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ground. In this installment, we’ll be able to take a better look at some of the technical aspects and proposed contents of this release. |
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Since some information about the release has surfaced on the Internet a little while ago, heated discussions are going on as to what will be on the release and what will not. Which technical specifications will the release feature and which of the supplements that are listed in various places are correct? We have received a lot of email following our initial installment in this diary, mostly inquiring about the special features that will be going on the release, and of course raising the question whether “The Abyss” will be 16x9 enhanced or not.
It will not, and there are a number of reasons for that. It was a decision that was reached between James Cameron’s production company Lightstorm, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The letterbox elements in Fox’s film vault were reviewed by both parties and approved for the usage on the DVD. Since the DVD is nonetheless coming from the higher quality D1 master, as opposed to the D2 master that was used for the Laserdisc release, I am sure, |
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the DVD will look significantly better than any previous release of the film. Especially given the strong blue tones that dominate the movie, the complete lack of chroma noise in a D1 master will make the film look better than we all have ever seen it. James Cameron himself has an impact on every frame you see on releases of his films and he supervised the transfer of “The Abyss” when it was originally done. But also all of the supplemental material that will be part of this release will have been stand up to his scrutinizing eyes. |
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All of the material from the Laserdisc box set that was released by Fox some time ago |
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All of the material from the Laserdisc box set that was released by Fox some time ago will also make its way onto the DVD release in one way or another, but the DVD will also feature a lot of new content that had not been released anywhere before. To make sure all the material and the film is presented in the best possible quality the project requires the space of two dual layer |
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DVDs. One will hold the multi-story presentation of the movie itself, while the second one will be filled with bonus materials. Although releasing it as a DVD-18, a double-sided dual layer disc, would have been a possibility, Fox opted to go for two separate dual-layer DVD-9s that will come in a double Amaray case, like “Patton” did before. DVD-18 raises a lot of questions regarding the mastering and replication. Currently replication facilities are only able to guarantee a certain volume of DVD-18s, and given the appeal of a film like “The Abyss” bottlenecks may have been the result - something no one would like to see.
Deciding to release the special edition on two separate discs has yet another advantage. Several |
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DVD players in the market use carousels that allow the viewer to insert multiple discs and with the button of a remote control they can switch form one disc to another.
That way two separate discs are actually more convenient to them. Nonetheless, it would be nice to see players in the market at some point that are able to read both sides of a DVD without the need to flip the disc over. Imagine having a DVD player that lets you explore all four layers of a DVD-18 for example completely uninterrupted. Another nice side effect of using two separate dual-layer discs is that both of them can be printed with some nice artwork.
Indeed, Fox is planning on having both discs printed with 4-color label art that will make the discs more attractive and more of a collectible than just plain discs with a small band in the center. Both discs will feature different art. |
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