I first saw The Abyss on Sunday, 24th January 1993 on Channel 4 in the UK. They mistakenly broadcast the film uncut for which the governing body, OFCOM, slapped their wrists.

Not long after, the Special Edition had a UK release on VHS, which I would snap up instantly. Although, I would be amazed at the terrible editing used to hide the rat in the infamous scene where they force it to breathe oxygenated liquid.

In 2000, I would import the two disc DVD from the US which was fantastic, but the only setback was the picture was non-anamorphic. This didn’t worry me too much at the time because I was watching on a 14-inch portable.

Finally, after waiting over two decades, I finally have the film in HD and 4K! It’s been so long, it’s skipped a generation. 😁 Plus, I had to import the film from the Netherlands as it isn’t getting a release here in the UK!

  • flux
    6•21 days ago

    So which version? OG or director’s cut? I think I prefer both OG versions over the extended cuts of Aliens and Abyss.

    • @WamGams@lemmy.ca
      3•20 days ago

      The extended cut of Aliens is mostly just additional scenes from the first act, right? I can’t remember any changes once the action starts up, but its been about 20 years since I watched either.

      • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝MAEnglish
        2•20 days ago

        I remember a friend at university rushing in to.say he’d just rented the extended version on VHS so we all piled round to his. I got to see it in the cinema last year. It’s definitely my favourite version of Aliens.

        You are right about those.early scenes of the colonists but, during the action, they have the scene with the automated machine gun turrets.

  • @noname_yet2077@lemmy.world
    6•20 days ago

    I recently bought the VHS in second-hand store! It’s the only tape I own and I don’t even own an VHS player. But some day… ~~I’m gonna have a good laugh if the tape I own is bad ~~🤣

    • UKFilmNerdOPMEnglish
      4•20 days ago

      I recently found a copy of The Matrix VHS in a lovely cardboard box, and it was in perfect condition, the tape was still shrink-wrapped and untouched. I was thinking of purchasing it and putting it on display, but I don’t have the space. I’m regretting not picking it up now.

  • @MrJameGumb@lemmy.world
    6•21 days ago

    Somewhere in my house there is a box full of VHS tapes with a copy of The Abyss on it I taped off a free trial of HBO in like 1992 lol I LOVED that movie as a kid! I should watch it again!

  • @Hux@lemmy.ml
    4•20 days ago

    I feel like this is a monologue Dr. Manhattan would recite apropos of nothing while we are both sitting, waiting for our separate bakery orders to be ready.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝MAEnglish
    3•20 days ago

    Great to see the journey “complete” at least until the holographic version is out, then the brain implant version.

  • @TheImpressiveX@lemmy.ml
    3•20 days ago

    It was released on March 12 and you’re just now getting it? Shipping must have taken a while.

    What are your thoughts on the restoration process used for this film? I know it was very controversial with the technologies utilized to restore it in 4K.

    I’m glad you finally got it in high resolution after all this time.

    • UKFilmNerdOPMEnglish
      4•20 days ago

      This copy has been imported from Europe as the official release date is this week I think. It has Danish, Finnish, Swedish and Dutch subtitles. I got an email saying it was being packed and dispatched on 24th, and it arrived today on the 29th. FedEx shipped it to the UK, where it was handed off to the Royal Mail.

      I’ve been following the use of AI to de-grain the picture fairly closely ever since this, along with True Lies and Aliens, dropped on US streaming services last year.

      From what I’ve been seeing, The Abyss came off the lightest, with True Lies looking the worst. I’ve seen comparison screenshots and can see the difference, but to be honest, once the film starts, I forget all that and get sucked into the experience.

      The only other way to watch the film would to download a pirate rip of an old HD cable broadcast…apparently. 😉

      • Miss Brainfarts
        2•20 days ago

        I was wondering, many 4K releases are probably just an upscale of the existing release, no? Is there any way to know if the image is native 4K made from the original material when buying?

        • UKFilmNerdOPM
          4•20 days ago

          I’d like to think that the majority of releases are new 4K scans of the original camera negatives. The only way to know for sure is to read detailed reviews beforehand. For example, here’s the information about The Abyss from The Digital Bits.

          For its release on Ultra HD, Lightstorm, working with Park Road Post, has built a new 4K Digital Intermediate using recent 4K scans of the original camera negative (confirmed per Lightstorm). This footage was then “optimized” by Park Road’s proprietary deep-learning algorithms. Photochemical grain has been greatly reduced, though not eliminated entirely, while fine detail has been “enhanced” algorithmically. The image has also been graded for high dynamic range, with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 available.