So here it is!
Back in 1993, in the liner notes of The Abyss Special Edition, James Cameron reminisced about the edit of The Abyss Theatrical Cut.
"In retrospect, I think we could have collectively been a little braver. Even a 2 hour 30 minute version of the film could have kept the wave, and it's attendant subplot."
I wondered at the time how this cut would have played, and in my mind, it could probably be the best version of the film.
With the release of the UHD and Blu-ray disc, suddenly the option has become available to compile a playlist that may correspond to that idea of a cut, in a watchable format (as, you know, the old DVD was 4/3).
So when I got the new UHD, I spent a couple of hours browsing through the BD disc files, and compiling them. First I came up too long, then I tried again, proceding by elimination. Here's what I came up with. There's not a lot of alternatives to that cut, if you target the running time slated by Cameron, as the way the seamless branching is done, you have to make choices at every intersection common to both versions of the film.
The edit now weaves in and out of the SE, with the TC used as base cut. It wasn't that difficult to retain as pitched by Cameron, the wave and the adjacent subplot. Interestingly, when editing the film that way, the sea water snake moment become exactly the center point of the film when everything turns, happening at 1h15mn. So that's it.
The Abyss "Braver Cut", now clocking at 2 hour 30 minute and 54s.
I think it's a great version of the film, as it enhance the theatrical cut, and remove flab from the too long Special Edition, just like the TV Cut of Aliens also does.
Just compile the files from your Blu-ray disc in that same order with your favorite mkv software.
I'll post the UHD playlist numbers later, as the UHD has totally different seamless playlists, for reasons I cannot fathom.
The Abyss (1989) "Braver Cut" REMASTERED BLU-RAY PLAYLIST
Back in 1993, in the liner notes of The Abyss Special Edition, James Cameron reminisced about the edit of The Abyss Theatrical Cut.
"In retrospect, I think we could have collectively been a little braver. Even a 2 hour 30 minute version of the film could have kept the wave, and it's attendant subplot."
I wondered at the time how this cut would have played, and in my mind, it could probably be the best version of the film.
With the release of the UHD and Blu-ray disc, suddenly the option has become available to compile a playlist that may correspond to that idea of a cut, in a watchable format (as, you know, the old DVD was 4/3).
So when I got the new UHD, I spent a couple of hours browsing through the BD disc files, and compiling them. First I came up too long, then I tried again, proceding by elimination. Here's what I came up with. There's not a lot of alternatives to that cut, if you target the running time slated by Cameron, as the way the seamless branching is done, you have to make choices at every intersection common to both versions of the film.
The edit now weaves in and out of the SE, with the TC used as base cut. It wasn't that difficult to retain as pitched by Cameron, the wave and the adjacent subplot. Interestingly, when editing the film that way, the sea water snake moment become exactly the center point of the film when everything turns, happening at 1h15mn. So that's it.
The Abyss "Braver Cut", now clocking at 2 hour 30 minute and 54s.
I think it's a great version of the film, as it enhance the theatrical cut, and remove flab from the too long Special Edition, just like the TV Cut of Aliens also does.
Just compile the files from your Blu-ray disc in that same order with your favorite mkv software.
I'll post the UHD playlist numbers later, as the UHD has totally different seamless playlists, for reasons I cannot fathom.
The Abyss (1989) "Braver Cut" REMASTERED BLU-RAY PLAYLIST
Code:
737, 738, 740, 741, 743, 744, 746, 747, 749,
750, 751, 753, 754, 756, 758, 759,
760, 762, 764, 767, 768,
770, 771, 773, 774, 776, 777, 778,
780, 782, 783, 784, 786, 788
