Ghosts of the Abyss: 2 Disc Collectors Edition (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Reflections Of The Deep Multiple Angles-The Mir Experience Featurette-Making Of Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	87:39 (Case: 90)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (66:51) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	James Cameron
Studio Distributor	Walden Media MRA Entertainment	Starring	Bill Paxton Dr. John Broadwater Dr. Lori Johnston Charles Pellegrino Don Lynch Ken Marschall James Cameron Mike Cameron Jeffrey N. Ledda Corey Jaskolski Jason Paul Eric Schmitz Genya Chernaiev
Case	Amaray-Opaque-Dual-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Joel McNeely Lisa Torban

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    During the shooting of Titanic, director James Cameron visited the wreck of the ship to get footage of it in its watery grave to book-end his movie. He was obviously deeply moved by the experience and returned to the Titanic in 2001 with an IMAX film crew, two robotic submersibles and actor Bill Paxton in tow.

    The IMAX film crew came armed with high definition 3D cameras to make what I’m sure is an immersive experience when viewed on the large IMAX screen in 3D. A message at the beginning of the film tells us this DVD has been reformatted for 2D viewing only.

    The two robotic submersibles, named Jake and Elwood, were designed by James Cameron’s brother and are used to explore the interior of the Titanic.

    I don’t know why he took Bill Paxton.

    Ghosts of the Abyss starts above the surface where we are introduced the various pieces of equipment to be used, complete with some gratuitous shots specifically for the 3D format such as a robotic claw stretching out towards the camera. We also meet the crew (some of whom you’ll recognize from the modern day scenes from the film Titanic) which consists of various scientists, historians, the Russian boat crew and actor Bill Paxton.

    The expedition actually consists of two ships, one that carries two submersibles (which in turn carry Jake and Elwood) and a second ship which carries a giant light (called the chandelier) that they lower down over the wreck of the Titanic to blanket it with light.

    The interesting stuff begins when we finally go down to the Titanic. Jake and Elwood, the robotic submersibles, are connected and controlled from the larger manned submersibles by thin fibre optic tethers. Intercut with footage of actor Bill Paxton being awed by what he is viewing we get to see the ghostly interior of the ship. James Cameron has cleverly superimposed actors and recreations of the environments to really give the viewer a ghostly reminder of what we are witnessing. While much of the wreck is still recognizable today a lot of it is so decayed and covered in 90 years of build up that it is only vaguely recognizable. The superimposed recreations really help the viewer understand and get a feeling for what they are seeing.

    I must say that seeing the wreck as it currently exists is often quite eerie. This is enhanced by James Cameron’s use of special effects to superimpose actors and computer graphics over the wreckage to give a haunting reminder of the ship in its prime. Along the way we also learn some interesting information such as the fact that some creatures now live their entire lives inside the wreckage of the Titanic. The creatures found inside the wreckage are actually different to those found outside it.

    Overall Ghosts of the Abyss is an interesting exploration of one of the most famous shipwrecks in modern history. The Titanic still holds a fascination for the public and this well made documentary taps into that interest. While I wonder if it really has much repeat viewing value, it is nonetheless spellbinding viewing.

Video

    The transfer is generally very good although quite variable due to the source material. Footage shot above the surface with the high definition cameras is excellent. There is also some footage that obviously just comes from standard digital camcorders and the definition suffers appropriately. The underwater material and material shot by the robotic submersibles isn’t quite as good but it’s easy to forgive this due to the incredible nature of some of the footage captured. Footage taken inside the manned submersibles is mostly from lipstick cameras and obviously there is a limit to the quality of this footage.

    The DVD is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 which at least according to IMDB.com is the original aspect ratio of the film. Normally IMAX presentations are actually shown at an aspect ratio of around 1.4:1 but I didn’t see this at the IMAX so I can’t be sure. Interestingly, despite the presentation being 1.78:1 some of the material, such as footage from lipstick cameras in the manned submersibles, is clearly 4x3 but has been stretched to 1.78:1 resulting in some incorrect image geometry (see 39:16 for example). The image is 16x9 enhanced.

    Image sharpness and detail is variable depending on the source but is generally pretty good and the transfer is a very good reflection of the source material. The material on the surface shot in HD is top notch exhibiting excellent image detail. The images shot under the water are a little murky at times but nonetheless quite well detailed. Footage from inside the manned submersibles shot by the lipstick cameras and the footage taken by the robotic submersibles is limited by the quality of the cameras. Shadow detail was also very dependant on the source material and ranged from very good for the above the surface material shot on HD to quite poor for some of the underwater footage. Some low level noise is apparent during some of the underwater material and the footage from within the manned submersibles.

    In terms of colour it’s very much dictated by the source. Again the HD footage shot above the surface exhibited very good colour saturation with nice accurate colours. The footage shot on camcorders was not so good but about what you would expect from a camcorder. The underwater footage tended to be mostly tones of blues and greens. The footage taken by the lipstick cameras on board the manned submersibles exhibited only average colour. The footage shot by Jake and Elwood features blue/green and brownish tones very much like the main underwater footage but with less detail.

    MPEG artefacts are generally fairly well controlled although some macro blocking was present such as in the waves around a submersible at 8:16. I also observed some minor aliasing on the HD material such as stripes on the submersible at 5:14.

    There are no subtitles on the disc.

    The DVD is dual layered with the layer change occurring at 66:51 which is at a cut between scenes and thus is well placed.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The soundtrack of this documentary puts the soundtracks of many movies to shame making excellent use of the surround sound format.

    There are two English soundtracks on the disc, a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Soundtrack also encoded at 448 Kb/s. While the Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is quite good in its own right the Dolby Digital 5.1 is far superior offering a more dynamic and encompassing experience.

    Dialogue was generally clear and easy to understand although much of it comes via two way radio communication between the manned submersibles and given the cramped confines of these submersibles it is understandable that state of the art sound was not always possible. No issues with audio sync were observed.

    The original music by Joel McNeely and Lisa Torban is often reminiscent of the original music composed by James Horner for James Cameron's film Titanic. Similar Celtic themes and melancholy rhythms are used to effectively evoke a sense of mystique and nostalgia.

    The use of the surround channels is excellent and truly places the listener amidst action. Waves crash around us at 3:25 and equipment buzzes around us at 9:08. Throughout the whole documentary the surrounds are active in providing appropriate ambience for the viewer.

    The subwoofer is also used very effectively, whether it is in the deep bass notes of the music, the pounding of waves at 2:43 or the rumbling of machinery at 7:35.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The animated menus are really terrific. The main menu shows animation of the grand staircase on the Titanic. Once we’ve been on a fly-around of how it was in its heyday, we are presented with the menu options. The image then morphs into the grand staircase as it is today at the bottom of the ocean with brief ghostly reminders of how it was fading in and out. The music that plays is eerie and atmospheric with the sounds of the ocean and metal creaking mixed in for effect. The menu animation for disc 2 is equally impressive showing the communications room where final distress message from Titanic were hammered out in Morse code.

Reflections of the Deep

    This a collection of short featurettes detailed below.

Echoes in Time (4:39)

    This looks at the special effects involved in superimposing actors over wreckage of the Titanic.

Paxton Under Pressure (5:23)

    Bill Paxton is not the bravest soul and here we get to see Bill going through various stages of panic and grief prior to the dives.

Zodiac Cowboys (4:34)

    The Zodiac Cowboys are the brave souls that go out in all conditions to hoist in the submersibles when they return to the surface.

The Saga of Jake & Elwood (6:03)

    During one of the expeditions into Titanic one of the robotic submersibles broke down while in Titanic. This featurette details the rescue mission.

The Unthinkable (3:46)

    While out filming this documentary the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred. This short featurette shows the reaction of the various crew members to this news.

Keldysh Home Movies (5:02)

    I think this is meant to be a quirky “home movie” of life aboard the research boat.

The Mir Experience (7:59)

    Multi-Angle feature that allows the viewer to see various video streams during the period when one of the robotic submersibles breaks down while inside Titanic. The back cover lists this as 52 minutes but that would only be if you viewed each angle in its entirety.

Featurette (9:40)

    More or less a 10 minute promotional trailer.

Trailer (2:11)

    More or less a 2 minute promotional trailer.

    The version of Ghosts of the Abyss that was show theatrically ran just under 1 hour. The Region 1 DVD uses seamless branching to allow you to view either the theatrical version or the slightly longer version we have here. All other features are the same. For completeness you may prefer to have the option to view both versions and as such the Region 1 version wins out slightly over our Region 4 version. The region 1 also has English subtitles for the hard of hearing which may sway your purchasing decision if this is important.

    Ghosts of the Abyss is an interesting exploration of one of the most famous shipwrecks in modern history. James Cameron seamlessly combines actual footage from the wreck of the Titanic with recreations to give the viewer a feel for how Titanic was in its prime and how it is today in its watery grave. While I wonder if it really has much repeat viewing value, it is nonetheless spellbinding viewing.

    With an extremely decent video and audio transfer and an interesting selection of extras this is a very worthwhile DVD purchase, especially for fans of the film Titanic.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall