Director James Cameron said that he personally oversaw a 4K digital transfer of his 1989 science-fiction film, The Abyss. In an interview with Space.com, on the sidelines of the release of his upcoming book Tech Noir, the filmmaker hailed cinematographer Mikael Salomon’s work on the film, and expressed regret that he didn’t appreciate it enough when he was actually working on it.
Cameron said that he made The Abyss before he started taking an active interest in lighting, but was very impressed with the “remarkable job” that Salomon did on the movie, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. In his words:
“It is truly, truly gorgeous cinematography. That was before I started to assert myself in terms of lighting and asking the cinematographer to do certain things. I'd compose with the camera and choose the lenses, but I left the lighting to him. He did a remarkable job on that movie that I appreciate better now than I did even as we were making it.”
Cameron said that now, with a recently-finished high-def transfer, he hopes that audiences can enjoy the film in pristine condition, on streaming, and on physical media. He said that he completed the transfer just two months ago.
Starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn, the film told the story of a trio of characters who investigate mysterious underwater occurrences near the Cayman Trough.
The Abyss probably initiated Cameron’s fascination for the deep sea; the filmmaker is currently working on the second Avatar movie, a significant portion of which will be set underwater. He is also a deep-sea diver, and has participated in documentaries about underwater exploration. In the Space.com interview, Cameron praised Salomon for pioneering underwater photography techniques. He said:
“I'd also like to point out that he took one look at the first day's dailies of the underwater lighting and he went out and learned to scuba dive. He came in the following Monday morning, the worst diver in the world, but he reinvented underwater lighting. He went for indirect lighting and he got everybody doing things that were not just outside their comfort zone, they'd never even thought of it. Suddenly the underwater shots start to live up to the surface photography.”
Cameron admitted that The Abyss “didn't make much money in its day,” but acknowledged its ever-increasing cult of fans. The film made a reported $90 million against an estimated budget of $47 million.
But gone are the days when a Cameron movie would underperform at the box office. The filmmaker holds the distinction for having directed Avatar and Titanic the number one and number three highest-grossing films in history (adjusted for inflation). The decade-in-the-making sequel is slated for a December 2022 release. Stay tuned for more updates!