[Released] The Abyss (1989) 1080p - SE with no AI on theatrical footage

[sanjuro_61]

Hey guys.

This is a reconstruction of the special edition using a web-rip of the unreleased 2013 mastering. There are already a handful reconstructions out there, but as far as I know, they use a HDTV of the old 90's master for the SE footage, not the recent BD release.
The best source I could find is a 26.69GB open matte mkv. Encoding is pretty decent for what it is. Of course, it had to be reframed to the correct widescreen aspect ratio. No big deal (just tedious). I ended replacing about 50 shots between way-to-much zoomed-in shots, and some grading glitched ones (an alternative oar web-rip came in handy). There's noticeable banding in some underwater shots. 8-bit web-rip source, not much I can do about it (it's also noticeable in the BD as well sometimes). The special edition scenes are processed just very slightly for consistency (a bit of softening, and a layer of grain), then, in resolve, regraded for consistency. The rest of the film is not regraded. I think the colors already looks fine.

Sound (english only, to save space) and multisubs from the BD.

48.20 GB

Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920x1080 23.976fps [V: UTC 2026-01-15 03:10:49 (h264 high L4.1, yuv420p, 1920x1080) [default,forced]]
Audio: DTS 48000Hz 6ch 6912kbps [A: Original 5.1 [eng] (dts-hd ma, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), s24)]
Audio: Dolby AC3 48000Hz stereo 320kbps [A: Original 2.0 [eng] (ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, 320 kb/s)]
-> multisubs!

Gallry: 48 pics https://postimg.cc/gallery/1QJYgPk/3e20f4a3

[Beber]

Cool. I was considering doing something like that using the 1080i Cinemax recording of the 2013 remaster plus the SE parts from the Blu-ray, but I have no tool to add grain for the SE parts to blend in.
Which open matte is it that you're talking about? An open matte version of the theatrical cut out of the 2013 remaster, you mean? Is there such a thing in the wild?

[sanjuro_61]

Cool. I was considering doing something like that using the 1080i Cinemax recording of the 2013 remaster plus the SE parts from the Blu-ray, but I have no tool to add grain for the SE parts to blend in.
Which open matte is it that you're talking about? An open matte version of the theatrical cut out of the 2013 remaster, you mean? Is there such a thing in the wild?

There's  a certain "bluebird" open matte 1080p file. 26.69 GB.
The guy (or guys) also did a SE version, but SE stuff is  from the 90's master.

[Beber]

Oh, the Bluebird one. I have that one. Yes, it uses the old master, even for the open matte portions on the theatrical footage, as I recall. 
EDIT : yes, see below the ugly light on the top right. The extension is from the old master and it shows. There are other moments when you can see stuff like that on the Bluebird hybrid.



The best source I've ever found for the 2013 theatrical cut remaster is the 1080i in MPEG-2 in 2.35:1. It only has one mild glitch for one frame in the scene where the minisub implodes with Michael Biehn in it. And I found back in the day a smaller WEB-DL or WEBrip that could be used to replace that one shot where the glitch is.