Abyss, The (1989)    Running time: 2:51    MPAA rating: PG-13 (Edit)
Special Edition		All Movie Guide
Date DVD Released
Genre(s)	Adventure, Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Studio	20th Century Fox
Director	James Cameron
Cast	Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmeister, Todd Graff
Synopsis
An underwater UFO, travelling at enormous speed, wreaks havoc on tidal activities throughout the world. It also causes a nuclear submarine to sink 2000 feet, to the ledge of underwater abyss. A group of adventurous oil riggers, working out of a high-tech submersible vessel, is pressed into action to seek out the submarine and rescue any survivors. Tensions on board are heightened by fact that rig foreman Ed Harris is the ex-husband of the submersible's designing engineer Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. As the vessel comes closer to the crippled sub, it is discovered that another member of crew, Navy SEAL officer Michael Biehn, intends to nuke the aliens should they turn out to be Soviet saboteurs in disguise. A near-death experience brings Mastrantonio and Harris back together. She waits in agony as he descends into the depths while wearing a special diving helmet that pumps fluorocarbon into his system, enabling him to breathe underwater. Harris bottoms out at a record-breaking 25,000 feet; then he sees an eerie but somehow reassuring glow of bright light.....and we're not going to say another word. The Abyss didn't do as well at the box-office as its creators hoped, a fact attributable in great part to gaping holes in the plotline, caused by Universal's post-production tampering. Cameron's 167-minute director's cut, now available on video, plugs those holes. — Hal Erickson (All Movie Guide)
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