Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: an exploration of the seabed.
After giving his letters of nobility to science fiction with his famous Terminator (1984), then Aliens the return (1986), with a lot of revolutionary special effects, James Cameron continues in this direction with Abyss, in which the crew of an underwater station faces inexplicable phenomena.
Wishing to make a “2001, an underwater space odyssey”, the filmmaker gives himself the means of his ambitions, even if it means showing all the colors to his teams – and even failing to drown! Besides the installation of a gigantic tank (13 meters deep and 28 million liters of water) on the set and the high-risk stunts performed by the actors themselves (like that of Ed’s snorkeling Harris and Leo Burmester), Abyss requires compelling special effects.
While computer graphics were still in their infancy in Hollywood, the legendary ILM studio succeeded in the impossible: animate a creature made entirely of water in a realistic way and make it interact with flesh and blood characters. ‘bone. The result: an unprecedented experience, very impressive for the public, rewarded with the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
If Abyss is a commercial failure in the United States (54 million dollars in receipts, for a production budget estimated at 69.5 million), it nevertheless receives a good reception, audiences abroad, especially in France, where it brings together 1.9 million spectators in theaters.
Currently, James Cameron is a hit in the cinema with Avatar: the way of the water, a sequence of which also makes direct reference to Abyss. Have you spotted it?
Abyss by James Cameron with Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn…
Tonight on 6ter at 9:05 p.m.