the past decade and change. True Lies and The Abyss remain two of the most high profile films of the last few decades to still not have a Blu-ray release. The 14 months of silence since we last got word of either tells its own story.

Does, then, Disney have the appetite for catalogue releases of older titles now, especially as it channels its home entertainment energies towards Disney+? Did it perhaps – and this is speculation – nix a release of The Abyss planned for 2019? Two different 1080p preservations of James Cameron’s The Abyss [extended cut aka “Special Edition”], which remains commercially unreleased in high-definition to this day. But where’s the incentive for Disney to pursue Blu-rays and 4Ks of True Lies and The Abyss? Granted, it may want to keep James Cameron happy, and there may be thinking that so much work has been done it’d be daft not to finish the discs off. Still, it’s hard to rule out that when Cameron does finally sign off the new releases of the movies, they end up on digital formats only. It’s little secret that the market for physical releases has contracted, after all. The traditional hold-up to the release thus far, though, is James Cameron himself. That he has to personally approve the new transfers for both films, and the bottom line is that he simply hasn’t to our knowledge done that yet. In more recent times, he’s been focused heavily on his quartet of Avatar sequels, as well as his work on Terminator: Dark Fate and Alita: Battle Angel (and he was active on the promotional tour for the latter two). div>Fan-Edits & Preservations : Drsapirstein.blogspot.com